Pre-packaged, preformed, cream cheese rings separated by thin plastic sheets. Just peel and toss on the bagel.-- bristolz, Nov 06 2000 Sliced Peanut Butter http://www.pbslices.com/Someone has already invented the Peanut Butter version of this, oddly enough it was developed at Oklahoma State University. [krelnik, Oct 01 2002] How to make your own cream cheese. http://howto.wired....i/Make_Cream_CheeseOnly seven & a half years after StarChaser asked the question, I finally found a link. Admittedly I wasn't actually trying very hard to find one but still... [DrBob, Dec 05 2008] Bo’s Original Slice of Sauce™ https://www.kicksta...ce/slice-of-saucetmKetchup slices 8-pack. [tatterdemalion, Mar 04 2020] Mayonnaise slices https://www.foodand...nnaise-slices-japanComing soon. [tatterdemalion, Mar 04 2020] Or ship the cream cheese in hollow logs, so I can slice as much as I want. The center should be filled with something to prevent slice-squashing; Marketing Niches! could be jam, lox, chocolate, tapenade, whatever flavorings people like on their bagels.-- hello_c, Nov 07 2000 Also, sliced cheese rings... Bagel + Cream Cheese Ring + Sliced Cheese Ring + Microwave = Instant bagel melt.-- PotatoStew, Nov 07 2000 of course, you'd have to sell different sized rings for different-sized bagels.-- nick_n_uit, Nov 14 2000 Ever wonder how they get the jelly into those toroidal donuts (i.e. with a center hole)? I imagine they freeze a ring of jelly, surround it with batter, and thus into the fryer. Ask me about chocolate covered cherries or Twinkies sometime.-- rmutt, Nov 16 2000 I think cream cheese of the realest can be made denser or creamier by filtering more or less of the water out. There might be an inherent difficulty if cheese dense enough to slice is too hard to spread nicely.-- hello_c, Nov 16 2000 Rmutt: The jelly or cream is injected after the donut is baked. That's why the filling is always off center and there's a hole in one side that spooges all over you when you bite it...-- StarChaser, Nov 16 2000 Cream cheese is almost defined by it's spreadability. This makes it an ideal topping for awkard shaped breads, such as bagels. If you're going to make bagel shaped pieces of cheese, then why not try a harder or crumblier cheese (such as Wednesleydale) that you normally could not be arsed to attempt to balance on a bagel?-- Lemon, Nov 17 2000 Simple solution: ISO 9000 bagels.-- Uncle Nutsy, Nov 29 2000 I can't believe this idea is so popular. Do people really want *more* pre-processed gunk with additional packaging?-- Lemon, Jan 11 2001 Apparently they do. I didn't think of these as anything other than good ol' cream cheese that happens to be in rings. No extra chemicals. The same foil package (albeit, a little bigger, and with thin ring separators).
Also, I imagined that most folks would still want to spread it a bit to the edges of their bagels. The ring shape would just reduce the mess and make bagel prep much faster.
Like you, though, I am surprised that the idea is popular.-- bristolz, Jan 18 2001 I think we should make the bagels into a paste so that they can be spread as well.-- Vance, Feb 05 2001 I was thinking BubbaBagos-- bristolz, Feb 15 2001 Somebody was working on a similar idea for pizza parlours - big disks of mozzarella to eliminate the need to sow grated cheese over the pizza.-- djymm, Mar 31 2001 Bleh. If all the toppings started coming that way, that would really start blurring the lines between "pizza" and "sandwich". *tries to imagine a 14" pepperoni roll*-- absterge, Apr 02 2001 Lou Malnatis pizza in Chicago uses a big roll of sausage for their sausage pizzas... they are the best in Chicago, IMHO BTW FWIW.-- pnewp, Apr 02 2001 What's a bagel?-- DrBob, Apr 02 2001 Make the bagel square and lose the hole.
Salmon section shape is a compromise, but again you have problems of standardisation. If the hole is essential (?) then I guess a salmons guts and bones could be removed and its flesh section made annular using vacuum/compressed smoky air technology.
