What Is 3D-Printed Food? How Does It Work?

The main attraction of 3D-printed cuisine — its customizability — lures big players into this space. This list includes tech-health startups researching ways to treat dysphagia, a condition in which patients experience difficulty when swallowing, and NASA, which is in search of nutrient-rich meals for astronauts in space. Printing food in 3D emulates a pastry chef piping icing on a cake. As the arm moves along the spongy perimeter, a colorful whipped sugar takes the shape of a handler’s design. While the operator uploads a design, the food is heated inside of the machine. This step isn’t for cooking the food product, but rather to thermally increase its malleability in preparation to print. Layer by layer, an edible resin is pushed through a syringe-like dispenser, called an extruder, and deposited onto a build plate at specific points along a three-axis system. As the computerized robot moves along its aluminum frame, it prints a filament made up of curated powdered or liquefied ingredients per a preprogrammed recipe. “When the food is dispensed from the nozzle, it falls onto a cold print bed,” Haines said. “It quickly congeals before the nozzle comes back around to print layers for added strength.”

Please use the questions below to help you understand: 1.What are the advantages and disadvantages of 3D printing food? 2.How do you think you can overcome the differences in taste and texture between 3D printed food and the original?