A chef robot has been created and programmed to taste food at different stages of the chewing process, just like humans do, and decide if it lacks or has too much salt . The device, created by a group of scientists from the University of Cambridge, consists of a probe connected to the end of a robotic arm that can detect salt levels in food.
In tests, the robot was used to test a plate of scrambled eggs during different stages of chewing, including the liquid state the food would assume just before swallowing. According to scientists, robot chefs that taste food instead of humans could be part of the restaurant kitchens of the future.
It will be in the kitchens of the future
Most cooks are familiar with the concept of tasting as you go, that is, they are used to tasting a dish throughout the cooking process to check if the balance of flavors is correct. Well, with the creation of this robot it will no longer be necessary for the chef to be constantly aware of all the phases of preparing the dishes, but rather the robot will do it for him.
It stands to reason that if robots are going to be used for certain aspects of food preparation, it’s important that they be able to taste what they’re cooking . Also, as we chew food, we notice a change in texture and flavor as the cloves and sage break down what we put in our mouths. For example, biting into a fresh tomato in the middle of summer releases a series of juices, and as we chew, the saliva supplies digestive enzymes that cause our perception of the tomato’s flavor to change.
This is the main problem that the robot faces, that its way of tasting food is not that of humans, and of course it cannot appreciate all the nuances. The chewing process also provides continuous feedback to our brain, so the current methods of testing food electronically can only focus on a homogeneous sample, but are unable to collect information and decide while the structure of the food changes continuously. the mouth, just as we humans do.
Decide if salt is missing
The robot chef, who has also been programmed to taste solid food, tried nine different variations of a simple dish of scrambled eggs and tomatoes at three different stages of the chewing process. Scientists did this test because the breakdown of food in the mouth affects the distribution of salinity.
In other words, salty food can appear more or less salty depending on how much is chewed before swallowing. The three different stages were unchewed (as the food would appear before consumption), half chewed (slightly broken down in the mouth), and chewed (a smooth, ready-to-swallow texture).