I'm hungry.-- thantox, Apr 05 2001 You could extrude the cheese in a scaled-up version of the machine that they use to make macaroni. The cheese could also be used on top of a canned pineapple slice to re-create those lovely 1970s buffet snacks.-- angel, Apr 26 2001 I like the cheese in-a-tube idea best myself. There is already sundried tomato in-a-tube, salmon in-a-tube, and a few others. This way you could flavor the cheese and not have to have all the layers. Also easier to portion per perso-- bobzaguy, May 05 2001 If wrapped individually, wouldn't it stick to the plastic or paper, making it just as much of a pain to get it onto the bagel as it was before the innovation?-- Deity, Jun 06 2001 [ wouldn't it stick to the plastic or paper ] Funny you should point this out. I have recently conducted experiments with this idea and, using waxed paper, the rings are pretty easy to get off, even if they have been somewhat smooshed (a key element here is refrigeration--if the rings are warm they are hell to get off the paper). Each of my rings were about a half oz. of cream cheese, hand-formed into roughly 5" rings, ~1 inch wide "band" about 1/8" thick. I stacked about 10 rings atop each other and it was pretty easy to peel the paper separator with a ring adhered to it, off of the one below. When flipped over onto a bagel the cream cheese stuck more readily to the bagel (I pressed it onto the bagel a little through the wax paper) and I then peeled the wax paper separator off of the bagel. This really does work.-- bristolz, Jun 14 2001, last modified Aug 08 2001 Full marks for research, [bristolz]. Now get busy on the salmon.-- angel, Jun 14 2001 My God! The processed dairy products company was owned by the cigarette behemoth? Why did I not know this before? Suddenly the cheese tastes like the addiction I already kicked.-- lewisgirl, Jun 14 2001 Oh that's ok. I only drink red wine and gin.-- lewisgirl, Jun 14 2001 Actually, I made my own cream cheese for this experiment. I was also able (through trial and error) to get the consistency and stickiness right. Cream cheese is fairly simple to make and tastes great.-- bristolz, Jun 14 2001 How does one make one's own cream cheese?-- StarChaser, Jun 14 2001 These already exist and are used by packaged food suppliers. The cheese tends to be very dense and have an unnatural texture (probably because it was stamped out of a large form). Good idea, but where this already exists, I find that the cheese sucks.-- dombort, Jul 20 2001 Dombort, please show me where these exist. I have conducted many searches (including patent) looking for prior art and haven't yet found any mention. Not that I care that much, but, well, okay, I care.-- bristolz, Jul 21 2001 I think there may be some confusion between regular presliced sandwich cheese and cream cheese.-- nathandrea, Jul 21 2001 Powdered cream cheese.You just sprinkle it on like salt or pepper. It could be made to melt if heat is applied. I had this same idea a few years ago, for powdered mayonaise...-- theAntiELVIS, Jul 24 2001 Well, I think it would be hard to sprinkle enough [powdered cream cheese] on to matter. Imagine trying to sprinkle a couple of ounces on a bagel-it would be all over the place.-- gypsy, Jul 24 2001 I had this idea 5 years ago. Sent it to Kraft. Said they'd tested it and it didn't work for some reason.-- me4, Jul 24 2001 Read the idea and the annotations, and be enlightened.-- StarChaser, Aug 06 2001 WOW!! BRIS . . . You made this all the way from November 6 to August 6. As ideas go this must have some kind of record. I don't know think we know the half-of-it though-- bobzaguy, Aug 06 2001 Well. I am as surprised as anyone that this idea survived longer than the first outing.-- bristolz, Aug 06 2001 Maybe they should just make bagels a different shape.-- DaveSt, Aug 27 2001 Cream cheeze wiz--Aerosol cream cheese in a can! I also liked the prefilled bagel idea...like jelly donuts. Bagels should be bought bakery-fresh, anyways.-- roybears, Aug 28 2001 Urgh - cream cheese rings. I hate this idea. They would take up too much space in your fridge. Just get a nice tub-o-cream cheese, a spatula, and do it the old fashioned way. I'm disgusted enough by the pre-grated cheese you can get at supermarkets - folks are so lazy these days. And all the plastc film separators you'd need - it's just more landfill.-- Nadia, Sep 05 2001 How would a stack of cream cheese rings take up any more space than a similarly volumed tub o' cheez?-- StarChaser, Sep 08 2001 It would take up more space because it's got a hole in the middle. Also, if you get blocks of cream cheese and not round tubs it would be more awkward to store because it's round (of course if you already buy round tubs it's not any different).
