Over the last few decades, a new wave of science has been infused into the world of food in the form of molecular gastronomy. By definition, food preparation and cooking involve physical and chemical changes, and molecular gastronomy simply uses scientific principles to take food in new technical and even artistic directions.

It’s also a great excuse to have some fun with liquid nitrogen.

Back in 2013, another big step in food science came with a successful crowdfunding campaign to make a true functional food replacement containing all the necessary nutrients to sustain life. With a clever name that provoked everyone to read the ingredient list twice for anything resembling people, Soylent tastes like pancake batter but doesn’t make good pancakes.

Today, all signs point to 3D printed food as the next big advance (sorry, synthetic meat…you’re still not ready for the limelight). Soylent may have stripped down sustenance to its bare essentials, but 3D printing will bring both function and design of food to the plate. And thanks to Professor Hod Lipson, who we recently heard speak on the biggest trends in robotics, the era of digital food is closer than ever.

The team built a prototype food printer able to 3D print food in various designs and hope to provide the ability to cook food by year’s end.

This food printer may not end up on your counter next to your Keurig machine, but the next generation of cutting-edge chefs are anxious to see what it can squeeze out for dinner.

Source: Science Daily

Credit image: Columbia University/YouTube