There’s nothing new about edible containers. Apples, tomatoes and other fruits, for example, come in naturally edible containers.
Not exactly edible, but at least eco-friendly, you can still buy coconut milk “packaged” in its original husk on many tropical beaches and there’s nothing quite like a sweet or savoury treat that comes wrapped in a biodegradable banana leaf. Taking their cue from the more environmentally friendly past, innovative thinkers are coming up with all kinds of edible containers.
Sardi Innovative Designs came up with the original edible coffee cup. According to the Watering Mouth (“Giving food a voice”), the cup was the brainchild of designer Enrique Luis Sardi, who designed the cup for Lavazza, which probably explains the blue and white Lavazza label on the outside of the cup.
A cookie on the outside, the secret to the cup’s ability to hold a piping hot cup of Lavazza espresso is the patented icing sugar coating that lines the inside of the cup. Apparently, there’s a chocolate version in the works as well.
Unfortunately, these edible Lavazza coffee cups don’t seem to be available in Australia, but we have a great selection of inedible coffee cups, mugs and glassware for you to choose from at the Blue Pod Coffee Company. If you still fancy the idea of an edible container, though, Delish online magazine has some ideas for you to chew on.
There’s no high technology involved in any of these edible containers. All you need is a muffin tray and an oven.
An Edible Fondue Pot
Fancy having chocolate fondue and eating the fondue pot, too? If so, all you need to do is bake some muffins, hollow out their interior and add melted chocolate. There’s just enough room for dipping strawberries and instead of scraping the inside of the pot for the last remnants of chocolate, you simply eat the container.
An Edible Ice Cream Bowl
How’s this for a clever idea? Take a muffin tray and turn it on its back to make an ice cream bowl. All you need to do is spread cookie dough over the bottoms of the muffin moulds. Bake the cookies, allow to cool, and you have the perfect sized edible container for a scoop of ice cream.
A Bacon Nibblies Bowl
If you want something more savoury, you can spread bacon over the bottoms of the muffin moulds and bake the bacon instead of frying it. When you’re done, you’ll have an edible container for anything that goes with bacon. According to Delish, this idea came from “caterer to the stars” Peter Callahan, who fills his with baked beans. The full recipe can be found in his Bite by Bite cookbook.
Once you’ve tried edible containers, you’ll probably come up with more ideas of your own. Let us know if you figure out a way to make an edible coffee cup that doesn’t require a patented liner. Together, maybe we can start a fad.
