Table 1.
Printable food materials.
| Entry | Material | Printing Method | Printer | Year [Ref] | Comments-Major Finding |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mixed hydrocolloid systems (Xanthan gum and gelatin) and flavourings | Extrusion (cold) | Fab@Home printer | 2009 [79] | They have shown that it is possible to create an extensive range of textures and tastes by mixing two hydrocolloids and flavour additives. However, such controlled food is typically reserved for medical and space applications. |
| 2 | Milk chocolate | Extrusion (hot melt) | Custom designed in the house extrusion system | 2010 [105] | The key parameters for chocolate 3D printing have been identified (the nozzle aperture diameter, the optimum nozzle height from the build bed, the extrusion, and the axis movement speed). However, they have used a screw-driven extrusion system, which is less common these days in 3D printing. |
| 3 | Modified turkey, scallop, celery using transglutaminase, a modified traditional cookie | Extrusion (cold) | Fab@Home printer | 2010 [81] | To integrate 3D food printing into conventional kitchens, the printed object needs to retain its shape during post-printing processes such as cooking and frying. There are two critical methods for solving the shape stability problem: additives and recipe control. Here, for the cookie, the concentration of ingredients have been changed systematically to identify a processable and printable formulation. However, the content of some components has been increased up to 100% when compared to the traditional recipe. On the other hand, by adding transglutaminase to the meat puree right before printing, cross-links the proteins present in the meat and gives rise to a self-supporting structure. |
| 4 | Mashed potato, chocolate, and cream cheese | Extrusion (cold and hot melt) | RapMan 3.1 | 2011 [106] | Testing and comparing three methods (moulding, extrusion, and binder jetting) using a range of foodstuffs and edible products. The authors have pointed out an advantage of 3D printing to moulding that has rarely been addressed. Weak food structures cannot successfully be taken out of the mould. |
| 5 | Combinations of caster, icing, and silk sugars as well as blends with maltodextrin | Binder jetting | CandyFab | 2011 [106] | |
| 6 | Insect flour made more acceptable through combination with other foods including icing butter, chocolate, cream cheese, and spices | Extrusion | 2014 [82] | Health and preference are two main reasons to adopt customized food [107]. Considering the high nutritional value of edible insects [108], the authors have 3D printed visually appealing food to enhance the “preference” of a diet that may have beneficial effects on human “health.” | |
| 7 | Mint syrup, wax, Linseed oil, carrageenan shell | Inkjet | TNO’s encapsulation printer | 2015 [84,85] | Final products are: mint syrup core capsule with a wax shell (200 µm) and linseed oil capsule with a carrageenan shell (280 µm) Because of the use of Inkjet technology, the produced droplets are highly monodispersed. With a capacity of 100 L/h, this method of droplet generation can compete for the microfluidic-based methods easily. |
| 8 | Edible ink (made up of water, ethanol, glycol, and/or glycerol as solvents and an edible colourant.) | Inkjet | Various | 2016 [109] | Inkjet printing is predominantly used for 2D graphical decorating, surface filling, or cavity depositing. It may be more appropriate to classify this as a 2D printing technique rather than a truly free form method of creating 3D edible objects. |
| 9 | Wheat dough | Extrusion (cold) | 3D Printer mod. Delta 2040 (Wasp project, Italy) equipped with the Clay extruder kit 2.00 (Wasproject, Italy) | 2016 [2] | Post-printing: Cooking The effects of layer height and infill on the printing quality of cereal-based snacks with a cylinder-like shape, before and after cooking, has been studied. Many of the 3D printers, which are used in 3D food printing research studies, are exclusively optimized for synthetic materials (such as PLA). Therefore, they might be unable to keep a good equilibrium between different printing parameters when the original ink is replaced with another material with different rheological properties. |
| 10 | Pavlova (mainly egg white) with chocolate garnish | Extrusion (cold) | EnvisionTEC GmbH Bioplotter | 2017 [110] | Post-printing: Baking The authors have briefly raised the effect of the printing bed surface on the quality of 3D printing. This subject has rarely been addressed or systematically studied in 3D food printing. |
