Texture Analysis in Research: 3D Printing in the Bakery Industry

3D printing has made a large impact in many sectors, but its entry into the food industry has not been a simple journey. The first difficulty to overcome is the range of food products that have until now been printable. Additionally, the properties of finished 3D printed products require a large amount of research (texture and rheology as well as colours and general appearance) and development along with the printing conditions to achieve them (such as temperature, speeds and raw materials).

However, the potential benefits of incorporating 3D printing into food manufacture are significant and far outweigh any teething problems.

• Time-saving: labour costs can be saved, as there is no need for manual operation once the print has been launched.
• Food waste reduction: food products can be printed on demand, so perishable products can be manufactured as and when their need arises.
• Personalisation of nutritional content: this allows food to meet dietary requirements, or to be fortified.
• Customisable appearance: intricate, imaginative shapes can be created, giving freedom to chefs and manufacturers. This includes tailoring food to special events, or to incorporate customers’ names or images.

There have been countless publications of research into 3D printing in the bakery and snack industries using Texture Analysers, in both academic and industrial settings. Some examples of the most recent research are outlined below.

A rheological approach to 3D printing of plasma protein based doughs – Scientists from the University of Seville have used their TA.XT2 Texture Analyser to perform Texture Profile Analysis. 

Designing Mechanical Properties of 3D Printed Cookies through Computer Aided Engineering – Researchers from the University of Leuven used their TA.XTplus Texture Analyser to perform compression measurements. Finite element modelling was used to establish the relationship between the Young modulus of 3D printed cookies with a honeycomb structure and their structure parameters. 

Influence of Selected Product and Process Parameters on Microstructure, Rheological, and Textural Properties of 3D Printed Cookies – Scientists from the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur have been using their TA.XT2i Texture Analyser to measure cookie hardness by penetration. The hardness of the baked cookies was influenced by printing temperature, fill density, and water butter ratio of 3D printed cookie dough and their interactions. This study shows the importance of considering the specific ingredient and printing parameters to develop high quality 3D-printed cookies. 

LF-NMR intelligent evaluation of rheology and printability for 3D printing of cookie dough pretreated by microwave – Researchers from Jiangnan University have been investigating low-field nuclear magnetic resonance intelligent evaluation of rheology and printability for 3D printing of cookie dough pretreated by microwave. They used their TA.XT2 Texture Analyser to measure the texture properties of dough. 

Investigation on evaluating the printable height and dimensional stability of food extrusion-based 3D printed foods – Scientists from Jiangnan University used their TA.XT2 Texture Analyser to measure texture characteristics. Results indicated that the zero shear viscosity and Young's modulus of food inks were linearly related to the 3D printable height of samples within a certain range, and storage modulus (G′) was linearly correlated to the shape stability of printed samples. This study would provide some universal applicable information on the relationship between 3D printable height, shape stability, and food ink's material properties. 

Programmable texture properties of cereal-based snack mediated by 3D printing technology – Scientists from the University of Foggia used their TA.XTplus Texture Analyser to measure hardness of the snacks. The hardness of the snacks reduced from 289 N to 84 N following the reduction of the relative density, from 0.569 to 0.401. The results open interesting perspectives of creating novel foods with desired texture addressing specific requirements, or novel sensory/satiety perception. 

Texture Analysis is the first step in the Research and Development of 3D printed bakery and snack products, when texture can be unpredictable and must be measured after each iteration of ingredient or process modifications.

There is a Texture Analysis test for virtually any physical property. Contact Stable Micro Systems today to learn more about our full range of solutions.

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For more information on how to measure texture, please visit the Texture Analysis Properties section on our website.

The TA.XTplus texture analyser is part of a family of texture analysis instruments and equipment from Stable Micro Systems. An extensive portfolio of specialist attachments is available to measure and analyse the textural properties of a huge range of food products. Our technical experts can also custom design instrument fixtures according to individual specifications.

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