Photo by EraPhernalia Vintage under https://www.flickr.com/photos/eraphernalia_vintage/3839386848

I’m originally from Wisconsin, so an article about 3D printed cheese was sure to catch my attention!  In this case they’re using the sodium caseinate which is a natural protein/polymer as the medium.  Sodium caseinate is darn near perfect for this as it is a natural glue.  In fact Elmer’s Glue used to be made from it and it’s the reason why there’s a cow on the bottle!  Maybe eating glue back in the day wasn’t so bad for you after all.  Professor Maarten Schutyser from Wageningen University in the Netherlands, says the sodium caseinate has a “liquid feel” but quickly solidifies once extruded from a 3D printer.  Well like all things 3D printing it’s tough to say if this is novelty or the future, but it is great to see old polymer science from Elmer’s become new again.