Frankenfoods: Six Snacks Prepared In The Lab

1. Carbonated Fruit

Neurobiologist Galen Kaufman got the idea for carbonating fruit when he bit into a pear that had been hanging out in a cooler filled with dry ice. The carbon dioxide from the dry ice had mixed with the water content of the fruit, resulting in a carbonated effect. Together with the Food Innovation Center, a research facility at Oregon State University, Kaufman developed this idea into Fizzy Fruit. It's been a hit at pilot schools across the country and is now served in more than 600 school districts. And if the carbonation in the fruit doesn't have enough fizz factor for you, maybe you should think about adding your fizzy fruit to your fizzy yogurt"¦

2. Carbonated Yogurt

Brigham Young food scientist Lynn Ogden came up with the idea similar to the way Fizzy Fruit was conceptualized "“ after adding dry ice to yogurt it was filled with CO2 when the ice broke down. He and his students messed around with the idea for years before perfecting the technique (yogurt is prone to exploding when carbonated) and receiving a patent. Ogden started selling "Sparkling Yogurt" on the BYU campus and eventually sold the idea to General Mills in 2006. Although kids apparently love Fizzix, it didn't win any fans when Fortune magazine did a taste-test on the product "“ one tester referred to Fizzix as "Yuck-plait."

3. Caffeinated Donuts

If your idea of breakfast is more along the lines of a jelly donut and a Diet Coke or three, soon you can cut combine the two. Dr. Robert Bohannon, a molecular scientist who graduated from the Baylor College of Medicine, is the brains behind Encaff, an additive that inserts caffeine into everyday foods while hiding the bitter caffeine taste. Bohannon has already developed Buzz Donuts and Buzzed Bagels and is working with companies to inject Encaff into gum, breakfast bars and smoothies. Food that has been Encaffienated will contain somewhere between 50 to 100 mg of caffeine, which is a pretty typical amount "“ a standard cup of coffee contains about 50 mg.

4. Caffeinated Beer

5. Bacon-Flavored Salt

6. Sliced Jelly

I'm sure these few examples are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to bizarre products on the market. What have you seen? Better yet, what have you tried?

You'll be seeing a lot more Weird Science here on the site, including a series of posts from Senior Weird Science Correspondent Chris Weber.