2010: the age of digital cooking?

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Molecular gastronomy is not exactly an accepted norm and most are not using liquid nitrogen to whip up Wednesday night family dinners, but the researchers at MIT media lab are working on what Engadget.com, a daily web magazine for consumer electronics, describes as "what very well may be the next major revolution in food preparation."

The concept for Cornucopia introduced by Fluid Interfaces research group is being described as a 3D-printer for food that stores and accurately combines, releases and cooks various layers of ingredients to create "new and unknown" flavors.

The creators describe the potential performance and process of the Cornucopia as a revolutionary new technology that "allows the user to have ultimate control over the origin, quality, nutritional value and taste of every meal" with the ability to create "flavors and textures that would be completely unimaginable through other cooking techniques."

The actual process is designed to begin with a number of canisters that resemble martini-shakers; each can be used to refrigerate and keep ingredients. The selected ingredients are piped into a mixer and distributed to prepare the food for cooking or cooling.

The Cornucopia conjures up what generations expected to find in 2010 - futuristic technology.

Futurismic, a near-future science fiction and fact blog, questions the impracticality of MIT’s thought-experiment and weighs in by asking, "couldn’t you be turning those big brains to developing something we actually need?”.

Looks like digital cooking could be available in the near future - Fluid Interfaces Group has announced that the project is underway.

The probable creation of Cornucopia coupled with Ferran Adria's highly anticipated encyclopedia, after the announcement he would temporarily shut molecular gastronomy restaurant reference el Bulli, is sure to make any aspiring creative cook weak in the knees.

Fluid Interfaces Group:  http://fluid.media.mit.edu/projects.php?action=details&id=79