Anything made of plastic or metal can be 3Dprinted nowadays—bicycles, toys, tools...even replacement body parts! But the latest trend in 3Dprinting may be food. Scientists and chefs are putting their heads together to create printed food.
Several 3Dprinters designed for food are now on the market. Anything that can be made into a soft wet mixture can be squeezed (挤压) from a tube in a 3Dprinter. Instead of ink, these printers can use fruit, vegetables, proteins, sweets, and more. This makes for lots of combinations that can be healthy, yummy, and even artistic.
Most 3Dprinters don't actually cook the food, at least not yet. Engineers at Columbia University's Creative Machines Lab invented an oven (烤箱) that cooks 3Dprinted pizza with laser beams (激光束). A special computer program controls the lasers, heating each part of the pizza to perfection. Unlike regular ovens, lasers can carefully cook each thin piece of 3Dprinted food.
In the future, food can be made with a 3Dprinter to meet our needs. For example, a hospital could design meals to meet patients' dietary needs. Vitamins, minerals, and even medicines can be mixed right in. A 3Dprinter can make food appealing. Foods that someone may not like might be more attractive after 3Dprinting. Maybe that food you dislike wouldn't seem so bad if it looked like a castle!
The idea of 3Dprinted food may seem very modern. In fact, NASA (美国国家航空航天局) has been researching the topic for more than ten years. On a long travel, it's important to have food that is easy to make and tastes good, and has the nutrients astronauts need to stay healthy. Printing food on demand may soon be into the space!
