Scientists at University College, Cork in Ireland have recently been successful in being able to 3D print cheese.
The group has published their findings in the Journal of Food Engineering. And they describe how they were able to use American cheese as “ink” for the printer. This isn't the first food item to be 3D printed either, there has been talks of a number of other 3D printed accomplishments in the food space, everything from chocolate to pizza and more.
The scientists say that the 3D printing process changed the physical properties of the cheese, as well as the texture. They attribute the changes to the heat that gets produced by the printing process.
This is the first study of its kind to explore the possibilities when it comes to the impact of additive manufacturing methodologies (3D food printing) on the structural property of dairy products specifically.
The scientists used a RepRap Pro Ormerod 1 printer and they adjusted it by adding a custom syringe that could handle the cheese product. They warmed the cheese up to about 75 degrees Celsius before applying it to make their end product.
The process was pretty messy and it most of the time just came out like a gooey mess, so it's going to take some time before they can perfect the 3D printed cheese creations that you'll likely want to print out and see on your plate—if ever.
3D printing of food is becoming so popular that there are now even commercial 3D printers available specifically for that purpose.
There are a number of ways that they go about producing the various food products. The method includes mixing fine powder together with a building agent in order to produce an item. Or it will squirt a melted raw product like chocolate or cheese, in order to build up a structure.
The Chef Jet is just one of the options out there on the market right now for consumers and it is able to produce kitchen-ready food straight from the printer. There are also many different commercial kitchen spaces out there too, who are working with 3D printers as well, to create a variety of innovative and intricately detailed food creations.
Pics:
Pixabay
Alan Kelly et al
3D Food Printers - iReviews
Sources:
http://www.businessinsider.com/beehex-pizza-3d-printer-2017-3
http://gizmodo.com/the-first-3d-printed-cheese-was-as-bizarre-as-you-d-exp-1793369564
http://www.iflscience.com/technology/so-you-can-now-3d-print-sculptures-made-of-american-cheese/
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0260877417300420
Related Posts:
3D Bioprinter For Printing Human Skin
https://steemit.com/science/@doitvoluntarily/3d-bioprinter-for-printing-human-skin
The 3D Printing Company That Prints Buildings
https://steemit.com/technology/@doitvoluntarily/the-3d-printing-company-that-prints-buildings
Scientists At MIT Create 3D Graphene
https://steemit.com/science/@doitvoluntarily/scientists-at-mit-create-3d-graphene
The Creative Potential Of 3D Printing
https://steemit.com/health/@doitvoluntarily/the-creative-potential-of-3d-printing
Hello @doitvoluntarily,
Congratulations! Your post has been chosen by the communities of SteemTrail as one of our top picks today.
Also, as a selection for being a top pick today, you have been awarded a TRAIL token for your participation on our innovative platform...STEEM.
Please visit SteemTrail to get instructions on how to claim your TRAIL token today.
If you wish to not receive comments from SteemTrail, please reply with "Stop" to opt out.
Happy TRAIL!
Wow.
What other industries will 3D printing disrupt?
Restaurants?
Catering?
McDonald's?
it will be exciting to see!:) it's amazing what they are doing in the way of prosthetics and creating other body parts! and homes!! quite amazing
Great post, was not aware of 3D food printers.
I've seen these things for decorating cakes, which is always interesting.
me too! ive seen some pretty wild videos:) it's amazing what they can do so far with this tech
I'm hungry for some chocolate after reading this post!
Interesting!
Star Trek food replicators, not so far fetched SciFi anymore. Wow.