Whether you like it or not, 3D printed food is on the way

By Drew Prindle January 13, 2014

whether like 3d printed food way chefjet

Despite the fact that buying a bulky, expensive machine to print your food isn’t the most practical or attractive idea for most consumers, there are a handful of companies in the 3D printing space that are racing to get food printers into your kitchen and relieve you of your culinary duties.

The latest such device was unveiled last week at CES, when South Carolina-based company 3D Systems pulled the curtain back on the ChefJet and ChefJet Pro – two new machines that the company is billing as “the world’s first and only professionally-certified, kitchen-ready 3D food printers.”

Unlike some of the 3D food printers we’ve come across in the past, this one is designed specifically to make candy and dessert. It also works in a slightly different manner. Rather than using pre-loaded tubes to squirt out the edible printing material, ChefJet printers use a granular materials binding technique to create custom-designed sweets.

Here’s how it works: First, a roller spreads a thin, even layer of fine-grain sugar onto the printing substrate. Then, the printing head sprays a narrow stream of water onto the sugar in whatever pattern you’ve programmed it to create. When the water mixes with the sugar, the sugar recrystallizes and bonds to neighboring grains, thus causing it to form a rigid shape when it dries. This process is then repeated, layer by layer, until the desired shape is created.

Screen Shot 2014-01-13 at 11.08.08 AM

Using this method, ChefJet can print sugar, chocolate, and candy in practically any design imaginable. The larger version, ChefJet Pro, is even equipped with a full palette of food colorings and dyes, which makes it possible to print some incredibly elaborate treats.

Cool? Most definitely. Practical? Not really, and 3D systems knows it. At $5,000 and $10,000 respectively, ChefJet and ChefJet Pro aren’t targeted at regular consumers, but instead geared toward professional confectioners, bakers, pastry chefs, and chocolatiers.

The ChefJet food printers are set to go on sale in the latter part of 2014, so for the time being you’ll just have to stick to dropping those boring, normally-shaped sugar cubes into your coffee.

[image credit: pcpro]

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Smart Home

Bosch shows off security assistant and souped-up food processor at CES

bosch shows security assistant and food processor at ces 2022bosch process or thermostats 2022 spexor

Bosch, a company known for its high-end appliances, unveiled some new innovations at CES. Perhaps the most interesting device is Spexor, the company's mobile security assistant that's on the lookout for just about anything in the home that might cause harm. The product looks like a cross between an early Google Home speaker and a character you might see on Star Wars.
Spexor senses when something's wrong

The Spexor device uses sensors to detect anything from changes in the temperature to indoor/outdoor air quality and even break-ins. The diminutive unit (4.7-inches tall ) does all this without the use of a camera or voice recorder. Spexor uses a combination of noise and motion sensor signals to sense changes in the environment.

Smart Home

Your Whirlpool smart oven can now act as an air fryer, too

The Whirlpool Smart Oven line is getting an air fry mode.

One of the major perks of smart home technology is that you don't necessarily have to buy a new appliance to get new features. Whirlpool made that all the more obvious at CES 2022 today when the company announced a software update coming to the Smart Slide-in Gas and Electric Ranges, as well as the Smart Single, Double, and Combination Wall Ovens through an "instant over-the-air upgrade." Imagine that: A software update that adds the functionality of a completely different appliance to something you already have.

The addition of the air fry functionality isn't all that Whirlpool smart ovens are getting, either. They'll soon be able to connect to the Yummly smart thermometer. This might seem like a minor update, but there's actually a lot of functionality packed into the smart thermometer, too. The thermometer's app has a lot of recipes packed in, and it can start preheating your oven based on which recipe you're using. The thermometer can connect to your smartphone from up to 150 feet away and can guide even the most inexperienced home cook toward a delicious finish. If you're not confident in the kitchen, the main thing to remember is that heat is your best friend and your worst enemy. Too much heat and you burn your dish, but too little and it comes out gross. A smart thermometer can help zero in that Goldilocks temperature.

Smart Home

Instant Pot Pro Plus lets you pressure cook with confidence using a mobile app

instant pot pro plus pressure cooking mobile app lifestyle

With fall in full swing, it's no surprise that slow cookers will be in action to whip up all of your favorite holiday dishes. Instant Pot has announced a new smartphone-friendly model to its well-known pressure cooker lineup. The Instant Pot Pro Plus boasts Wi-Fi connectivity, an app chock-full of recipes, and a few hardware design updates.

The core functions of the 10-in-1 cooker remain the same. You can use it to slow cook, steam veggies, cook rice, sauté meat, make yogurt, use as a sous vide, and even can your own preserves. Rice and soup modes include something called NutriBoost, which uses bursts of steam to mix things up inside and evenly distribute flavor. Apparently, this also increases the nutritional value. Instant Pot says cooking with this can be up to 70% faster compared to the stove, which also saves on power usage.