Who did not dream on your arrival after a long day and just clicking a few buttons to get a 3D, home-cooked 3D food, courtesy of a digital chef? It can even make microwaves and ice cold snacks out of stock. University of Columbia experts are trying to make this possible, and are now figuring out how to use 3D-printing and cooking white chicken at the same time, according to recent paper published in the newspaper npj Food Science. Of course, it’s not at the same level as the Star Trek Replicator, which can make a complete meal, but it’s a first.
Coauthor Hob Lipson runs the Creative Machines Lab at Columbia University, where the research was conducted. His team began to explain 3D printing for food back to 2007, using Fab @ Home’s process of making several 3D food items with chocolate frosting, chocolate, processed cheese, and peanut butter. However, commercial equipment capable of printing and cooking food portions is no longer available. There has been research on how to cook food using lasers, and the Lipson team thought this could be a reliable way to investigate further.
“We realized that, although printers can make milliliters mixed with millimeters, there is no way to heat this up,” he said. Coauthor Jonathan Blutinger said. “Cooking is important for food, taste, and food composition in most diets, and we doubt whether we can devise methods and lasers to address this.” They used a laser diode laser (5-10 Watts) as the primary source of heat and also tested the lasers in near- and mid-infrared comparisons, as well as a standard toaster oven.
The scientists bought a raw chicken breast from a nearby store and then put it in a food processor to make it more stable. He removed all the tendons and lowered them to the refrigerator before replacing the 3D printing presses. The cooking equipment used a powerful laser diode, glass galvanometers (equipment that detects electrical power by hiding light beams), 3D printing presses, laser protection, and a removable tray that can cook 3D printed chicken.
“In the beginning of laser cooking, our laser diode was set up in a 3D printing machine, but as experiments progressed, we changed the setting when the laser was mounted according to the head of the extrusion machine,” the authors wrote. “This setup allowed us to print and cook the ingredients on the same machine.” They also try to cook a printed chicken after printing it in plastic.
The result? Laser-cooked chicken retained twice as much moisture as regular chicken, and is reduced by half as long as it still has the same spice. But different types of lasers produced different results. The blue laser was ideal for cooking chicken inside, on the ground, while the infrared lasers were better on the surface and burned. In the case of the plastic chicken, the blue laser did a little brown, but the near-infrared laser was very effective in ripening the chicken through the packet. The team can also illuminate the top of the hen carried during the grill reminder.