3D Printed Food That Grows on You

Experiments in 3D-printed food have so far focused on creating things like nutrition bars, but one designer has come up with a way to print food with a decidedly more organic “flavor.” The Edible Growth project involves printing snacks that also contain seeds, spores and yeast that start growing after a few days, sprouting herbs and mushrooms.

This cross between a pastry and a Chia Pet was thought up by food designer Chloe Rutzerveld. The printed snacks include a center made of agar, an edible goo that helps the seeds and spores grow.

According to her website: “Within five days the plants and fungi mature and the yeast ferments the solid inside into a liquid. The product’s intensifying structure, scent and taste are reflected in its changing appearance. Depending on the preferred intensity, the consumer decides when to harvest and enjoy the delicious, fresh and nutrient-rich edible.”

“As it comes out of the 3D printer you can really see the straight lines of the technology,” she said. “But as it develops, you can see organic shapes. You can see the stages of growth and the development of taste and flavor.”

Rutzerveld developed the solution with Eindhoven University of Technology and TNO, a research company, as a way to 3D print fresh and healthy food. It could be another eight to 10 years, by her estimates, before the solution could be commercialized.

 I want to show that high-tech food or lab-produced food does not have to be unhealthy, unnatural, and not tasteful. Edible Growth is an example of high-tech but fully natural, healthy, and sustainable food made possible by combining aspects of  nature, science, technology and design. Edible Growth shows real growth, an intensifying flavor and structure, makes smart use of natural processes like fermentation and photosynthesis and lowers the use of  resources.

Rutzerveld made a film about the process at Dutch Design Week 2014, which you can view below.

Source: Dezeen