A problem I see with this that hasn't yet been addressed is that different people like different amounts of cream cheese on their bagels. I know people that put a third of a container or more of cream cheese on their bagels and I know people that put a thin, barely there type layer of cream cheese. This isn't a problem if they are in a tube with a whole in the middle but that brings up a whole other array of problems:
1. Cream cheese is soft so if you set a roll of cream cheese down to cut it you would flatten one side
2. you would need something to hold the hole up while cutting it because it could easily collapse but you still need to be able to move it out of the way on the part you're cutting. [Awkward] To make something that could easily slide through you would need the inside of the hole to be coated with paper or foil and you'd have to remove this material when cutting it [Awkward]
3. cream cheese slices would easily restick to the block you are cutting them from. [Awkward] you could cut it by tilting it a little bit and letting gravity pull it away [Awkward] but the slice might curve into itself making is so that you have to pick it up and unroll it [Awkward]
4. Unlike the preslice idea you would DEFINITELY have to touch the cream cheese so you'd need to wash your hands afterward [Awkward]
So basically I think that the roll idea can be ruled out, especially when you consider that to slice a slice of cream cheese would require you to take out a knife and a cutting board, removing a lot of the "convenience" of the idea and actually making it so that you have more things to wash (or rinse before putting in a dishwasher).
What you could do with the slices though is produce packages with slices of different thicknesses. The only problem with this is that if somebody who likes a different amount of cream cheese than you eats cream cheese at your house (or apartment or whatever) they have to either eat whatever thickness you like (discomfort for them) take off or add some of your cream cheese (awkwardness for them) or you have to have different thicknesses or a tub of cream cheese available for them (awkwardness and expense for you).
Some people like cream cheese thin enough that slices would be REALLY awkward to apply.
somebody said they had tried the slices and they came off easily, I'm sure they weren't difficult to get off but ask yourself, "was it awkward", I'll bet it was, also remember that if it's spent time in a package on a shelf with other slices and boxes of slices of cream cheese on top of it than it will stick more to the wax paper.
I don't know about you guys but I never really thought of spreading cream cheese as much of a hassle but pulling slices of sheets seems like a lot more trouble and like it would waste a lot more packaging, plus it adds the problem of thickness which is no problem for a tub of cream cheese. Also, realistically, if these things existed and I were using them, I'd pull out a knife to smooth out the edges of the slice so that it would be spread evenly over my bagel, If I'm going to want to use a knife anyways it's not saving me that "hassle".
Don't forget also that there's a wide range of bagel hole sizes, some have distinct 1" diameter holes, some have really no hole and some are in the middle, the only way to acount for that would be getting out the knife which again removes a lot of the convenience of the slices.
i think the cream cheese cheez whiz gun would work well but cause a lot more waste, the only possible question is about the fluidity of cream cheese.
I don't really think a new method of applying cream cheese would be that great of an advantage.-- groove modulation, Sep 08 2001 So, Groove, how do you really feel about it?-- lummox, Sep 11 2001 I feel like it's a poopy idea.
I think I might have full baked that idea though-- groove modulation, Sep 18 2001 cream cheese wiz is baked--don't recall the brand, but i saw it, it was called "easy cheese" or something (again, don't quite recall)... to me the texture was too strange. Half of any cheese is texture.-- Urania, Oct 06 2001 As this idea approaches its one year anniversary, I'm thinking that that date might be a good time to retire the idea. Thoughts?-- bristolz, Oct 17 2001 I was just thinking about this exact same idea this weekend - three weeks away from the 1 year anniversary of this idea. I know that I've read it here before, but I guess that goes to show how good I am at forgetting ideas (and how good I am at stealing them too).
Either way - this is a good idea, if its marketed correctly. This is clearly a "packaging" issue - not a product issue. I propose a single serving in a plastic package that is sealed with a sheet of plastic. Americans will quickly understand this to be the way we package yogurt. Once you peel off the freshness seal, you place the package upside-down on the bagel and press the bottom with your thumbs- hopefully to hear a satisfying "pop".
