Groundwork for Greatness

Initially, only sweets were able to be printed, however many different types of foods have since then entered the 3d printing food realm, including everyone’s favorite– PIZZA! From manufacturers such as Foodini, Chef Jet, and Magic Candy Factory, 3D printers can create edible creations that only set limits based on your imagination!

Currently, there are two methods of 3D printing for food that are on the market. One method is using the FLM method, similar to the method Foodini uses which will be explained later on in this post. Another method commonly used is the SLS method which is seen used by the brand 3D Chocolateering which will also be explained later on in this post.

Foodini uses the open capsule model where you tell the printer what recipe you want to use and it tells you the ingredients you need to put into the printer. Foodini has successfully printed chickpea patties, pizza, burgers, and even ravioli. The Foodini printer was set to release in 2014 retailing for about $1,300.

On the other hand, 3D Chocolateering hand grinds and shifts gourmet chocolate bars into powder and places it into a cartridge to prepare it for the SLS printing. An issue with SLS printing is that these printers are much more expensive to buy. It may not be ideal for the everyday consumer to use, and should probably be used in larger corporations.

Hershey’s is actually teaming up with another printing company knows as 3D systems to create a 3D printed chocolate line in the future. Another example of 3D printed food hitting the mass market would be through TNO, a 3D printing company who is focused on creating fast paced pasta. They aren’t currently looking to expand their markets into residential homes, but they plan to develop customizable nutritional values to sell at restaurants. They believe the customizability of the pasta can revolutionize the restaurant industry by introducing funky pasta shapes while giving the consumers the nutrition they may be lacking.

Something I found really interesting in my research was that they attempted to make cube lasagnas with breadsticks shaped as spoons to serve as bitesized treats. The lasagna, failed, due to the fact that the pasta layer was not able to completely dry out as it would have with regular lasagna. Another issue that Foodini kept encountering with the lasagna prototype was that the sauce had to be a specific consistency to be able to go through the nozzle. If the sauce was too diluted, it would continuously drip and if it was too dense, it would clog the nozzle and not be able to print properly.

Another great advancement in the edible 3D printing realm is Edible Growth. Edible Growth is a concept that creates a structure out of yeast, seeds, and sprouts to eventually create a natural meal that takes 3-5 days to fully develop into something edible . Although it may take 8-10 years to put this on the market, at least we know that it’s a possibility to have home grown foods made by you for you.

NASA is also exploring ways to feed astronauts on longer space missions with a larger variety of foods that won’t go bad during the mission. Another issue NASA is trying to address is the issue of nourishing the astronauts with the nutrients they would need to keep them at a more stable health level when they returned from space. NASA was granted $125,000 to develop a 3D printer that could fit towards their needs, however they aren’t licensed to speculate using 3D printed food on a global level as of yet. For all we know, NASA could have already developed the solution to my problem, and can not reveal it.

With all of this knowledge at hand, I took my research more personally and surveyed 75 friends and family members about if customizable food would be something they were interested in and a whopping 95% said they would be interested! The other 5% were very skeptical about food coming from a printer. Amongst the 95%, there were some skeptics as well, however they were willing to try it out because that’s the only way progress is made in advancement of technology.