Why don't we still have pan galactic gargle blaster from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

Dried fruits, instant noodles, microwavable popcorn, and instant mashed potatoes from powder. These are just some of the instant foods that we have today. 

From freeze-dried produce to food products that need nothing more than hot water to prepare, food technology definitely helped in creating meals that provide nourishment and are definitely convenient. 

Much has improved in the production of these foods and all aim to make the meals easier to prepare and appetizing. Aside from these instant meals, we also now have robots and machines that can prepare meals with minimal preparation and assistance, thanks to modern technology. 

However, even with the improvements we now have in preparing food, it still kind of feels not enough, don’t you think? 

It's not that what we have now is not appreciated but there are just moments where you sit on the couch and wonder: “Why don’t we still have the pizzas in Back to the Future 2?” You know, the ones that come in the size of a cookie and then expand into a full-sized pizza in less than 2 seconds?

These futuristic meals are something that would really elevate the way we see food. Aside from the dehydrated cookie-sized pizza, there are other future meals featured in several sci-fi films that make people wonder when will these things become a reality. 

One of the most notable devices would be the replicator in Star Trek. Imagine being able to produce any meal or literally anything that you need by using pure energy. That would be something that everyone would want to have, of course. 

Although technology in creating future meals as presented in sci-films is still far from reality, the closest thing we have to that are the meals that astronauts have. The early generations of space food are found in the form of bite-sized cubes, freeze-dried powders, and semi-liquids in tubes.

These food items resemble future meals like food pills in films but it is important to note that the early version of space foods are unappetizing and has been improved since then. 

The key to achieving future meals might just be found in molecular gastronomy, which is a branch of food science. Scientists and researchers predict that our foods in the future might be sourced from GMOs, lab-grown products, and other interesting outcomes of food research. 

For now, don’t get your hopes up that a Star-Trek replicator will be available anytime soon. Maybe it's better to assume that a cookie-sized dehydrated pizza will come first *fingers crossed*.