A novel 3D food printing technique: achieving tunable porosity and fracture properties via liquid rope coiling

TL;DR

This paper introduces a new 3D food printing technique using liquid rope coiling to create structures with adjustable porosity and fracture properties, enabling customized textures and sensory experiences.

Contribution

It presents a novel 3D food printing method leveraging liquid rope coiling to produce coiled structures with tunable porosity and fracture characteristics.

Findings

Optimal printing parameters for pea, carrot, and cookie dough inks identified.

Coiled structures show a direct correlation between porosity and textural properties.

The method enables rapid fabrication of complex, textured food structures.

Abstract

We present a 3D food printing (3DFP) method to create coiled structures, harnessing the liquid rope coiling effect as a rapid method of food printing with tunable fractural properties. By studying the printability and coil-forming ability of pea, carrot, and cookie dough inks, we identified optimal printing parameters to induce steady and controlled coiling, enabling the creation of coiled structures with tunable porosities using a single nozzle. Fracture profiles from post-processed coiled structures showed complex responses but presented direct correlations between the porosity and textural parameters, including hardness, brittleness, and initial stiffness. This study provides a foundation for the fabrication of coiled food structures using 3DFP and highlights its potential application in designing textural properties and a range of unique sensory experiences.