---
title: "New Tech Cooks and 3D Prints Chicken Simultaneously"
description: "Scientists built a machine that simultaneously 3D prints and laser-cooks chicken, hinting at a new way to rapidly procure meals."
date: "2021-09-24"
modified: "2021-09-24"
authors:
  - name: "Dan Robitzski"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/danrobitzski"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/tech-cooks-3d-prints-chicken-simultaneously"
categories:
  - "3D Printing"
  - "Future Materials"
  - "Science & Energy"
tags:
  - "3d printing"
  - "food"
  - "the digest"
---

# New Tech Cooks and 3D Prints Chicken Simultaneously

![Scientists built a machine that simultaneously 3D prints and laser-cooks chicken, hinting at a new way to rapidly procure meals.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/tech-cooks-3d-prints-chicken-simultaneously.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Columbia Engineering\</em\>*

## Prototype Replicator

A team of Columbia University scientists built a sort of robot "chef" that 3D prints chicken breast cutlets — and cooks them with powerful lasers at the same time.

The lasers allowed for incredible cooking and heating precision, [according to research](<https://www.nature.com/articles/s41538-021-00107-1?utm_medium=affiliate&utm_source=commission_junction&utm_campaign=3_nsn6445_deeplink_PID100017430&utm_content=deeplink>) published in the journal *npj Science of Food* earlier this month. The researchers behind the system [told *Ars Technica*](<https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/09/engineers-figured-out-how-to-cook-3d-printed-chicken-with-lasers/>) that they think their work will be a crucial part of [preparing 3D printed meals](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/3d-printing-food-shapes-tricks-people>), which aren't a good fit for conventional cooking methods.

"We noted that, while printers can produce ingredients to a millimeter-precision, there is no heating method with this same degree of resolution," study coauthor and Columbia mechanical engineer Jonathan Blutinger told *Ars*.

## Making Sausage

It's worth noting that the new robotic chef *didn't* solve the problem of [lab-grown food](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/worlds-first-lab-grown-meat-factory>). Unlike other researchers who are trying to create realistic cuts of [entirely-synthesized meats](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/lab-grown-wagyu-steak>), the Columbia scientists simply bought chicken from the store, pureed it, and then loaded it into the 3D printer. Yum!

Still, the end result was a reconstructed chicken cutlet that retained more moisture and shrank less than those cooked by more traditional methods, according to *Ars*. The researchers also learned that different lasers were better for different things: blue lasers were best for cooking the meat internally, while infrared lasers were better at browning the surface — even through a layer of packaging.

"Millimeter-scale precision allows printing and cooking a burger that has a level of done-ness varying from rare to well-done in a lace, checkerboard, gradient, or other custom pattern," the authors wrote in their paper. "Heat from a laser can also cook and brown foods within a sealed package... \[which\] could significantly increase their shelf life by reducing their microbial contamination, and has great commercial applications for packaged to-go meals at the grocery store, for example."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jct3f92rIOE

## Taste Test

In an extremely small trial with two taste-testers, the laser-cooked chicken was the unanimous favorite. That, *Ars* notes, is even despite one taster picking up on a slight metallic taste from the laser.

"Ever go to the dentist and get fillings done?" the tester told the researchers, according to *Ars*. "They have a laser they use to seal the fillings and you get that smell — a little bit of an industry odor, a sharpness that you don't get with normal chicken."

**READ MORE:** [Engineers figured out how to cook 3D-printed chicken with lasers](<https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/09/engineers-figured-out-how-to-cook-3d-printed-chicken-with-lasers/>) \[*Ars Technica*\]

**More on 3D printed food:** *[3D Printing Food in Certain Shapes Tricks People Into Eating Less](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/3d-printing-food-shapes-tricks-people>)*

## Author
Dan Robitzki is a senior reporter for Futurism, where he likes to cover AI, tech ethics, and medicine. He spends his extra time fencing and streaming games from Los Angeles, California.

### Author social links  
[Twitter](<https://x.com/danrobitzski>)