Columbia University is working on a new 3D food printer that can produce and cook a variety of dishes from frozen base ingredients.
They also want to introduce an element of design to home cooking that could turn cooking into an open source hub of innovation that unites people around the world on social media.
In an interesting twist, though, the researchers at the heart of this project say that the printer cannot and will not replace traditional cooking.
This will be an addition to the kitchen, not a complete replacement.
So the dream of consigning the cooker to history might have to wait a while yet.
The likes of Foodini and Beehex are making inroads into the 3D printed food market and the company that cracks the code will be an instant smash hit.
Beehex is now serving pizzas in restaurants in New York and Foodini has found its way into the hands of top chefs and catering companies that need to replicate specific shapes and textures.
A company in Finland, meanwhile, is working on vending machines that will offer hot, 3D printed food.
The team at Columbia University have opted for a technique that uses frozen ingredients in cartridges that they can use to print the food, which looks like the Foodini system at first glance.
There is obviously a second step, though, and the researchers are now looking for a way to cook the food, consistently, in a desktop format.
The printer is capable of producing the gel-like substances we’ve seen from other manufacturers.
So this machine will not try to replace traditional foods and will instead offer nutrient rich gel solutions that can then be cooked.
It obviously comes with its own unique texture that the public might have to get used to. (3dprintingindustry.com)