| 11 | A formulation of low methoxylated pectin, CaCl2, bovine serum albumin (BSA), edible colourant, and sugar syrup | FDM (cold) | Custom designed in the house extrusion system | 2017 [87] | Post-treatment to solidify the pectin into a gel with Ca2+ ions. Pectin and sugar concentrations affect the build quality of the printed objects by changing the viscosity of the food-ink and improving the mechanical properties. At the same time, BSA stabilises and increases the porosity of the gel. |
| 12 | Dark chocolate with the addition of magnesium stearate | Extrusion (hot melt) | PORIMY 3D chocolate printer, China | 2017 [111] | Magnesium stearate plays the role of flow enhancer by minimising the slippage in the extruder [112] during deposition, and, thus, better ‘printability’. Moreover, it changes the snap properties of the final product. |
| 13 | Dark cooking chocolate | Extrusion (hot melt) | Custom designed syringe-based extrusion | 2017 [113] | Chocolate is one of the most commonly used material in 3D food printing due to its capacity to be printed via various methods and popularity in the high-end food market. In hot melt extrusion printing of chocolate, the crucial factors are particle size, degree of crystallinity, melting behaviour, and material composition. The optimum temperature for forming the most stable crystalline chocolate melt is 32 °C. |
| 14 | A formulation of low methoxylated pectin, CaCl2·2H2O, and red food colourant E122 | FDM (cold) | Custom designed in house extrusion system equipped with a coaxial extrusion printhead) | 2018 [86] | Creating a co-axial extrusion printhead has been used to deposit a pectin-based ink, and CaCl2 cross-linking solution in the inner and outer flows, respectively. Therefore, the initial incubation or post-treatment step has been eliminated. This is allowing more accurate control of object gelation and texture. |
| 15 | Vegemite and Marmite | Extrusion (cold) | the BioBot printer | 2018 [114] | This work, as well as Reference [82], are indicative of the application of 3D food printing as an educational tool during outreach activities. These works are stressing on the entertaining and indulgence aspect of 3D food printing to create fun designs suitable for celebratory events such as birthday parties. The flow consistency index and the flow behaviour exponent have been indicated as the critical parameters in determining whether a material is ideal for 3D printing or not. To date, the rheological property or properties and their quantitative limits that dictate 3D printability have not been univocally identified [73]. |
| 16 | Dough with varying quantities of water, sucrose, butter, flour, and eggs | Extrusion (cold) | PORIMY Co. Ltd., China | 2018 [92] | The authors have reported that the dough formulation affects its viscoelastic properties and, thus, its printability. However, the conclusion is not surprising. There is a strong link between the additives and the rheological properties of dough (and gluten) [115]. |
| 17 | Mashed potato | Extrusion (cold) | Shiyin Co. Ltd., China | 2018 [96] | These studies give an insight into the following:
|
| 18 | Mashed potato modified by the addition of potato starch | Extrusion (cold) | FSE2, Bolimai Co. Ltd., China | 2018 [91] | |
| 19 | Mashed potato mixed with gums of xanthan, guar, k-carrageenan, and a k-carrageenan- xanthan gum blend | Extrusion (cold) | CSE 1, Bolimai Co. Ltd., China | 2018 [116] | |
| 20 | Mashed potato/strawberry juice | Dual extrusion (cold) | Shiyin Co. Ltd., Hangzhou, China | 2018 [117] | |
| 21 | Processed cheese | Extrusion (hot melt) | Custom designed syringe-based extrusion | 2018 [89] | This is the first report on 3D printed cheese and investigating the effect of several variables on its main textural and melting properties. The authors have concluded that 3D printing substantially affected the properties of cheese, especially being less hard and easier melt, which is due to the different fat particle size distribution. They have not started with fresh milk as raw material and, therefore, consider a full phase transition from sol (milk) to gel (cheese). They have not analyzed the reproducibility of the 3D printing of their samples. They have also observed a colour change in the samples extruded at different speeds. The effect of 3D printing on the final colour of samples is debatable and needs to be studied among different consumer preferences. |
| 22 | Starch, milk powder, cellulose nanofiber, rye bran, oat protein concentrate, and broad bean protein concentrate and their mixtures | Extrusion (cold) | VTT’s micron-scale dispensing environment based | 2018 [93] | Post-printing: oven drying or freeze-drying It was found that the cellulose nanofiber (CNF) improves the shape stability of the printed structures (maybe due to its shear-induced alignment properties) and decreases the hardness of the dried objects. However, as the authors have also reported, formulations with a high amount of CNF, clog the nozzle, which might be caused by some larger fibre particles remaining in the CNF after fibrillation, or the shear-induced flocculation of the material when forced through the small tip of the nozzle [58]. |
