Scientists at MIT recently announced plans for a 3-dimensional food printer. It works by extruding ingredients through a moveable nozzle that can either be heated or cooled. It’s only a matter of time before we start seeing Michelin-starred chefs loading these things with passion-fruit puree, crab stock, and foie gras. Of course, I’m looking forward to when Paula Dean loads one of these with butter, mayonnaise, and puree of Smithfieldâ„¢ ham. I wouldn’t be surprised to find out the majority of what this thing makes tastes like baby food.

This is hardly the first food printer to hit the market, and is definitely far from the last.

The Cornucopia Printer

Chef Homaro Cantu of moto has been using an inkjet printer, modified with edible paper and ink, to make his menu for years. Olekisy Pikalo invented a machine that prints directly onto latte-foam, and has recieved hundreds of pre-orders for the production model. My personal favorite is the CandyFab 6000, an open-source 3d printer that fabricates elaborate sculptures out of sugar. The grandfather of all food printers, embarrassing at any and all birthday parties and bar/bat-mitzvahs is the cake-printer.