Preparing Sushi With The Help Of Lasers

It’s not too often that we cover food here on Hackaday, but when we saw how a laser cutter was being used to help enhance the look of sushi, we decided to share. Even if you don’t enjoy sushi, it’s hard not to argue that it can often be more like edible art than simply food. The preparation that goes into well-made sushi is extensive, and this laser cut maki certainly takes things up a notch.

In the wake of the 2011 tsunami many businesses were suffering, including Umino Seaweed whose primary product is nori – the ubiquitous green seaweed wrapper found in/on many sushi rolls. They were looking for something to attract attention to the brand, while remaining respectful to the centuries-old tradition of making sushi.

They sent their request to ad agency I&SBBDO who came up with the fancy looking nori you see above. Each sheet of seaweed is laser cut with traditional Japanese imagery, from the Sakura (cherry blossom) to the Kumikikkou (tortoise shell). We’re not sure if these sheets of nori are actually for sale or have just been put together for solely advertising, either way we think this is a novel and frivolous, but awesome use for a laser cutter. Also, we’re pretty hungry now – anyone up for grabbing some sushi?

[via Make]

11 thoughts on “Preparing Sushi With The Help Of Lasers

  1. Okay, I’ll bite…(pun intended)
    I agree that Sushi is an art form and these cutouts look good.

    Are they too beautiful to eat?

    I’ll use that as an excuse to move the tray on to someone else.

  2. My worry would be how the structural integrity of the nori holds up. The forces applied when rolling something like maki the above are non-trivial and might easily tear the nori. I guess you could cheat and “pre-roll” the maki into a tube shape and then just drape the nori around it afterward…

    1. That was my thought, it would tear so easily. the other thought was any overlap would wreck the effect.

      Still, very interesting. I’ve decorated most typically using roe, small strips of nori, crab stick and sesame seeds. This does give me ideas!

  3. Literal translation of sushi is vinegar rice.

    If there’s a way to make it without the vinegar it would taste a lot better – except for the nori. That puts a smell up my nose like fresh cut wet grass.

  4. oh i love sushi. Never thought i would like it but my friends go all the time and they got my hooked! I was actually there today at the buffet sushi. We ordered 15 rolls and several orders of raw sushi. mmmm. i even ate octopus today, not bad, a little chewy. but the presentation was octopus tentacle! everything else was great. not sure if ill eat octopus again. and yah i wouldn’t even notice a laser cut design on my sushi. what with all the wasabi i put on it ;)

  5. Question is: can they make it in high quantity at a reasonable price? And looking at the detail, the answer is: probably not.
    It might actually be smarter to punch patterns, although the detail would be more limited.

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