We've all heard about lab-grown meat.  But have you heard about lab-grown fruit? 

In 2018, Finnish scientists discovered they could create plant cell cultures that were nutritious and delicious, according to taste testers.  They have produced pleasant-tasting cell culture lines that can be added to things like smoothies or jam.  They're not at the point yet where they can produce apple slices you could toss in a baggie for a snack, but that is the end goal, and researchers around the world are convinced it's possible.  

How do they grow fruit in a lab?

Growing a fruit from cell cultures in a laboratory involves four steps:

Step 1: Multiplication—This is where stem cells are taken from the meristem of a desired fruit plant and then multiplied.

Step 2: Induction of flowering in multiplied stem cells—This is currently the biggest technological hurdle.

Step 3: Induction of fruit production—This can be done using organic compounds, rather than traditional pollination.

Step 4: Growing the fruit—This part consists of providing the growing fruit with the optimal nutrients needed for development.

These projects involve cell culturing.  Lots of foods like to call themselves "lab-grown" for the novelty factor.  Scientists tout the Cosmic Crisp apple as being "lab-grown" because the original development took place in a laboratory.  But Cosmic Crisp apples are grown on trees, outdoors, in the sunshine, just like any other apple you'd eat.