Cooking ideas

Beyond the Manual
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Here’s my stats to start with.
Order Date: 10/6/15
notification email: 10/5/17
proofgrade email: 10/16/17
proofgrade materials arrived: 10/20/17
:glowforge: shipping email: 10/21/17
:glowforge: to arrive: 10/24/17

For the past 2 years, from the moment I placed my order, I have been scouring the internet for patterns/plans, materials, software, and ideas. See, I have absolutely NO creative talent, but I can identify useful items and I can follow directions exactly.

I have never used a laser cutter before, so I am truly a novice. I suppose the good part of that is that I go in with no pre-conceived ideas.

I like to bake which also requires the following of very specific and intricate directions, so I figure this will serve me well.

IDEAS: One of the ideas that I saw on the original :glowforge: video is that it is food grade and will allow me to essentially “print” on my food. I’m thinking of using this on double crust pies, like apple. I figure something like a custom image, logo, or wording in the center as a vent instead of just a couple of slits.

I’m also thinking of custom stencils for things that would be topped with powdered sugar, cocoa, or cinnamon. Possibly putting mini-logos or initials, etc on small candies like M&M’s, Skittles, & Reeces Pieces.

Potential issues: Cooking the dough prematurely around the edges, may not be an issue, but we will find out when mine arrives. Melting of the chocolate in the :glowforge:, not in my mouth. I’m sure for the candies, I will need to make a “tray/jig” to hold them.

I’m also thinking of cooking a sheet of shortbread cookies and then using the :glowforge: to cut them into seasonal shapes. This may cause a lot of waste, but I’m not sure if it would work well by cutting the raw dough before baking. I suppose I will have to try it both ways.

I could also see an application on flat breads like tortillas burning images, or cutting into shapes for parties, etc. making football shaped chips for Super Bowl, etc.

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There are quite a few examples of pies, tortillas, chocolate, peeps, bananas in the Made on a Glowforge and Beyond the Manual categories. Be sure to check them out. :smile:

(While it’s okay to use it for food when you first get it, we’ve been advised that it might not be the safest to use it for food after lasering other things like plastics and woods. You might want to think about buying a food-dedicated spare tray for it, and using it for only food items. They’re available now in the store.)

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Thanks Jules, I will check that category out. I too have thought about a separate tray just for food.

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You just contradicted yourself, if you have an eye you have talent, just needs developing. I know this from personal experience. You may never compete with some of the super talented that are here, I know I won’t, but so what, do what you like and have fun.

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Or throw caution to the wind and just place a sheet of aluminum foil on the bed first. Or even parchment paper. :smiling_face:

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Man, I’ve seen the buildup on this thing…call me a weenie, but I’d dedicate a tray to it for food. :smile:

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Okay, weenie :slightly_smiling_face:

weiner-dog-costumes
weiner-dog-costumes942×530 46.7 KB

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What’s really funny about that - we were both correcting the spelling of “weenie” simultaneously…I like yours better… :smile:

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Since the :glowforge: arrives this coming Tuesday and I will have the remainder of the year off after 10/31, I’m really looking forward to experimenting a lot with this.

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There has already been a M&M jig made, though I do not believe it has been shown. Also, custom cookie cutters and stamps for pressing shapes into cookie dough. Engraving images on tortillas and then making chips is not a quick process. The engraving tastes a little different, but no big deal. There is another thread where the tortillas were cut into shapes. Plenty of food related ideas including the very basic cutting of parchment paper into the exact shape of the pan.

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You may find that attempting to cut through pastry dough is not going to result in what you hoped…
Dough has moisture and a thickness. Moisture dampens the effectivness of the laser…
You might look into making custom cutters to cut out shapes instead…

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There are some recommendations here that run counter to the manual, so I’m going to move this to the Beyond the Manual category. Happy laser baking!

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If you do end up in the hospital, at least you’ll have a great story!

“Have you eaten anything unusual lately?”
“Well, Doc… I did, uh… engrave my picture on a banana cream pie with an industrial laser cutter. But I put foil under it!”

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I could have sworn I posted it back in the early food lasering days this spring. I’ll pop it up here when I get back home (stuck in Orlando due to weather in the Northeast).

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It’s possible you did; I couldn’t be sure one way or the other.