The idea of pressing a button for food to magically appear has always been a novelty food enthusiasts such as myself dream about. However rather than a machine doing all the hard work for us, the idea has devolved into one where the push of a button instead puts the task of making a meal into someone else’s hands.
When 2D ink printing started becoming more widespread in the 1950s, the forefathers of the modern day food enthusiast wondered if it was possible to add taste to the prints. After all, if you could print up a picture of a burger, replicating taste should be a no brainer. Alas the forefathers struggled in vain to reproduce the mouthwatering flavours of a simple hamburger despite using sophisticated methods.
Ultimately the project was closed down and food-techies (as we prefer to be called) decided to bed down till technology had caught up with our imagination and more importantly, our palates. However just before the Great Hibernation (not to be confused with the Great Depression) the leader of that food-techies generation printed out a codex using an inkjet printer, using blended food as ink. Said codex is in my position and will go on auction on Weatherby’s if anyone is interested.
Fast forward to the modern day and factual times, a new type of printing is gaining traction and renown. I am of course talking about 3D printing, the technology that brings the z-axis to our x- and y-axis bound prints. The medium of print has also changed, evolving from ink, to laser, to a variety of materials such as metal, plastic, paper, liquids and more, all of which can used to print a 3D object. There’s one more material that can be used in 3D printing and is of vastly more importance: chocolate. Yes, you can print a miniature of the Eiffel Tower entirely made out of chocolate. At thus very moment Oompa Loompas are being given pink slips at Willy Wonka’s factory, their services no longer needed due to them being easily replaced by 3D printers.
As depressed Oompa Loompas troop back to Oompa Loompa land, food-techies are emerging from their catatonic states, no doubt disturbed by the disruption in the force caused by 3D printed food. Sagacious and wise food-techies attempt to discern what lays in the future by looking at the smoke emitting from burning eggs, or by looking at the pattern of porridge in their bowls. The microwave looks on in fear as a contender for the Necessary-Kitchen-Appliance award emerges.
Enter the “Foodini“, a magical 3D printer that replaces the need to acquire decent cooking skills. Now the Foodini isn’t a 3D printer per se; 3D printers generally run on one speed and handle a single material at a time, the Foodini however runs on multiple speeds and can handle many materials or rather in this case, ingredients at a time.
The first version of the Foodini works best for time consuming meals, such as pasta or complex shaped breads and cookies. The base ingredients are placed in the machine and the Foodini goes to work constructing the dish. Unfortunately it can’t yet cook or heat food so retaining and learning some basic cooking skills is still a must, although the company behind the Foodini, Natural Machine’s, intends to implement that in future models. The first iteration of the device however goes on sale mid 2015 at an estimated $1300.
The future is here and it looks effortless, timeless and delicious.