| 23 | Blend of orange concentrate with added vitamin D, wheat starch, and hydrocolloid/s (gum arabic, guar gum, k-carrageenan gum, and xanthan gum) | Extrusion (cold) | SHINNOVE-D1, Shinnove Co. Ltd., China | 2018 [67] | Starch is an excellent binder and widely used as a thickening agent in the food industry. The best printability and mechanical strength have been obtained at the presence of κ-carrageenan. It might be because of the binding of carrageenan to the double helix structure of amylose/amylose in starch [118]. |
| 24 | A mix of hydrocolloids and three types of powdered vegetables: broccoli, spinach leaves, and carrots | Extrusion (cold) | A YL-CUBE 3D food printer (YOLILO Co., Ltd., Korea) | 2018 [119] | Xanthan gum with its high hydration ability can stop the expansion of the vegetable powder particles so that the rheological value of the gel system before and after the powder addition does not change significantly, and the difference of printability between different vegetable powders is reduced. |
| 25 | Amorphous powdered cellulose and a binder based on xanthan gum | Binder jetting | Dimatix DMP-2831 inkjet printer (FujiFilm, USA) | 2018 [120] | Because of very limited feedstock, in the food sector, binder jetting has been used more for entertaining and as a hobby. It is one of the few research reports on the application of binder jetting in the food sector where xanthan gum has been used as a glue to “clump” the amorphous cellulose. The aqueous ink and enough heating, recrystallize (in a semi-crystalline form) the amorphous cellulose in the printed piece but the surrounding powder remains unbound and still amorphous. |
| 26 | Pectin combined with a food formula (banana, white canned beans, dried non-fat milk, lemon juice, dried mushrooms (B. Edulis), ascorbic acid. | Extrusion (cold) | 3D Printer mod. Delta 2040 (Wasp project, Italy) equipped with the Clay extruder kit 2.00 (Wasproject, Italy). | 2018 [121] | This work is studying the implementation of 3D printing technology to provide innovative 3D snacks based on fruits by targeting a customized food formula for children from 3 to 10 years old. It is an example of the application of 3D food printing to overcome the malnutrition by getting people to snack five fruits/vegetables a day. Lemon juice and ascorbic acid, have been used to avoid the enzymatic browning of a printable food formula consisting mainly of banana. |
| 27 | Wheat flour dough with additive (calcium caseinate) containing probiotic | Extrusion (cold) | ByFlow, the Netherlands | 2018 [122] | Post-printing: oven baking This report, as well as its similar report in Reference [123], are excellent examples of the application of 3D food printing in resolving malnutrition. The survival of a microorganism in baked food is low because of the high baking temperature. Usually, the rate of drying of the products is increased to shorten the baking time. Therefore, the product should have a high surface to volume ratio, which is very common in 3D printed samples. |
| 28 | Lemon juice gel with a range of potato starch concentrations | Extrusion (cold) | Custom designed in house extrusion system | 2018 [124] | Proposing a mathematical formula for extrusion rate |
| 29 | Wheat dough enriched with ground yellow mealworms larvae (Tenebrio Molitor, an edible insect) | Extrusion (cold) | 3D Printer mod. Delta 2040 (Wasp project, Italy) equipped with the Clay extruder kit 2.00 (Wasproject, Italy). | 2018 [83] | Post-printing: oven baking See entry 6 |
| 30 | Liquid chocolate | Inkjet | Custom designed in house electrostatic inkjet system | 2018 [125] | The authors have used the electro-spraying technology (referred to as electrostatic inkjet method), which utilises electrostatic force to print gel-like materials, with a high-precision. |
| 31 | Combination of three different starches (potato, rice, and corn starch) | Extrusion (hot melt) | HE-3D printer SHINNOVE S2, China | 2019 [126] | The extrusion process breaks the crystallinity and structure of the starch molecule. The disruption of the crystalline structure breaks the intermolecular hydrogen bonds during the gelatinization process. This is one of the parameters that leads to a formation of continuous starch paste matrix of entangled amylose molecules with suitable viscoelastic property and shear-thinning behavior [127]. |
| 32 | Epoxidised vegetable oils | SLA | Custom designed in house apparatus | 2019 [128] | This is where 3D food printing can help decrease the food waste. It is possible to transform the used cooking oil from McDonald’s into 3D printing resin [129]. |
