In the future, supposedly, we'll be able to store any number of delicious meals in the form of tiny, dehydrated pills. With a little water and heat, they'll pop into full sized gourmet meals, fit for the table of a king!

Okay, so that's probably just a ridiculous sci-fi nerd dream. But, according to the Daily Mail (via Gizmodo) we're closer than ever thanks to Electrolux. They're working on a project called the "Cocoon Cooker" which would be able to 'grow' meat and fish by heating up animal cells to 'clone' larger quantities of real meat. You'd start with a small, dehydrated chunk of the product, stick it in the cooker, and find yourself with a fresh slab of salmon, beef or, chicken.

Before you get all excited, this product doesn't even exist yet. The Cocoon Steamer was a concept product entered into an Electrolux contest, and the winner won 7 grand and a six month internship with them.

Electrolux is apparently serious about making this product work for real, but right now the science just isn't there. That said, the fact that a manufacturer is already working on the idea means that it might not be too long before we see it, or some version of it, become a reality. Sure, there are some moral issues with the idea of cloning, but surely getting all of our meat from vat-grown cow clones would be kinder and more environmentally friendly then massive feed lots and slaughterhouses.