I would call these things PopToppers or something similar and would sell them to ubiquitous coffee and bagel franchises and especially airlines. Any place where there is an overwhelming need for the clean convenience of a bagle topping.-- marc1919, Oct 17 2001 [bristolz]: I'd say leave it on here. There are plenty of idea here which deserve the space far less than this one.-- angel, Oct 18 2001 This is a very clever idea. It is the kind of thing that lazy ass consumers would eat up (no pun intended) thus making you rich.-- tservo17, Jan 05 2002 Although, apparently, cream cheese rings easily come off waxed paper [thanks bristolz] there is still concern that this would be "awkward" [groove modulation]. I therefore propose that the rings be protected on both sides by rice paper. No mess, easy to apply and the packaging is edible.-- tobythepig, Jan 05 2002 Hey, you don't have to find the product appealing yourself to recognize it as a great idea! I sampled the peanut-butter & jelly "cheeze slices" in the grocery once and they were pretty bad. Yet, they are in the supermarkets.
I think the end product will more closely resemble American slices than any of the other concepts here. To address one of Groove Modulation's concerns, people can put 2 slices on their bagel rather than 1.-- miles, Jan 16 2002 Maybe I'm old fashioned, but I still like my bread in long unsliced loaves like french bread, and I prefer to scoop my jelly out of a glass jar instead of squeezing it out of a plastic container, and (gasp) I even look at the ingredients.
Ah, the convenience of premature heart symptoms <g>-- Suitonym, Jan 17 2002 I know where my ingredients have been.-- bristolz, Jan 17 2002 On Salmon rings: There's another approach besides genetics...
Sliced thin Salmon filets rolled around a core of cream cheese--until a "log" is formed.
The log is sliced cross-wise, of course, forming Salmon Rings with a slight bit of cream cheese in the center.
It only has to hold together long enough for transport to the bagel--although salmon will probably adhere to itself fairly well.-- spaceman_spiff, Jan 17 2002 [bristolz]- Have you patented this yet? This idea could definately make you rich if you did.
Of course, if you don't want it, *I'll* take it!-- Galileo, Feb 12 2002 From second to sixth place??! What?! I'm deeply hurt and so are my cream cheese rings. In fact, the rings are despondant over this.-- bristolz, Apr 01 2002 Dunn' worry ¯bristolz, all it takes to move this idea is for someone to come up with larger olives to slice.-- reensure, Apr 02 2002 Possibly the best Idea ever since the bagel slicer device(knife)!!! brilliant!!!!!-- shradius, Jun 05 2002 Yeah, I don't see a real need for such a highly specialized and fragile product.
Bagels and their sizes and holes vary enough to throw off this plan, although if whatever company decides to give this a go also sells matching bagels, that might solve that problem.
I also like my cream cheese soft, and I imagine forming it into a tube shape may necessitate some stiffening additives, which we have enough of, especially for the cutting part. Besides, if I'm going to go through the trouble of tring to slice cream cheese, I might as well just stick to spreading it, which will probably be less work and less messy.
Another issue I have is that individually wrapped rings will ultimately result in added waste that will most likely not be recycled.
If there were universal cream cheese spreading problems in the world, perhaps it would warrant such a solution. Call me silly, but a knife works just fine for me and makes my cheese work with other foods besides bagels.-- XSarenkaX, Jun 26 2002 Please do not argue with 112 croissants, Miss Jealous. THANX-- cassandra, Jun 26 2002 cassandra, if that last comment was directed at me, take a chill pill, would ya? I'd never vote against an idea out of jealousy - that doesn't make any sense.
We HalfBakers are here to share thoughts. I had an opinion, to which I am entitled, so I posted it. I'd be interested in reading something meaningful from you regarding why you support this idea, rather than personal attacks on annotators.-- XSarenkaX, Jun 26 2002 cassandra, I don't believe you.-- yamahito, Jun 26 2002 believe what? eh?-- po, Jun 26 2002 (aside to po: cassandra, trojans, greek mythology.. call yourself a teacher? sheesh!)-- yamahito, Jun 26 2002 I'm on a claratyn high...-- yamahito, Jun 26 2002 Sarenka, there's no slicing involved here. These are separated by a thin sheet of plastic. Peel off and stick on the bagel.-- waugsqueke, Jun 27 2002 Yeah, I know this is about preformed individual slices, but there was some talk of forming a log, so I addressed both issues.
