Better Than Sliced Bread... Edible Pastry Cups
Some pretty nifty inventions have arrived on the foodie scene since bread slicing gained its crown as king of
innovation. But this one's made it to the top of my list due to its simplicity, eco-friendly design and sheer mentalness.There's really nothing more to an edible pastry cup than a cup made entirely of pastry. And yes, you really can use it for your afternoon cuppa and then scoff it. This is thanks to a mysterious substance called xantorrea, which makes it impermeable to hot liquids. No more landfill-bound plastic beakers, no more scrubbing immovable biscuit residue off the bottom off last Wednesday's coffee mug. Just caffeine and a pastry chaser.
Now these are all good reasons to switch to pastry. But the inventors of the edible cup (to see the patent click here) have more in mind than just saving on waste and washing-up. According to the Petrinis (apparently a whole family of madcap inventors), "cups used in public catering are increasingly suspected of being vehicles for the oral transmission of infectious diseases". Therefore, they argue, eating your drinking vessel is the only solution.
Better than sliced bread because:
It's a cup you can eat. Need I say more?
Roll-off-the-tongue factor:
A damn site more interesting than sliced bread. It may not be as lyrical as Solar Polar Rock-N-Rollers, but I think it has a certain ring to it.
Innovation rating:
Genius. Edible pastry cups would have got five out of five, except for one small flaw... Ever heard of the obesity epidemic?
SCORE: 7/10
Back to Five Things Better Than Sliced Bread
Image: United States Patents
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