Pure Decadence - Laser Etched Chocolate Bar

by dan

32K4334

Intro: 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!


34 Comments

noob_for_life 6 years ago

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 18 years ago

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

dan 18 years ago

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!

cookiedough 18 years ago

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 13 years ago

any local hackerspaces?

dan 17 years ago

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

adrian 18 years ago

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 18 years ago

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

dan 17 years ago

for sure!

superMacaroni 13 years ago

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

Krushaidovitch 14 years ago

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 15 years ago

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 15 years ago

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

thepelton 15 years ago

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 15 years ago

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