I just feel like the costs (in the big picture) would outweigh the benefits of this product, especially since I don't see a big problem with spreading cheese on bagels the old-fashioned way.
Think of all the additional processing time in the factory to form thin rings of cream cheese, stack them between plastic sheets, and package them. That's more pollution coming from the factories and more waste coming from the additional packing products.
What's more, the resulting product will only sell to the bagel-eating portion of the world, and of those only the ones who both enjoy cream cheese on the bagels (some folks butter them or do other stuff with them) AND view this convenience as worth the additional cost. (Individually packaged rings will undoubtedly cost more at the store than the same amount of cheese in a plain old tub or foil package.) I don't anticipate these things would sell well enough to justify the effort to make it happen.
This is an original innovative product idea, but I would not buy it and would oppose its going to development for the reasons I stated above. Sorry.-- XSarenkaX, Jun 27 2002 [XSarenkaX]: Peanut butter has recently become available packaged in a similar way (although [rlo]'s link to it seems to be faulty), so it seems that the basic notion is sound, at least as far as marketing is concerned. Your other points are, of course, valid.-- angel, Jun 27 2002 yama, thanks I missed the joke. poor thing, no-one will ever take her seriously now.-- po, Jun 27 2002 It doesn't matter. Now just be a good girl and peel off a slice like the other 113.-- FarmerJohn, Jun 27 2002 Come here, you free-spirited city slicker you.-- FarmerJohn, Jun 27 2002 I just want to add that pineapple slices are already available in conveniently shaped ring slices, roughly the size of a bagel. Pineapple may even go well with the peanutbutter rings already available (although I've never come across them myself).-- XSarenkaX, Jun 27 2002 I realize there haven't been any comments on this idea for a while, but after reading all the comments I had to vote against it.
HOWEVER, I have an alternative. The Pampered Chef makes a device in which you insert a stick of butter and push the doohickey on the end, and the butter comes out directly onto your food in a long smooth 1-inch wide strip, until you stop. You could very easily use this for cream cheese instead - it comes in bricks, not just tubs. So you cut it once to insert it into the device, then store the whole thing in your fridge. Whenever you want cream cheese, whip the whole thing out and apply as much as you want. No knives or mess.
I was going to post a link, but can't find it on their web site. It's been in their catalogue though.
Or, I just realized (duh), use a pastry bag (the kind used for cake decorating) with the tip that is smooth and flat. Same principle. Insert it in the bag. Store as is in the fridge.-- migennes, Jul 14 2002 If this product were to come to pass, I would have no choice but to invent a smooth and creamy bagel paste that could readily be spread upon a pre-packaged, preformed cream cheese ring.-- milkbone, Jul 19 2002 This is a good idea, but not for sale directly to the general public. It should instead be marketed directly to restaurants, delis and doughnut/bagel shops. Typically, each shop uses a standard sized bagel, so the size problem mentioned above should be minimal. In the restaurant environment any idea to improve the speed of food preparation is a good one.
As far as production, why can't you roll the cream cheese first into a long tube, freeze it, slice it, punch out a hole then stack the slices with plastic paper inserts, then refrigerate for shipment. ( I haven't tried this so blast away if it wont' work! )-- BrainFreeze, Aug 26 2002 why deny this to the general public? hmmmph.-- po, Aug 26 2002 <off-topic slightly>
It reminds me that my dad always slices his bagels in a zigzag pattern to maximize the "cream cheese surface area" as well as making it interlock.-- BinaryCookies, Aug 26 2002 Wow. I am in awe of your father's peculiar attention to detail. Good show indeed. *bows*-- absterge, Aug 27 2002 But more importantly because [bristolz] had the idea for this. If you have an idea, you can post it. It's a beautiful thing. Secondly, yeah, that's baked.-- watermelancholy, Aug 27 2002 or just put it in a regular cheese wrapper. but shaped like a circle. but maybe the wrapper is more, aluminumy, ya know, like cream cheese style-- greedy, Aug 29 2002 Isn't this just inviting annoying different bagel _standards_? I can picture this at the supermarket:
"Wait, you are getting Size 23-A cream cheese! It's not compatible with our 32-C bagels!"
