Post published 4/13/2015 in 3duniverse.
How 3D printing freed the slave in my kitchen
I’m a foodie, and I love to cook. Naturally all the buzz about 3D printed food stimulated my curiosity. I have discovered very interesting possibilities and wonderfully useful applications . . . but probably not yet for my kitchen. Does that mean there’s no place for 3D printing in my kitchen today? Not at all!
I use a lot of lemons in my cooking. Awhile back I was chatting with a next door neighbor, complaining about the shape, cumbersomeness and relative ineffectiveness of lemon juicers currently on the market. Short of getting a professional juicer like I used to have in my cafe, there isn’t much I like.
Did I mention that my next door neighbor owns a 3D printer? The next morning I received a beautiful 3D printed lemon juicer. It was love at first sight. I knew immediately it would be the BEST lemon juicer I have ever had. One minute later, my neighbor had fresh lemonade!
Having a 3D printed lemon juicer in my kitchen may seem like a small thing, but like I said, I squeeze a lot of lemons when I cook. And now I’m free from a little bit of kitchen drudgery! Not only that – I can make lemonade in a heartbeat.
The Real Lemonade Revolution: brought to you by 3D printing
A few years ago I offered a glass of freshly squeezed lemonade to a 20+ employee. She took a sip and had a stunned look on her face. “Amazing,” she said. Noting her ecstasy over the drink, I wondered if it was possible she had never had real lemonade before? Sure enough, prior to this moment lemonade for her was something made with water and canned powder. She had no idea you could just make lemonade from . . . well, real lemons.
Have you ever compared the ingredient list on a lemon with the ingredient list on one of those cans of lemonade mix? Here is a typical powdered lemonade mix ingredient list: Sugar, Fructose, Citric Acid, Less Than 2% Of Natural Flavor, Ascorbic Acid, Maltodextrin, Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate, Sodium Citrate, Magnesium Oxide, Calcium Fumarate, Artificial Color, Yellow 5 Lake, Tocopherol.
Compare that list to: Lemon. No wonder my employee was so amazed with that glass of fresh lemonade I handed her.
Now you, too, can make fresh lemonade faster than you can open that can of powdered mix, just in time for summer – with a 3D printed juicer. I’m going to have one made for everyone I know this year.
Three more MUST-HAVE 3D Printed Kitchen Tools & lots more
I love my 3D printed juicer so much. It started me wondering, what other ways could 3D printing transform my life in the kitchen? Here are a few things I found that I want to try.
- 3D Printed Cheese Press: This one is a MUST HAVE for me. I just started making my own vegan cheese. This will be the perfect aid! On Thingiverse.
- Kitchen Compost Shredder. Another MUST HAVE. On 3dsoup.com.
- 3D Printed Finger Guard (for chopping). OK, sadly this is another MUST HAVE for me. As much as I cook, you’d think I’d learn to avoid my fingers. On Thingiverse.
- Micro Block All-in-One. I had no idea I needed this until I saw it. From 3D Printed Kitchen.
- A Ravioli Maker. You guessed it. Available on Thingiverse.
- Cookie Cutters. Available on Thingiverse in a customizable format as well for creative people and kids.
- Mortar & Pestle. From My Mini Factory.
- Taco Holder. Listed on Etsy.
- A Bunch of Useful Tools. You’ll find these all on Thingiverse:
- customizable measuring cups and spoons
- garlic press
- fruit and vegetable cutter
- orange peeler
- banana slicer
- kitchen utensils
- kitchen tool holders
- spice rack
For now, I’m going to go enjoy a tall glass of fresh, 3D printed juicer lemonade and figure out how I’m going to hit up my favorite 3D printer owning neighbor for a Cheese Press.
The “Juicy Juicer” featured in this article can be found on Thingiverse, here. Model credit: Procrastinator.
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