I was in line at the check out at my local Canal's liquor store several weeks ago when I saw something odd--a candy shot glass. That is, a shot glass made out of candy, not glassware designed to measure out portions of candy. (I'd actually noticed this product a few months before, but I forgot about it, and evidently they'd run of out them for a while.) After taking a look at it this time I was curious, so the store got a purely impulse buy out of it. To be exact it was distributed by Bee International, Inc., out of San Diego, California, and made in China by an unlisted manufacturer.
Anyway, after I bought the shot glass home, it got me to thinking about edible food/drink containers in general. I recalled that I'd had one before, in the form of a "bread bowl" used during a chili contest at the office of my former employer. But, going further, a little online research revealed that this type of thing is much more widespread than I imagined. Currently, you can purchase plates made out of wheat bran, or sugarcane and bamboo, or bowls made from spinach and pepper, spoons made out of crackers, and drinking straws consisting of long hollow tubes of uncooked pasta. Biotrem, out of Poland, seems to be the most prominent business that sells these wares. However, calling these things edible seems to be a bit misleading. It appears that the point of these products is mainly to be quickly biodegradable. Something for ecological-minded, green folks to use, and then let rot in their backyard compost mounds. From what I read online, these products are technically edible, but most people don't, since they don't taste that great. The overall goal is to eliminate waste, especially of plastic. Which, while admirable, and logical, isn't that much fun. Alas, most of these products are only available in bulk, so they're really mostly appropriate for restaurants. And the restaurants and businesses that use them seem to be mostly in California. Therefore, if I see some on sale for a more reasonable amount/price, or if I happen to go to a restaurant that has them, I'll of course give them a try, and then update this post. But for now I'll just go with the two I mentioned.
The focus of the official Bee International, Inc., company website seems to be listing their products, and how to get them. Which is reasonable, since their goal is to make money, but I would have liked a little bit of their history. About all it reported was that Bee started in 1970, and they make/import/distribute novelty candies. Their business seems to be largely seasonal, as they have sections of the website devoted to products for Easter, Valentine's Day, Halloween, and Christmas. Some of their more unusual products include spinner pops (what is it, 2017? (Sorry to be catty)), gingerbread house kits, color-you-mouth gumballs (which I didn't know was something people want), and glow-in-the-dark vampire fangs that leak an ersatz, watermelon-flavored blood. The candy shot glass, as I realized later, was Christmas-themed, with a Santa hat and a Christmas bow on the box, and its overall structure being a glass-shaped candy cane. If you're curious, another website claimed that the Bee CEO is Louis Charles Block, that they have a workforce of 20, and that their annual revenue is $18,743, 240. (I find this incredibly exact figure to be absurd--how do they know this, unless they're the accountants for Bee International?)
Bread Bowl: Made by an unknown bakery in the Albany, NY area, in about 2008. This was a very large, thick and fluffy roll. It was effective as a bowl to contain the thick chili that I put in it--I don't recall that chili seeped through it. But I think it was only really appropriate for thicker, paste-like liquids like chili, and not for say, most soups. Anyway, it was enjoyable. It was kind of new and fun to eat food, and then eat the container afterward. The bread itself was fresh and tasty. And some of the chili had soaked into the bread, which gave the bread itself a nice flavor kick. So overall this was an enjoyable experience, and I would happily have it again when I can.
Bee International, Inc., candy shot glass: "Lick it, Refill it, and Eat it!" as the label read. It looked like a shot glass made out of candy cane, which is what it was, so a red and white swirl color, and big enough to hold a shot (about 1 ounce/29.5 ml.) of a drink. I tried to be systematic about this, so I tried it with several different liquids. I wanted to know how much the candy flavor of the glass would affect the taste of the liquid inside. Moving on, I decided to drink some shots immediately, and others after letting them sit in the candy shot glass for at least a minute. The drinks I tried were water (also used to rinse out the glass between each sample), grape flavored Powerade Zero, Becherovka (see my post on July 27, 2014), and Sambuca.(regular classic flavor). Anyway, the water tasted a little sweeter in the shot glass, and more so when I let it sit. However, it wasn't a significant difference. The Powerade Zero was pretty much the same as the water--slightly sweeter, but not by a lot done both ways. I didn't notice much a change with either of the liquors, even when they sat for a bit. However, both of these liquors are heavy and syrupy, so maybe more sugar didn't affect them much. As you might expect, being made of candy the glass got sticky between shots, so it was a little messy. The glass came with a small removable plastic cup on the base, presumably to help with this. The walls of the shot glass were fairly thick, and this, combined with the shape, made it difficult to eat after I was done drinking. I had to awkwardly gnaw pieces off the side of it. I should mention that candy canes aren't a candy I especially like. I like mint flavor in general, and small, bite sized mints are fine. But the shape of candy canes, and this shot glass, aren't a particularly good way to enjoy this type of candy. That said, I can see folks enjoying these shot glasses, maybe as a one time, Christmas party event. Especially if you're college-aged, I guess. I don't regret trying this, but I don't plan on buying one again.
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