3D Printed Edible Chicken Is The Grossest Thing You’ll See Today

Yes, you read that correctly, someone actually made 3D printed edible chicken and then laser cooked it. But why would someone do this?

A team of scientists from Columbia University are the brains behind this futuristic meal, as they explore the concept of precision cooking. According to the scientists, the aim of the experiment was to enable “more creative food design”, but we are not convinced that this is the best way to do it. The experiment has yielded some strange results, like which color lasers work best for cooking your chicken, and how lasers alter the flavor of your favorite poultry dishes. If you fancy experimenting with your own 3D printer, be sure to check out our roundup of the best 3D printers.

The team of scientists, who published their findings in NPJ Science of Food (opens in a new tab), used raw chicken puree to 3D print the chicken, then a series of blue and red lasers to precisely cook it. According to the video, the different colored lasers actually caused the chicken to cook in different ways. Blue lasers are better for ‘piercing cooking’, while red lasers are better for browning, well the more you know!

We definitely don’t like to try laser 3D printed chicken, especially when it apparently tastes slightly metallic. We really enjoy the idea that lasers will be able to cook/brown chicken in different patterns, but this feels like a bit of a useless skill (especially from a vegetarian point of view).

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen 3D printed food, in fact, it’s on our list of 12 ways 3D printing changed the world. We also saw KFC 3D print their own chicken, and it was a nightmare.

Surprise, surprise, the internet has a lot to say about this futuristic chicken dish, with users taking to Twitter and Reddit to discuss it. Many users noted the similarity to the Replicator from Star Trek, which could create full meals on demand. But most people were on the same wavelength as us and wondered why anyone would want to eat laser-cooked chicken.

this_3d_printed_chicken_breast_was_cooked_with r/technology

While we hope we don’t have to test this anytime soon, we can appreciate that this is an interesting discovery and that the 3D printed chicken is an innovative idea. If you’re looking for your own 3D printer, be sure to check out today’s best deals below.

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