The next frontier in cooking shows might be a bit different from your traditional Bake Off and MasterChef. It might actually introduce immersion into our favorites on a whole new level. Japanese researchers have developed a TV screen you can taste. 

As reported by Reuters, the TTTV (Taste The TV) is a screen covered in a hygienic film over which 10 flavor canisters spray tasty concoctions. Meiji University professor Homei Miyashita constructed this prototype himself and believes that commercially it would cost $875 (100,000 yen) to make. 

It could enhance the way we connect over virtual food, on a level that's not just visual, as we do now, Miyashita hopes.

"The goal is to make it possible for people to have the experience of something like eating at a restaurant on the other side of the world, even while staying at home," Miyashita told Reuters.  

The spray technology could be used not just on screens, but also on food like bread or chips to give them extra flavors. And Miyashita and his team hope they can go forth with such flavor technologies and that one day, flavors could be downloaded in the same way we download music or film today.  

It is certainly an intriguing technology. Our advice is to maybe avoid watching Hannibal on it. 

[H/T: Reuters]