Today plates and cups may be used not only just to put food into… they can be eaten as well. Scientific achievements and manufacturers' wit turned this trick into reality. The so-called eatable dishware made of food and palatable materials appeared on the market.

 One type of eatable tableware – waffle cups for ice-cream – has become naturalized in our country. Ice-cream cups were invented a hundred years ago by a creative American and appeared in Russia in 1932. Production was rapidly developing and now the market is overfilled – equipment for ice-cream cups production is offered all around. Nevertheless the management of the Association of Ice-Cream Makers of Russia believes that the eatable cup started to lose its position. Eskimo briquette passed it by the volume of production, as it has a more handy shape and a wide gustatory range of coverings.

 Europe has been producing absolutely safe and environmentally clean eatable tableware for the second decade already. Thus in the Czech Republic you will be offered to buy a tea-set made of caramel or chocolate, in a French restaurant you can eat a toothpick tasting like a chewing gum. And these are not exclusive items, they are mass-produced. In Australia tea-sets made of dried fruits come off the line and rice plates are produced for hot meals. In German shops eatable plates for children – dessert plats and glasses made of fruit pastille – are in favor. In Russia such tableware only starts to enter the market.

Englishmen consider themselves to be the pioneers of eatable tableware. The first idea to give up regular material came into mind of Peter Piponidis, the owner of a small English restaurant in Keywort. His visitors often ordered the traditional meal – fish and chips – to take out, putting it into a special container. Peter started to make these boxes out of potato flour, therefore they became eatable. This production method was very simple, similar to that of chips. The package was not only tasty, but had the properties of a chewing gum, that is it helped to remove unwanted food remains from the mouth.

As a matter of fact there was nothing fundamentally new in this Englishman's invention. Back in the 1780s the disposable dishware made of pressed rice flour was patented in Japan. After using those plates according to their initial purpose they could be eaten. Now the Japanese started to add various vitamins and useful mineral substances into such eatable plates and the practical Americans adopted their experience.

Russia has once nearly introduced eatable dishware into everyday life. Before the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow, when a great flow of guests was expected and all the public caterings places could be overcrowded, it was decided to provide all canteens and snack bars with eatable plates, glasses and forks. One of the biggest advantages of this innovation was the idea that this tableware would help to get rid of washing equipment and dishware cabinets thus considerably saving time and space. The Public Catering Chair of the Leningrad Institute of Soviet Trade developed materials that could be used for manufacturing of cheap and safe plates. Nevertheless this project was not approved in the end and the catering problem was solved in a different way: the 1980 Olympics brought disposable plastic tableware into Russia which secured its place in everyday life.

Russian cooks and restaurateurs did not remain aloof of the foreign experience. Just recently one of the Moscow fast-food restaurants presented its know-how – suitable eatable tableware. It tastes like a Georgian pita and is capable of containing even liquid soups, though for no longer than 15 minutes. The recipe of this dough is kept a secret, of course. It is only known that it is made of corn flour. Company managers think that this product will help them take a new niche on the Russian tableware manufacturers market, as they turned out to be the first to produce these simple goods in our country. Besides it is an image-making product attracting the clients, as eatable tableware delights both children and adults. This solution suits not only fast-foods, but traditional restaurants as well. At the Cookery Salon held in April the "Pushkin" restaurant surprised everyone by presenting tableware of rye dough.

 Eatable paper to wrap up sandwiches has also been invented. At first sight it looks like regular paper, but it consists of specially treated mashed vegetables, fruits and berries, melting as soon as they get into one's mouth. This paper secures tightness of packing therefore it is suitable for storing food in freezers.

Lactis Dairy Plant, the Novgorod Region, packs its products into packages which are not eatable, but rapidly decomposed by sun rays. The plant management thinks this a good marketing idea – this is packing of the future, which will attract a modern customer. Although this is not the Russian invention, it was introduced by a Swedish company.

 The undoubted advantage of eatable plates is that they are cheap to produce. Their cost price is not only comparable to plastic tableware, but often can be lower. Besides, single-use eatable tableware allows to save on maintenance staff – there is no need for dish-washers and cleaners, no need to pay more for garbage removal.

Scientists believe that there is nothing fantastic or childishly funny about eatable tableware. The thing is that ecologists from all over the world are alarmed with the fact that plastic tableware used almost in all public catering places does rapid and irreparable harm to the environment. Just compare: wood decomposes in the ground in about 4 years, tin can – in 100 years, while plastics lie in the ground without decomposing for more than 500 years; besides polymer materials emit deathful compositions while burning. Western countries try to solve this problem and to minimize the usage of plastics; in many countries the tax for production of plastic items has been increased. Ecologists promise that in the nearest time they will obtain introduction of restrictions and taxes for usage of plastic tableware, bottles and packages as well. Eatable tableware in this case will become the best substitute for plastic analogs: it is cheaper to produce, and the materials for its production are usually easily renewable, for example potato starch.

Western scientists are introducing another product accompanying eatable tableware – eatable package for food. It is made of digestible components – proteins, carbohydrates, glycerides, lipids. Some types of eatable packages require additional protection; nevertheless they are still widely used. Manufacturers say that eatable package has some undeniable advantages: it improves product taste, is handy and at the same time does not require disposal. Besides, Americans made this package useful for health by adding vitamin E and calcium into it. If you still cannot resolve to eat the plate or the packing film, you can throw it away without any doubt – it decomposes in the ground very quickly.

Such tableware and packing are not yet represented at the modern Russian market – except for some restaurants, which produce eatable plates for their own use. Who will be the first to take this promising and exclusive niche? Time will tell.

 Ksenia Monakhova