Cream Cheese Wrapper: Designed for Bagel XP-- BinaryCookies, Aug 30 2002 Coming Soon: Bleu Cheese of Death.-- watermelancholy, Aug 30 2002 The other day I bought pre-sliced cheese from Trader Joe's. Turns out they were round cheese slices that were perfectly sized for standard sized burgers (and vegi-burgers).-- Worldgineer, Jun 09 2005 Bastards!-- bristolz, Jun 09 2005 Daddy, why are bagels ring-shaped?
Well, it's so they're hard to spread with creamcheese.-- crater, Jun 09 2005 <<alert>>First Anno For a Newbie <<alert>> I know this is an old idea that has been beaten beyond reasonable, err.. reason, but... What if you formed the rings in a spiral with an averaged sized hole of all the bagels *IN THE WORLD* in the center. Then coated the layers with cellulose(to prevent caking). This would allow you to cut the thickness you wanted from the top without having to squish the tube and collapsing the hole causing all hell to break loose. You want a lot? Cut two or five rings deep and there you go. You want a little? Cut one and enjoy your pathetically covered bagel (guess which way I swing).
Edit: //The other day I bought pre-sliced cheese from Trader Joe's. //[Worldgineer] I've worked for Trader Joe's for over eight years and I never realized that that was why they were round. You're a genius. Pure and simple.-- NotTheSharpestSpoon, Mar 10 2006 Then you got the right account name there, mate.-- DrCurry, Mar 10 2006 You're probably right, [DrCurry]. Brutal, but right.-- NotTheSharpestSpoon, Mar 10 2006 Don't mind [DrC], he's on our welcoming committee.
How long has the cheese been round?-- Worldgineer, Mar 10 2006 You know, I don't really know. Trader Joe's has the really annoying habit of changing their products every other week. They bring in something really good, you fall in love with it, you tell someone that it's the best thing ever, they discontinue it.
I can no longer get my butter lemon cookies because they found "something" in the package that maybe shouldn't have been there. Whatever. I want my COOKIES!-- NotTheSharpestSpoon, Mar 10 2006 I decided to vote for this one, even though it is totally practical! +
For someone I never knew, nor even had any contact with. Part of you lives on here at the halfbakery.-- xandram, Jul 25 2006 Even though I voted for this idea, I would like to point out that I saw a commercial advertising this product about a year or so ago, so it's not really original, just thought you'd like to know-- 3Le3t Gam3R, Jul 26 2006 I'm a fan of [NTSS]'s helical cheese variant - tis the dairy equivalent of spiral sliced ham - pure genius.-- zen_tom, Jul 26 2006 [3Le], a year ago? Check out the date of the idea. That being said, I'd love to see this baked - could you tell me the name of the company?-- Worldgineer, Jul 26 2006 "Bristol's Brilliant Cheese and Butter Spreads, Inc."
Our motto; We always got cha covered, just right!-- blissmiss, Jul 26 2006 someone's hurting...
write to me.-- po, Jul 26 2006 Soon po.-- blissmiss, Jul 26 2006 x
mmmm cheese rings. love ya bris as does hundreds of cheesy fans.-- po, Jul 26 2006 I love this idea.(+)-- Shadow Phoenix, Oct 18 2007 [bz], I know you can't read this, and I apologize for the churn, but I think about this idea on a *very regular* basis, so I proffer my respects. +-- absterge, Apr 28 2008 <linky>-- DrBob, Dec 05 2008 //I hate this idea. They would take up too much space in your fridge//Not necessarily - you could store thin pepperoni in the void up the middle.-- coprocephalous, Dec 05 2008 The technology should now exist to 3D-print cream cheese rings as required; after all, 3d. printers for pizza are now a thing, and this is a much simpler application-- 8th of 7, Mar 04 2020 random, halfbakery