How close to reality is 3D-printed food?

Cooking devices that incorporate three-dimensional (3D) printers, lasers or other software-driven processes could soon replace conventional cooking appliances such as ovens, stovetops and microwaves. But will people want to use such devices in their kitchens? Will 3D food printing improve nutrition, and what sorts of hurdles will need to be overcome to commercialise such a technology? 

These are some the challenges that Columbia mechanical engineers are working to address in Hod Lipson’s Creative Machines Lab. The lab first introduced food printing technology in 2005 but, until now, the technology has been limited to a small number of uncooked ingredients that often resulted in less-than-appetising dishes.

In a perspective article published by npj Science of Food, lead author Jonathan Blutinger has explored the benefits and drawbacks of 3D-printed food technology, how 3D-printed food compares to conventional food and the future landscape of kitchens.

“Because 3D food printing is still a nascent technology, it needs an ecosystem of supporting industries such as food cartridge manufacturers, downloadable recipe files, and an environment in which to create and share these recipes. Its customisability makes it particularly practical for the plant-based meat market, where texture and flavour need to be carefully formulated to mimic real meats,” Blutinger said.

For the paper, the researchers designed a 3D printing system that constructs cheesecake from edible food inks, such as peanut butter, Nutella and strawberry jam. Precision printing of multi-layered food items could produce more customisable foods, improve food safety and enable users to control the nutrient content of meals more easily in the future.

3D-printed cheesecake using edible food inks. Image credit: Jonathan Blutinger/Columbia Engineering.

The team tested various cheesecake designs using seven key ingredients: graham cracker, peanut butter, Nutella, banana puree, strawberry jam, cherry drizzle and frosting. The most successful design used a graham cracker as the foundational ingredient for each layer of the cake. Peanut butter and Nutella were best used as supporting layers that held the softer ingredients, like the banana and jam.

The multi-ingredient designs evolved into multi-tiered structures that followed similar principles to building architectures, where more structural elements were needed to support softer substrates for a successful layered print.

Blutinger explored the topic of nutrition in 3D-printed food with Christen Cooper, Pace University Nutrition and Dietetics.

“We have an enormous problem with the low nutrient value of processed foods,” Cooper said. “3D food printing will still turn out processed foods, but perhaps the silver lining will be, for some people, better control and tailoring of nutrition — personalised nutrition.”

Cooper said it may even help to make food more appealing to those with swallowing disorders such as dysphagia by mimicking the shapes of real foods with the pureed textured foods.

Laser cooking and 3D food printing could also allow chefs to localise flavours and textures to create new experiences. These personalised techniques may also be useful for people with dietary restrictions, parents of young children, nursing home dieticians and even athletes in planning meals.

The system uses high-energy targeted light for high-resolution tailored heating, which also means cooking could become more cost-effective and sustainable.

“The study also highlights that printed food dishes will likely require novel ingredient compositions and structures, due to the different way by which the food is ‘assembled’,” Lipson said. “Much work is still needed to collect data, model and optimise these processes.”

Blutinger added: “With more emphasis on food safety following the COVID-19 pandemic, food prepared with less human handling could lower the risk of foodborne illness and disease transmission.

“This seems like a win-win concept for all of us.”

Top image credit: Drim Stokhuijzen, Creative Machines Lab, Columbia University.