Opinion Express View on 3D-printed dessert: Where’s the joy?

Considering the current developments in food technology, one might wonder why science fiction writers ever imagined that, in the future, we would all be eating food in the form of pills or chugging bottles of colourless liquid containing all the nutrients a human could need. The appeal of food that looks like food is far from disappearing. Even using the latest technology, scientists try to recreate familiar flavours, textures and shapes. Just look at the team of engineers at Columbia University that put cartridges filled with biscuit paste, peanut butter, strawberry jam, Nutella, banana puree, cherry drizzle and frosting into a 3D printer to produce a cheesecake.

The team which printed the cheesecake believes that this is the future of kitchens, that any ingredient which can be turned into powder or paste, can be used to make food just by pushing a few buttons. Reportedly, this has already been done with chicken, beef, vegetables and cheese. But while one might be prepared to admit that 3D printing may show promise in situations where a great quantity of food needs to be produced — in a biscuit or baked goods factory, for example — its application in the home and restaurant kitchen is questionable.

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Because cooking is not merely a chore that needs to get done — it is often a solace and an art. For many, chopping vegetables, stirring soup, pan-frying fish are expressions of creativity or tasks whose mundaneness offers a comforting anchor during stressful times. In such situations, food transcends its obvious utility to become something more. A 3D printed paratha might, some day, taste like what you make today with a skillet on a stove — but it’s unlikely to ever be the meditative and creative process that so many people enjoy.