{"id":13890,"date":"2019-05-24T00:01:08","date_gmt":"2019-05-24T00:01:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/?p=13890"},"modified":"2019-05-24T07:50:14","modified_gmt":"2019-05-24T07:50:14","slug":"digital-gastronomy-240520194","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/digital-gastronomy-240520194\/","title":{"rendered":"Digital Gastronomy, infusing traditional cooking with 3D printing technologies"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Digital Gastronomy is a culinary vision that seeks to offer hybrid solutions. They are hybrid in that they combine traditional cooking with new computational abilities. Researcher Amit Zoran, part of the Digital Gastronomy project, told us how his research in the Hybrid Lab at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem focuses on deploying digital fabrication instruments in traditional kitchens to create these hybrid recipes. We had the opportunity to ask him a few questions to learn more about his vision and how & where he sees this technology being adopted.<\/p>\n

3DN: Could you present yourself and your link with 3D printing?\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\"DigitalI am a Senior Lecturer at the School of Engineering and Computer Science at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI), and I run the Hybrid Lab<\/a> at HUJI, where we (my students and I) focus on\u00a0digital<\/span>\u00a0design, craft and fabrication, and human-computer interaction (HCI) research. I hold a Ph.D. and a M.S. in Media Arts and Science from the MIT Media Lab, a M.Des. in product design from Bezalel, and a B.Sc. in Communication System Engineering from Ben-Gurion University, Israel.<\/div>\n
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In my lab we study the design and implementation of hybrid solutions, merging contemporary (and\u00a0digital<\/span>) design and fabrication capabilities within traditional disciplines. We also learn the ethnographic aspect of making and creativity, investigating how traditional craft\u00a0practice\u00a0can contribute to new design and fabrication research to empower today\u2019s creative practices. The lab is facilitated with\u00a0digital<\/span>\u00a0design and fabrication tools and materials, craft studio, tracking devices, and an electronic prototyping workshop. Hence, 3D printing and\u00a0digital<\/span>\u00a0fabrication, in general, are central technologies in my research.<\/div>\n

3DN: How did your culinary vision of merging\u00a0digital<\/span>\u00a0fabrication instruments and traditional cooking come about?\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n
Global food systems face serious challenges considering the need to feed the growing population in unstable environmental conditions, and this is one of the biggest challenges humanity faces today. Hence, many people, including myself believe that these food systems will need to rely on computers for efficiency, control, optimisation, minimisation of waste<\/a>, and tailoring personal diets. Working in the field of hybrid craft (merging\u00a0digital<\/span>\u00a0& traditional making practices) I was always attracted to cooking, as a unique form of craft, hence it makes sense for me to shift my interest to this fascinating field of\u00a0Digital<\/span>\u00a0Gastronomy<\/span>, where we ask how a chef can enjoy the creative potential\u00a0digital<\/span>\u00a0technologies can bring to traditional cooking.<\/div>\n
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Photo Credits: Ariel Bezaleli Mizrahi, Alexander (Zoonder) Lachnish and Sivan Moloko Roshianu<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

3DN: What are you able to do with\u00a0digital<\/span>\u00a0fabrication in the kitchen?<\/h3>\n
Currently, we focus on a specific contribution: developing tools (software and hardware) and recipes that demonstrate the creative contribution of computers to cooking, i.e. giving cooks the capabilities to control flavour in a discrete, local, precise way, in a similar way to what CGI and image processing introduced to traditional photography when we moved from analog medium to\u00a0digital<\/span>\u00a0one with\u00a0digital<\/span>\u00a0cameras, pixels, and editing software.<\/div>\n

3DN: Can you tell us more about the technology and software you use?\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n
In the beginning, we worked with a modified version of a Printrbot 3D printer using a paste extruder, while now we use a Universal robot-arm and an extruder we developed that includes a changeable nozzle diameter. In addition to 3D printing, we work with a laser cutting machine for laser-induced heating, CNC<\/a> milling, and a custom design “programmable” mould which allows us to change the casting mould shape (mostly for desserts). In addition, we develop control software and a special GUI to allow chefs to\u00a0digitally<\/span>\u00a0generate the shape of 3D printed noodles.<\/div>\n
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Photo Credits:\u00a0Ariel Bezaleli Mizrahi, Alexander (Zoonder) Lachnish and Sivan Moloko Roshianu<\/p><\/div>

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3DN: Where do you think this technology would likely be integrated ?<\/h3>\n
First, we envision this technology will penetrate elite cuisine and special restaurants, but we aim for broader integration of\u00a0digital<\/span>\u00a0gastronomy<\/span>\u00a0in domestic kitchens to come later.<\/div>\n

3DN: What are the biggest challenges of trying to integrate\u00a0digital<\/span>\u00a0fabrication instruments in cooking?\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n
There are several challenges: firstly, we don’t have enough\u00a0digital<\/span>\u00a0cooking tools that are flexible, reliable and fast. Secondly, cost (robot arms are expensive!). Also, software tools – considering current CAD<\/a> (computer-aided design) tools, they are not sufficient for cooking, and there is a big challenge there. Finally,\u00a0gastronomy<\/span>\u00a0culture – if we don’t develop meaningful methods, recipes, and dishes, no one will ever use this.<\/div>\n
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Photo Credits: Ariel Bezaleli Mizrahi, Alexander (Zoonder) Lachnish and Sivan Moloko Roshianu<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

3DN: Where is your research headed now?\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n
Hopefully, for broader exposure and than a\u00a0digital<\/span>\u00a0gastronomy<\/span>\u00a0cooking book \ud83d\ude42<\/div>\n

3DN: Any last words for our readers?\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n
Bon-appetit!\u00a0<\/em><\/div>\n