3-D Food Printing

Think back to your favourite science fiction movie and you will be immediately reminded of the automatic food manufacturing unit in the futuristic home. A machine in the wall, or on the kitchen counter where you simply punch in a couple of buttons and piping hot food of your choice is assembled and served to you almost immediately.

Now guess what? Scientists at the Columbia University are  working on a project which will involve producing edible items using a 3-D printer. While the experimental science project is no where near ready to replace conventional cooking for the human household, it is getting interesting to see just how this concept will develop in the future.

Hod Lipson who is working on this project said that the food printers will not solve all our nutritional needs nor cook everything we should eat, but they will produce an infinite variety of customized, fresh, nutritional foods on demand, transforming digital recipes and basic ingredients supplied in frozen cartridges into healthy dishes that can supplement our daily intake.

Now does that sound like the scene in the sci fi movie coming true in real life? Sure does to me. Wonder what the 3-D printed food will actually taste like?! I can just see a speciality restaurant taking shape.