Develop 3D printable food inks

• Main Author: Ng, Mavis Xin Kai
• Other Authors: Zhang Yi
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2020
• Subjects: Engineering::Manufacturing
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/139047
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

This report records the process of developing two types of food inks – foam and plant-based food inks to transform puree foods for Dysphagia patients into a more appetising form using 3D printing technology. For foam-based food ink, culinary foam is commonly made using an immersion blender or a whipping siphon. For this project, to compare both methods, Soy lecithin and Xanthan Gum is used to create carrot foam using the immersion blender while Gelatine, Agar Agar and Egg Whites are used to create foam using the whipping siphon. The foam is then printed out using the 3D food printer – Foodini, and the results are compared and evaluated qualitatively. For the plant-based food ink, various combination of hydrocolloids and gelling agents are experimented to thicken asparagus puree into printable inks. Using trial and error method, the ratio of the hydrocolloids and gelling agents are adjusted based on the print results. Lastly, a rheology test is done to characterise the plant-based food ink (asparagus) and to relate the rheological properties of the food inks to printing stability and extrusion performance in a quantitative manner.