Formula of 3D printing tenebrio molitor-pork combined food and preparation method of 3D printing tenebrio molitor-pork combined food
By using a specific ratio of mealworms to pork and adding auxiliary materials, the problems of poor printability and strong fishy smell of mealworms were solved, enabling the smooth extrusion and good support of 3D printed mealworm food, thus improving printing accuracy and taste.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202410800449.X
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Applications(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2024-06-20
- Publication Date
- 2025-12-23
AI Technical Summary
In existing technologies, mealworms have poor 3D printability and a strong fishy smell, making it difficult to combine them with pork for effective printing, which affects the printing quality and taste of food.
Using mealworms and pork as raw materials, a cylindrical model was designed for 3D printing by mixing them in a specific ratio and adding auxiliary materials such as salt, thirteen-spice powder, potato starch and carrageenan. The printing parameters were adjusted to ensure smooth extrusion and good support.
Successful extrusion and good support of the mealworm-pork mixture were achieved, improving printing accuracy and texture, and demonstrating the feasibility and nutritional value of 3D-printed mealworm food products.
Smart Images
Figure CN121176589A_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This invention belongs to the field of innovative food processing technology, specifically relating to a formula and preparation method for a 3D-printed mealworm-pork composite food. Background Technology
[0002] With the rapid growth of the world's population, the demand for animal-based foods will expand rapidly in the foreseeable future. Animal-based foods, as important sources of protein and B vitamins, play an irreplaceable role in the human diet. However, animal husbandry requires a large amount of feed, and blindly expanding the scale of animal farming will significantly accelerate the arrival of global food shortages. Secondly, animal husbandry releases large amounts of greenhouse gases, and large-scale farming will significantly exacerbate global warming, thereby damaging the human living environment. Furthermore, the consumption of some animal-based foods is influenced by factors such as religious culture, such as pork. Therefore, it is necessary to find new food ingredients that can replace animal-based foods. Mealworms, as an edible insect, are consumed as food in many parts of the world. Mealworms are rich in various vitamins, minerals, and proteins, and their fat is rich in unsaturated fatty acids, possessing extremely high nutritional value. In addition, mealworms have a very high nutrient conversion rate and a wide range of food sources, feeding on wheat bran, organic waste, and even plastics, which can significantly improve the utilization rate of waste in food processing and reduce food waste. Yellow mealworms also have extremely high safety. In 2022, the European Food Safety Authority assessed the safety of yellow mealworms and allowed them to be added to food as a novel food or food ingredient.
[0003] Food 3D printing is a novel food manufacturing technology that utilizes additive manufacturing techniques within 3D printing. Modeling software designs the shape of the food, and slicing software converts the model into G-code that the 3D printer can read. Under computer control, materials are then layered to create a three-dimensional food structure. Currently, food 3D printing is widely used in the production of fruits, vegetables, fish, and chicken. Compared to traditional food processing techniques, 3D printing offers excellent customizability, allowing for nutritional customization based on the proportions of printing materials to meet the needs of different groups. Furthermore, food 3D printing can also be used to create customized foods for specific populations, such as those with swallowing difficulties, the elderly with chewing difficulties, and astronauts. In recent years, with in-depth research into food 3D printing, many foods that were not originally 3D printable have shown some printability after proper formulation and structural adjustments. However, research on 3D-printed insect foods is still in its early stages, thus necessitating further research into 3D printing formulations for insect foods.
[0004] Pork plays an irreplaceable role as an essential component of the Chinese diet. Research on developing 3D-printed foods using pork has made some progress. Although pork itself is not inherently 3D printable, by adding certain auxiliary materials and using appropriate proportions, it can be made to exhibit good printability. Furthermore, pork produces unique flavor compounds during processing. Therefore, this study considers combining mealworms with pork, leveraging pork's excellent self-supporting properties during 3D printing to improve the printability of mealworms, and using the flavor of pork to mask the fishy smell of the mealworms. This formula is expected to lay the foundation for future research and development of 3D-printed mealworm foods. Summary of the Invention
[0005] The purpose of this invention is to provide a formula for 3D printing a mealworm-pork composite food product, using mealworms and pork as raw materials, taking advantage of pork's good printability and unique flavor. A method for preparing the product is also provided. Using this formula and method, the 3D-printed mealworm-pork mixture can be smoothly extruded from the nozzle without clogging, and it has good support on the 3D printer platform without collapsing.
