Pure Decadence - Laser Etched Chocolate Bar

after seeing the Laser Etched Powerbook project i got to thinking - i don't use a mac, and isn't there something a bit more temporal i could do? we were breaking out the saturday night munchies and i had an idea...

Step 1: Unwrap Chocolate Bar

buy a quality chocolate bar, and unwrap it. do not eat yet!

Step 2: Place Chocolate Bar in Laser Cutter

Align carefully and size your graphic to fit the bar.

Put a piece of clean paper under the bar, so that burned plastic from other projects doesn't get on the bottom of the bar. you're going to be eating this!

Step 3: Laser Etch the Chocolate!

I used these settings for the epilog 45 watt laser:
300dpi
30% power
100% speed / raster cut

Step 4: Done

after the etching success i tried to cut all the way through the chocolate with the laser. i was hoping to cut some Escher tilings with different color chocolates. unfortunately the chocolate is much too melty, trying to cut all the way through just made a big puddle of melted chocolate iwhich dribbled all over the laser cutter.

Step 5: Don't Have a Laser Cutter? No Problem!

if you're hoping to do this at home and don't have a laser cutter - don't worry! you can easily do this with a piece of cardboard, a sharp knife, and a lamp. just cut the cardboard into a stencil of the pattern you want, then hold the cardboard between the chocolate and the hot lamp. the chocolate will melt in the exposed areas, leaving a very visible pattern even after it cools.

Step 6: Enjoy!

Comments

[noob_for_life]

First, thank you SO MUCH for posting this. I needed something fun for Mother's Day. This is perfect and super fun. I'm really enjoying it.

One challenge I have, though. Whenever I etch glass, I get a fog in the field around the etching. This was even more pronounced on the chocolate. I get rid of it on the glass by wrapping a paper towel around it. Do you have that problem and a way to deal with it on chocolate?

Thanks!

[alceste]

Wow. I wish I had a laser cutter. How many tries did it take to get that bar?

[dan]

first try, but it was close - i found it in the 'baking' isle and picked it up, but then while transferring to my shopping cart i was distracted by a cutie looking at the brown sugar and almost dropped it!

[hintss]

:D

[cookiedough]

Where do all your crazy kooks get your laser cutters? I suppose this one is owned by squid labs? I've tried and tried to convince my main squeeze that we need one, but then he hasn't gotten me a sandblaster either. Suppose I better work on getting a couch first. Really, though. Is there an artist's coop or something in the bay area that has one open for use?

[hintss]

any local hackerspaces?

[dan]

not that i know of, but possibly Techshop in palo alto has one.

[adrian]

Just the other day at work we were talking about "branding" images into steaks (raw meat, pre-cooking). A coworker of mine did it a few years back. Pretty similar in concept.

[dan]

oh yeah? just yesterday we were talking about "branding" images onto people (live, with skin). My coworker gave it a try.

[zachninme]

Did it hurt?

[dan]

for sure!

[hintss]

=D

[solo.card]

Funny you should say that...

I found this

[threecheersfornick]

Who?

[superMacaroni]

Where does the extra little chocolate flakes go? I don't want to waste any yummy chocolate. :(

[Krushaidovitch]

I think you could cut through it if you put it in freezer for a couple of hours before doing it. Then simply put a piece of acrylic or wood under it.

[Kuwabara]

This method was already patented in Japan on o7 Mar 2006 and the USA patent was also applied based on PCT/JP2007/054763. So, commercial operation with this technology is prohibited. If necessary, reply me. It is available to transfer or lend the right in the USA.

[thepelton]

I found that you can also laser engrave polished stone, or even flat cut pieces of stone.

[thepelton]

I have an Epilog. I plan to try cookies. I suspect that ones with a plain top like Vanilla wafers would work better than say chocolate chips.

[thepelton]

You could turn a chocolate bar into a greeting that with this idea!