打印美食：专为老年人研发的3D打印食物

Scientists have developed 3D super-smooth 'jellified' foods made to look like the regular meals we eat every day.

科学家研发了一种3D打印食品，这些“凝胶状”非常软，看起来跟日常食物一样。

From broccoli to roast lamb, the printed food certainly looks very similar but the texture might be a surprise to some.

从西兰花到烤羊排，这些打印出来的食物长相逼真，口感却别有一番风味。

Funded by the EU, the Performance project is intended to give elderly people better access to appealing and nutritious food.

这个项目由欧盟赞助，主要是为了让老人家们能够更好的摄入有营养的食物。

Known as ‘Smoothfood’, it is a concept for cultivated eating in old age or for people with swallowing difficulties or other illnesses which make normal eating impossible.

3D打印出来的食物被称为“软滑食物”，是专为有吞咽困难或因疾病无法正常咀嚼进食的老人设计的。

Smoothfood uses raw, steamed, fresh or frozen foods which are chopped, mixed, pureed or whipped into a foam texture and then shaped so that people with chewing or swallowing difficulties can enjoy their meals.

软滑食物将生的、熟的、新鲜的或冰冻的食物绞碎、混合、浓缩成浆或打成泡沫，然后重新成型，让吞咽困难的人们可以愉快地享受大餐。

The look and taste of the end product matches the original food item, but the texture is soft and gel-like. It dissolves easily in the mouth so that it is safe to eat for people with mastication [chewing] or swallowing problems.

无论是外观还是味道，软滑食物都跟原来的食物非常相似，其质地柔软，像胶体一样，入口即化，吃起来安全可靠，非常适合有咀嚼困难或吞咽困难的朋友们。

Once the meals have been printed, they are frozen and stored to be later heated up in a conventional microwave.

打印出来的食物是冷冻的，可以放进冰箱里，等到要吃的时候拿到微波炉里加热一下就行。