[0006] To achieve the above objectives, the following steps are included:
[0007] (1) Use Blender 3.0 software to design a 3D printing model. A cylindrical model is used because it moves together along the X, Y and Z axes during the printing process, so the printing characteristics can be better evaluated. Export the 3D printing model as .stl format, use Repetier-Host software to slice it, export the sliced model to a USB and save it in .gcode format, connect the USB to the 3D printer and print it.
[0008] (2) Pork pretreatment: Remove visible connective tissue from the longissimus dorsi muscle and back fat of the pork and cut them into small pieces. Then, mix the small pieces of longissimus dorsi muscle and back fat in a ratio of 17:3 (m:m) and grind them thoroughly into minced pork using a meat grinder at 4°C. Remove and refrigerate at 4°C for later use.
[0009] (3) Pretreatment of yellow mealworms: Freeze-dried yellow mealworms are placed in a grinder and ground into powder. Then, the moisture content is measured and water is added to adjust the moisture content of the yellow mealworm powder to a level similar to that of minced pork, and yellow mealworm paste is made and sealed for later use.
[0010] (4) Mixing: Mix 6 portions of minced pork and mealworm paste in a certain proportion, and add 12.5% salt, 1.5% thirteen-spice powder, 6% potato starch, 0.6% carrageenan and 24% purified water. Put them into a meat grinder and mix thoroughly for 3 minutes. Place the mixed minced pork in a 4°C refrigerator for later use.
[0011] (5) Printing: Inject the mixed meat paste from step (4) into the barrel of the 3D printer, set the printing temperature, single layer height, printing speed, nozzle diameter and printing fill rate, and print;
[0012] (6) Shaping: After printing the sample in step (5), let it stand for 1 hour to shape it, then take pictures and measure the indicators;
[0013] (7) Curing: Place the sample after step (6) in a PP plastic box and seal it with plastic wrap. Use a toothpick to poke small holes on the surface of the plastic wrap. Place it in a steamer and steam for 15 minutes. Take it out and cool it to room temperature before measuring the index.
[0014] The model used in step (1) is a cylinder with a diameter of 40 mm and a height of 20 mm.
[0015] In step (4), the mass ratios of minced pork to mealworm paste are 20:0, 17:3, 14:6, 11:9, 8:12, and 5:25, respectively.
[0016] In step (5), the printing temperature, single-layer height, printing speed, nozzle diameter, and printing fill rate are 25°C, 1.35mm, 25m / s, 1.35mm, and 90%, respectively.
[0017] In the above steps, the mass fractions of salt, thirteen-spice powder, potato starch, carrageenan, and purified water are calculated based on the mass of the mixed meat paste prepared by mixing mealworm pulp and minced pork.
[0018] The practical performance of this invention was characterized by the influence of the ratio of mealworms to pork on the shape of 3D-printed mealworm-pork mixture after standing for 1 hour, and on the rheological properties of the mealworm-pork mixture.
[0019] The beneficial effects of this invention, as seen from the above steps, are as follows: 1. The mealworms used in the formula developed in this invention are rich in protein, vitamins, minerals, and unsaturated fatty acids, possessing extremely high nutritional value. 2. Carrageenan used in the formula developed in this invention is a stable, natural, hydrophilic food polysaccharide with certain hydrophilicity and elasticity. It not only improves the hardness and elasticity of the mealworm-pork mixture, giving it good chewiness, but also further enhances the self-support of the mealworm-pork mixture, ensuring good self-support on the platform after printing. 3. The formula developed in this invention gives the product good gel strength and stability. 4. This invention provides a reference for 3D printing mealworm food products. Attached Figure Description
[0020] Figure 1The effect of the ratio of mealworms to pork on the shape of 3D printed mealworm-pork mixture after standing for 1 hour;
[0021] Figure 2 The effect of the ratio of mealworms to pork on the apparent viscosity of 3D printed mealworm-pork mixture;
[0022] Figure 3 The effect of the ratio of mealworms to pork on the rheological properties of 3D printed mealworm-pork mixture; Specific implementation methods Example
[0023] A formula and preparation method for a 3D-printed mealworm-pork composite food, comprising the following steps:
[0024] Step 1: Design a 3D printing model using Blender 3.0 software, adopting a cylindrical model. Due to the coordinated movement of the X, Y, and Z axes during the printing process, the printing characteristics can be better evaluated. Export the 3D printing model as a .stl file, slice it using Repetier-Host software, export the sliced model to a USB drive and save it in .gcode format, connect the USB drive to the 3D printer, and start printing.
