3D Food Printing

[Evelyn]

Experimenting with 3D food printing underway at Columbia University.

[Sneakeater]

Maybe sous vide isn't so bad after all.

[Suzanne F]

But how does it taste?

 

 

(Not that it matters much to me: I'd have to remove my 3D-printed braces to eat, and there's only so much time I can have them out.)

[LiquidNY]

This technology has pretty interesting possibilities. One can easily imagine a future where we rarely dine out anymore, similar to how HDTV and Netflix has superseded movie theaters for a lot of people. Everyone would have one of these machines in their home and they could download the El Bulli tasting menu onto it.

[Suzanne F]

I expect--certainly hope--that I'll be dead by then. 'Coz I'll be the one wandering in the wilderness, looking for a place to buy real food that I can cook somehow, or a restaurant (remember those . . .?)

[Rail Paul]

I can see 3-D printing as a huge benefit in helping people consume appropriate amounts of vitamins, minerals, iodine, etc.

[Lex]

I think it's going to be far harder to produce truly good tasting food than basic edible food. In the beginning we'll get the equivalent of low grade pop tarts and soy hot dogs.



There are research projects that have been underway for years aimed at creating meat in laboratory. Unlike the 3D printers they're not limited to constructing devices that can sit on a counter. They can use full size industrial machinery. And yet they still haven't done it - they're not even close.

 

3D food printing makes for a good story and an interesting one but I don't expect usable results for a very long time.

[LiquidNY]

I think it's going to be far harder to produce truly good tasting food than basic edible food. In the beginning we'll get the equivalent of low grade pop tarts and soy hot dogs.

It might not be done with a 3D printer or laboratory meat. Cooking is a perfect candidate for automation. It's a repetitive task where you have people executing an easily modeled algorithm (ie, the recipe). Automating it is merely an engineering challenge, not a scientific challenge. It's not a matter of if - but when - it will happen. At some point maybe the robot chefs will be cheap enough that every home will have one.

[Suzanne F]

 

I think it's going to be far harder to produce truly good tasting food than basic edible food. In the beginning we'll get the equivalent of low grade pop tarts and soy hot dogs.

It might not be done with a 3D printer or laboratory meat. Cooking is a perfect candidate for automation. It's a repetitive task where you have people executing an easily modeled algorithm (ie, the recipe). Automating it is merely an engineering challenge, not a scientific challenge. It's not a matter of if - but when - it will happen. At some point maybe the robot chefs will be cheap enough that every home will have one.

 

Maybe someone will perfect a Dom DeMarco robot?

[Rail Paul]

Maybe someone will perfect a Dom DeMarco robot?

 

 

 

 

Most commercial bakeries already do that. You control the environment for temp, humidity, then measure the ash and moisture of the flour. Sample the mixed dough for its characteristics, etc.

 

No real need for Dom or any professional baker.

[Lex]

Behold, the pizza vending machine.

 

 

http://m.mentalfloss.com/article.php?id=55722

 

"While its silly and not exactly the best pizza youll ever eat, its still amazing, and kind of fun." But it still has to be better than the slices sold for $1 at some NYC pizza joints."

[Sneakeater]

There's no point if there isn't a long line to wait on.

[Lex]

Like the Hall of Presidents in Disneyworld they'll have an audioanimatronic Dom.