Formulation and evaluation of thermoreversible sugar-paste for hot-melt 3D printing

Abstract

Herein we propose a novel approach and control method for long-paste behavior, printability, and better stability of sugarcraft under repeated heating using a three-dimensionally (3D) food printer. The experiment involved replacing 0–50% sugar powder with potato starch (PS) to ascertain the optimal conditions. A temperature sweep determined the optimum extrusion temperature, and sugarcraft showed a stable storage modulus under repeated heating cycles as PS content increased. In particular, sticky and long-paste behavior was changed to short-paste behavior in sugarcraft with 50% (w/w) PS added, showing the best results in terms of fluidity, load-bearing capacity, and printing performance. Using the thermal loop test, we successfully demonstrated that PS increases sugarcraft's stability to repeated heating. This system could be applied to 3D printed products or other materials that need stabilization of temperature and offers new guidelines for 3D food printing technology.