[0025] Step 2: Pork Pre-treatment: Remove visible connective tissue from the longissimus dorsi muscle and back fat of the pork and cut them into small pieces. Then, mix the small pieces of longissimus dorsi muscle and back fat in a 17:3 (m:m) ratio and grind them thoroughly into minced pork using a meat grinder at 4°C. Remove and refrigerate at 4°C for later use.
[0026] Step 3: Pre-treatment of mealworms: Place the freeze-dried mealworms in a grinder and grind them into powder. Then, measure their moisture content and add water to adjust the moisture content of the mealworm powder to a level similar to that of minced pork to make mealworm paste. Seal and store for later use.
[0027] Step 4: Mixing: Mix 6 portions of minced pork and mealworm paste in a certain ratio, and add 12.5% salt, 1.5% thirteen-spice powder, 6% potato starch, 0.6% carrageenan, and 24% purified water. Put the mixture into a meat grinder and mix thoroughly for 3 minutes. Place the mixed minced pork in a refrigerator at 4°C for later use.
[0028] Step 5: Printing: Inject the mixed minced meat from step (4) into the barrel of the 3D printer, set the printing temperature, single layer height, printing speed, nozzle diameter and printing fill rate, and then print.
[0029] Step 6: Shaping: After printing the sample in step (5), let it stand for 1 hour to shape it, then take pictures and measure the indicators;
[0030] Step 7: Curing: Place the sample after step (6) in a PP plastic box and seal it with plastic wrap. Use a toothpick to poke small holes in the surface of the plastic wrap. Place it in a steamer and steam for 15 minutes. Take it out and cool it to room temperature before measuring the indicators.
[0031] from Figure 1 It can be seen that as the proportion of mealworms increases, the printing accuracy of the self-support of the sample gradually deteriorates. When the ratio of mealworms to pork is 0:20, 3:17 and 6:14, the sample exhibits good printing accuracy and self-support. When the proportion of mealworms increases to 9:11, the sample collapses significantly. Therefore, the optimal ratio of mealworms to pork is 6:14.
[0032] from Figure 2 It can be seen that the apparent viscosity of the mealworm-pork mixture gradually decreases with increasing shear rate, exhibiting shear-thinning behavior. As the proportion of mealworms increases, the sample viscosity gradually decreases, and the shear-thinning behavior gradually intensifies. Lower viscosity and higher shear-thinning ability are beneficial for sample extrusion from the nozzle.
[0033] from Figure 3 As shown in A and B, the storage modulus of the mealworm-pork mixture is greater than its loss modulus, exhibiting solid-like behavior. Furthermore, as the proportion of mealworms increases, both the storage modulus and loss modulus of the mealworm-pork mixture gradually decrease. The storage modulus reflects the solid-like behavior of the sample; a certain storage modulus provides good self-support, but an excessively high storage modulus increases the difficulty of extrusion during 3D printing and can cause extrusion expansion, leading to distortion of the printed lines and reducing printing accuracy. The loss modulus reflects the fluid-like behavior of the sample; a certain loss modulus facilitates smooth extrusion from the nozzle, but an excessively high loss modulus reduces the self-support of the sample after printing, causing it to collapse.
