I have a problem with leaving my cups in my room, which eventually clutters it. I would love it if someone might make an edible cup, kind of like an ice cream cone. Not to mention the benefits this would have for the munchies -- would take care of cottonmouth at the same time!
-- jimithing, Dec 07 2001

Clemson Uni food packaging http://www.clemson....ckagingresearch.htm
Mentions research into edible packaging film made from soy and corn protein. [pottedstu, Dec 07 2001, last modified Oct 05 2004]

(?) Edible and biodegradable packaging http://www.ift.org/.../bibliography.shtml
Bibliography. [pottedstu, Dec 07 2001]

(?) IFO Food Expo 2001 - Packaging http://www.ift.org/...ts/packaging2.shtml
State of the art in food packaging. [pottedstu, Dec 07 2001]

(?) doughnut-cup http://ccins.camosu...britton/animcup.gif
[FarmerJohn, Oct 11 2002, last modified Oct 05 2004]

(?) Edible and biodegradable packaging http://www.ift.org/cms/?pid=1000376
Bibliography. (link edited 20040828) [pottedstu, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004]

IFO Food Expo 2003 - Packaging http://209.242.196....2003/09-03pack.html
State of the art in food packaging. (Link edited: Originally there was a link to the 2001 expo but it went all 404). Includes a section on research into edible packaging, still a big area. [pottedstu, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004]

You'll end up eating all the shit that gets stuck to the outside of the cup. Great if you like to eat s**t, instead of s****ing it out.
-- neelandan, Dec 07 2001


Is it possible to create an edible cup that isn't water-soluble?
-- bookworm, Dec 07 2001


bookworm: Raw potato or carrot? (Hmm, I guess it might cook with a hot drink, and go all floppy). What about the stuff they make those silver sugar balls out of to go on top of cakes? I think they dissolve, but very slowly. Perhaps an intricate weave of lasagne, stressed with cinnamon twigs. Sad thing is, most food even if it doesn't dissolve, cooks and goes soft. Possibly because we can't eat things we can't soften up.
-- pottedstu, Dec 07 2001


Baked for ice cream (cones) and stew (bread).

Pineapple comes to mind. Apple does too, but wouldn't be suitable for all foods. Potato is good, as [pottedstu] suggests. I don't think I'd worry about a potato cooking unless the food is very hot for a very long time.
-- phoenix, Dec 07 2001


I was thinking cucumbers or celery, the latter could be made into an edible straw (two glued together with garlic juice) (or goose fat?) for drinking out of the cucumber cups.
-- arora, Dec 07 2001


yuck, why would somebody want to eat a vegetable cup? I think that's pretty gross. I was thinking more like a cookie cup that you drink the milk out of. I really don't know, but if somebody could make it, I would buy it.
-- jimithing, Dec 07 2001


The problem with an edible cup is that the sequence is backwards. In the case of milk and cookies, what you'd really want is cookies in a cup made of milk.
-- beauxeault, Dec 07 2001


Lots of research into the manufacturing of packaging from plant and animal proteins and starches. Wheat, soy and whey proteins are being used; there's also work on packaging from prawn/shrimp skins. All I've found on the web are summaries and overviews of this research, with little detail. It still seems an academic exercise rather than one that is being actively pursued in industry. It is also closely tied into research on biodegradable packaging, which suggests taste isn't the main objective. One idea mentioned is using an edible film to coat strawberries to prolong their shelf-life (much as wax is used on apples, I assume). Making cups doesn't seem an area of interest.
-- pottedstu, Dec 07 2001


Isn't wax edible? Lightly wax the inside of a fiberous cracker cup.

I'd only worry about where I'd been setting the thing... eww.
-- seal, Dec 07 2001


Waxed rice paper?
-- pottedstu, Dec 07 2001


The trick [jimithing] is to just drink your beer out of the can, rather than pouring it into a glass first.
-- mcscotland, Jan 23 2002


Apple skins and the like are mildly water-resistant, aren't they?
-- jester, Feb 27 2002


"A topologist is a man who doesn't know the difference between a coffee cup and a doughnut." Since they are homeomorphic and are usually consumed together, a doughnut - coffee cup would seem appropriate. Made crusty (for support) and oiled (water resistant), the cup brim could be nibbled as its contents are sipped. See link.
-- FarmerJohn, Oct 11 2002


I've seen this before. They were shot glasses. They were made of the same matierial as ice cream cones, and the inside was coated in chocolate to create a liquid barrier so that the cup would not disintegrate. I think I may still have som in my room some where.
-- vonfunk, Aug 10 2004


I wouldn't want to eat the bottom of the cup, but the rest would be okay. If you were just left with a small flat disk afterwards it would be less clutter than a complete cup.

Or keep a single clean plate or saucer in your room to put the edible cups on.
-- caspian, Jan 06 2005



random, halfbakery