| 33 | The mixtures of soy protein isolate, gelatin, and sodium alginate | Extrusion (hot melt) | Custom designed syringe-based extrusion | 2019 [7] | Soy protein isolate gel has a very high viscosity. Its rheological properties are not suitable for 3D printing. Similar to entry 19, hydrocolloids have been used for further tuning the viscoelastic properties. |
| 34 | A paste made out of brown rice and food additives (guar gum and xanthan gum) | Extrusion (cold) | Shiyin Co. Ltd., China | 2019 [130] | See entry 19 |
| 35 | A paste of beef gelatin, sucrose, egg white protein powder, and starch from corn | Extrusion (hot melt) | PORIMY3D Printing Technology Co., Ltd., China | 2019 [131] | Studying tribological properties results in an improved understanding of rheological properties, therefore, in optimizing printing formulations. |
| 36 | Heat-induced egg yolk paste | Extrusion (cold) | SHINNOVE-E1, SHIYIN Technologies Co. Ltd., Hangzhou, China | 2019 [132] | This is another method for using 3D printing in developing protein resources. Heating egg yolk leads to a three-dimensional protein network with a hard, cohesive, rubbery texture. |
| 37 | Cake icing, Hershey’s cocoa powder, Hershey’s chocolate syrup, and Nutella hazelnut chocolate spread | Extrusion (cold) | SHOTmini 200 Sx and IMAGE MASTER 350 PC Smart, Musashi Engineering Inc., Japan | 2019 [133] | This approach bypassed a significant requirement of temperature control to perform 3D printing of chocolates by hot-melt extrusion. The presented technology offers an easy route to fabricate 3D structures of chocolate-based inks with liquid fillings using multiple dispensers. |
| 38 | Anthocyanin-potato starch gel Lemon juice-potato starch gel |
Extrusion (cold) | SHINNOVE-D1, Shinnove Co. Ltd., Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China | 2019 [134] | This is an example of moving from 3D food printing to 4D food printing. 4D printing refers to the response of a 3D printed object to stimuli from the environment, which results in physical or chemical changes in state over time. In this case, the color of the 3D printed samples is changing over time. It can be applied to prepare more visually appealing food products. |
| 39 | Sesame paste, chicken paste, and shrimp paste | Extrusion | Custom designed syringe-based extrusion | 2019 [88] | Integrating an infrared lamp heating mechanism into the printer allows extruding and cooking food products simultaneously with high precision. |
| 40 | Potato starch | Extrusion (hot) | SHINNOVE-S2 printer Shiyin, China | 2019 [135] | Similar to entries 18–20 |
| 41 | Dark chocolate | Extrusion (hot) | Shinnove 3D printer (model no. Shinnove-D1, Shiyin Co. Ltd., Hangzhou, China) | 2019 [98] | 3D printed chocolates were fabricated by varying the infill structures (infill patterns and percentages) for textural and sensorial evaluations. A comparison of a cast chocolate sample with a 100% infill printed chocolate sample showed an equal preference for both samples, which are partly influenced by their perceived texture. |
| 42 | Egg yolk and egg white with blends of rice flour | Extrusion (cold) | Delta type 3D food printer CARK - Controlled Additive-manufacturing Robotic Kit | 2020 [136] | Rice flour (1:1 and 1:2 w/w) plays the role of a filler agent and, therefore, has a significant effect on the improvement of stability and strength of printed materials with egg yolk and egg white. |
| 43 | A mixture of 50% native wheat starch, 40% maltodextrin, and 10% palm oil powder | SLS | EOS P380 machine | 2020 [137] | Maltodextrin and palm oil play the role of the binder. It was obtaining a constitutive model that describes the large-strain material behaviour of 3D printed starch-based foods based on careful experimental research. |
| 44 | Two types of dark chocolates, Magnesium stearate, or plant sterol | Extrusion (hot melt) | PORIMY 1.0 (PORIMY, Kunshan, China) | 2020 [97] | The star and honeycomb infill pattern produced the most stable and tough structure at 60% infill. |
There exist three types of extrusion printing: screw-based extrusion, air pressure driven extrusion, and syringe-based extrusion [7,35,56,114,138,139]. In this table, screw-based extrusion in which the material is fed to the machine through a hopper, is called an extrusion system. FDM, Fused deposition modelling. SLA, stereolithography. SLS, selective laser sintering. FDM is the extrusion system where the feed is entering the nozzle via a tube, and a syringe pump drives it. Hot-melt extrusion is when the feed enters the extrusion in a temperature higher than the ambient temperature against cold extrusion where the feed is at an ambient temperature.