[0034] Figure 3 C shows the loss tangent (tanδ) of the sample, which is the ratio of loss modulus to storage modulus. As can be seen from the figure, the loss tangent of all samples is less than 1, indicating that the samples are dominated by solid-like behavior. However, as the proportion of yellow mealworms increases, the loss tangent of the yellow mealworm-pork mixture also gradually increases, which indicates that the sample gradually changes from solid-like to fluid-like behavior.
[0035] In summary, the addition of pork significantly improves the printability and printing accuracy of mealworms. When the ratio of pork to mealworms is 14:6, the sample maintains its printability while exhibiting good self-support and printing accuracy.
Claims
1. The present application aims to improve the printability and self-supportability of yellow mealworms based on the fact that yellow mealworms do not have 3D printability, and pork paste has good extrudability and self-supportability. The present application also provides a preparation method. Using this formula and method, 3D printed yellow mealworm paste can be smoothly extruded from the nozzle and has good support capacity on the printing platform to maintain the preset shape. The formula has certain guiding significance for the future research of 3D printed yellow mealworm food.
2. A formulation of 3D printed Tenebrio molitor-pork combined food according to claim 1 and a method for preparing the same, Its features include the following steps: (1) Use Blender 3.0 software to design a 3D printing model, adopt a cylindrical model, and better evaluate the printing characteristics due to the common movement of X, Y and Z axes during printing. Export the 3D printing model to.stl format, slice it using Repetier-Host software, export the sliced model to USB in.gcode format, connect USB to the 3D printer, and print; (2) Pork pretreatment: remove visible connective tissue from the longissimus dorsi muscle and back fat of the pig, cut it into small pieces, then mix the small pieces of longissimus dorsi muscle and back fat according to a ratio of 17:3 (m:m), and fully grind them into pork paste in a meat grinder at 4°C. Take out and store in a 4°C refrigerator for standby; (3) Yellow mealworm pretreatment: freeze-dried yellow mealworms are ground into powder in a grinder, then the moisture content is measured and water is added to adjust the moisture content of the yellow mealworm powder to a level similar to that of the pork paste, to make yellow mealworm paste, and seal for standby; (4) Mixing: mix 6 parts of pork paste and yellow mealworm paste according to a certain ratio, add 12.5% salt, 1.5% thirteen spices, 6% potato starch, 0.6% carrageenan, and 24% pure water, and put them into a meat grinder for 3 minutes of thorough mixing. Store the mixed meat paste in a 4°C refrigerator for standby; (5) Printing: inject the mixed meat paste of step (4) into the barrel of the 3D printer, set the printing temperature, single layer height, printing speed, nozzle diameter and printing fill rate, and print; (6) Shaping: let the sample printed in step (5) stand for 1 hour for shaping, then take a photo and measure the indicators; (7) Curing: place the shaped sample of step (6) in a PP plastic box, seal it with plastic wrap, prick fine holes on the surface of the plastic wrap with a toothpick, and steam it in a steamer for 15 minutes. After cooling to room temperature, measure the indicators.
3. A formulation of 3D printed Tenebrio molitor-pork combined food according to claim 2, and a method of preparing the same, characterized in that, The model used in step (1) is a cylinder with a diameter of 40 mm and a height of 20 mm.
4. A formulation of 3D printed Tenebrio molitor-pork combined food according to claim 2, and a method of preparing the same, characterized by, In step (4), the mass ratio of pork paste to yellow mealworm paste is 20:0, 17:3, 14:6, 11:9, 8:12, and 5:25, respectively.
5. A formulation of 3D printed Tenebrio molitor-pork combined food according to claim 2, and a method of preparing the same, characterized in that, In step (5), the printing temperature, single layer height, printing speed, nozzle diameter and printing fill rate are 25°C, 1.35 mm, 25 m / s, 1.35 mm and 90%, respectively.
6. A formulation of 3D printed Tenebrio molitor-pork combined food according to claim 2, and a method of preparing the same, characterized in that, In the above steps, the mass fraction of salt, thirteen spices, potato starch, carrageenan and pure water is calculated based on the mass of the mixed meat paste prepared by mixing yellow mealworm paste and pork paste.