14 DAY TRIAL // A food printer could soon be found in every kitchen, thanks to Essential Dynamics, a startup company that considers marketing such products based on the prototypes developed by Cornell Creative Machines Lab.
The company’s newest 3-D food printer is capable of producing tiny space shuttle-shaped scallop nuggets (such as the one in the adjacent image), and cakes or cookies that, when you slice into them, reveal a special message buried within. But the tasty wonders don’t stop here. They can also make a solid hamburger patty, with liquid layers of ketchup and mustard, or a hamburger substitute that’s made from vegan or raw foods.
"People like to play with food. They like to express themselves in food. This allows them to express themselves in not just what the food is made of, but what its shaped like. We can make health food more fun, interesting, and appealing with this technology. What kid wouldn't eat a space shuttle, even one made of peas?" says Jeffrey Ian Lipton, head of the project at CCML.
The printer makes use of edible inks and electronic blueprints called FabApps. It prints food using multiple cartridges, going line by line until the desired shape is extruded. The electronic blueprint specifies exactly which materials go where. In addition, the specialists at CCML have even developed a new technique that allows the machine to change the texture of the food being printed. So just imagine the possibilities.
So why not extend the availability of such a printer? As said, Efficient Dynamics is already looking into ways of making the 3-D food printers available to restaurant chefs or even home users, who can customize new and interesting dishes with healthier ingredients. The company says such a printer will retail for $1,000 initially, and that it will soon become as popular as microwave ovens.
“Customization of foods has played an integral role in our 250,000 year history,” Essential Dynamics founder Jamil Yosefzai was quoted as saying by Fast Company. "As time passes, 3-D food printing we will go from novelty…to utility…to indispensability."