Printability of Nixtamalized Corn Dough during Screw-Based Three-Dimensional Food Printing

Area of Science:

• Food Science and Technology
• Materials Science
• Rheology

Background:

• Three-dimensional food printing (3DFP) offers novel food production possibilities.
• Corn-based doughs are promising materials for 3DFP due to their availability and nutritional value.
• Understanding dough properties is crucial for successful 3D food printing.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the printability of corn-based dough during screw-based 3D food printing (3DFP).
• To correlate rheological and mechanical properties with 3DFP performance.
• To provide insights for utilizing corn-based dough in 3D-printed food production.

Main Methods:

• Seven corn-based dough formulations with varying nixtamalized corn flour (NCF) and water content were prepared.
• Screw-based 3DFP was conducted on the prepared doughs.
• Rheological (e.g., loss tangent, viscosity, modulus) and mechanical (e.g., hardness, Young's modulus) properties were measured and correlated with printability.

Main Results:

• Stable printability was achieved with NCF content between 30-32.5 wt%.
• Dough with NCF below this range resulted in flattened prints; dough above this range showed affected extrudability.
• Printability was influenced by specific rheological and mechanical properties at different printing stages: extrusion (loss tangent at nozzle strain, yield stress, viscosity, adhesiveness) and self-supporting (loss tangent at minimum strain, elastic modulus, Young's modulus, hardness).

Conclusions:

• A specific NCF content range is critical for successful corn-based dough 3DFP.
• Balancing rheological and mechanical properties is essential for achieving stable extrusion and self-supporting structures.
• This study provides key parameters for optimizing corn-based dough formulations for 3D food printing applications.