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
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