As 3D printing technology improves, people keep finding new uses for it. And the latest is pretty sweet: cheesecake. Researchers with the department of mechanical engineering at Columbia University created a seven-ingredient slice of cake using a 3D printer, and they say printing foods could be a new cooking option with several benefits.
Such printers have been used to make organs before, and similar technologies already exist in the food space 一like pizza and bread robots, pasta printers and automatic cake decorators, the researchers say in the study, published in the NPJ Science and Food journal.
The researchers defined printed food as“the controlled deposition(沉淀), of an ingredient; as such, any ingredient that was pushed into paste(酱),” and they say many existing processed foods can be considered “printed” by this definition. So, in order to make the 3D-printed peanut butter -banana cheesecake with a cherry coat, all the ingredients had to be converted into paste-like substances. All seven ingredients were put in to the 3D printer and then printed out in layers into the shape of a piece of cheesecake.
The researchers say 3D printing food could allow cooks to control the nutrient content in a meal and also offer the ability to make more customized meals. It also reduces human contact with food, which could prevent the spread of food-borne illnesses and diseases.
They also see sustainability benefits to printing food, because ingredients can be locally sourced, plant-based meals can be created and the shelf life of the foods could be extended.
Printing food could also help people with swallowing and other digestive disorders,by providing new food options, rather than the bland foods they may be restricted to.
While some processed foods could have better taste, texture, cleanliness and shelf lives, processing foods can also degrade their nutrients. However, the researchers hope developing the 3D printing technology can help prevent nutrient degradation while processing foods.
【小题1】What does the author intend to tell us in paragraph 2?| A．Printing food is not as strange as it sounds. |
| B．Such printers were only used in medical before. |
| C．Printing pizza is similar to printing bread robots. |
| D．This technology gets the approval of many scientists. |
| A．By squeezing them into paste. |
| B．By cutting them into pieces. |
| C．By shaping them into layers. |
| D．By putting them into different printers. |
| A．Increasing human contact with food. |
| B．Making meals become more nutritious. |
| C．Promoting the spread of food-borne diseases. |
| D．Treating the disorders associated with food. |
| A．A diet dairy. | B．A cookbook. | C．A medical magazine. | D．A science journal. |
