數字食品的未來

河北 胡金瑩

數字技術在我們的生活中起著越來越重要的作用。 科學家們不僅研制出了3D打印雞肉，還找到了一種特殊的烹制方法，那就是通過激光技術烹制3D打印雞肉。

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1“I am eager to enjoy a 3D-printed roasted chicken. No， wait. It would be better laser-cooked，” could be the kind of order you'll hear in restaurants a few years from now.The Digital Foods team at Columbia University finally found a way to prepare laboratory meat to make it more edible.

2Scientists have experimented with printed food since 2007. However， there was a big problem: they couldn't find a way to cook it， since it doesn't behave the same as traditional food. Until recently， they found that lasers would be the best substitute for pans when it comes to 3D-printed meat. With this， it can have an appearance， taste and texture similar to natural meat foods.

3For this project， scientists first prepared a “chicken meat purée (果泥)” with real ground meat， which was used to model different shapes with a 3D printer. Then， they put the laboratory chicken samples under a laser that sent pulses of light to stir the meat and thus heat it. This cooking process took between 5 and 14 minutes. The results showed that the meat cooked with a laser shrank 50% less and retained twice the moisture， that is， it was juicier. In addition， it released more flavor than those with other methods.

4In the study， researchers say that the secret of the seasoning is to emit laser pulses at different wave amplitudes. For example， a blue laser goes through better to cook the inside of the meat， while the infrared laser works to brown the outside of the piece.After testing 3D laser chicken， researchers say it tastes better than traditional baked meat.

5While digital food seems more like science fiction， preparing food on a 3D printer is now a reality. Today this technology has progressed so much that it is possible to create various ingredients and dishes.

6The developers of this project hope that in the future anyone can have access to a 3D food printer and print any dish they want as if it were a kitchen recipe. One of the main obstacles is that there is no sustainable ecosystem behind it， so they consider a type of “Food CAD”， a piece of software that is a combination of AutoCAD and Photoshop， as well as a kind of digital cookbook for this new future kitchen should be developed.

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1. Until recently， they found that lasers would be the best substitute for pans when it comes to 3D-printed meat. 直到最近，當談及3D打印肉類時，他們發現激光是平底鍋的最佳替代品。

【點石成金】本句中，when it comes to...為固定句型，意為“當談及……時”。

2. For example， a blue laser goes through better to cook the inside of the meat，while the infrared laser works to brown the outside of the piece. 例如，藍色激光能更好地穿透肉的內部，而紅外激光則能使肉的外部變成褐色。

【點石成金】本句中，while表示對比，意為“然而”。