Incredible, amazing, brilliant, ingenious food packaging

[Fat Guy]

The "Stoopid food packaging" topic has resonated a lot around these parts. But I was thinking, isn't it also the case that there is a lot of really great food packaging out there? Perhaps we can come up with some examples.

For example, can we hear it for aseptic boxes? I don't actually understand the technology, but stuff in them generally tastes much better than stuff in cans.

[Chris Amirault]

I dunno how they do it, but Trader Joe's never has moist-bottomed meat packaging, unlike virtually every other styrofoam 'n' plastic wrap grocer.

[Anna N]

Tomato paste in a tube - brilliant.

[andiesenji]

Tomato paste in a tube - brilliant.

Ditto anchovy paste and wasabi paste. Keeps well, no waste.

[slkinsey]

For example, can we hear it for aseptic boxes? I don't actually understand the technology, but stuff in them generally tastes much better than stuff in cans.

Yea? I'm not so sure about that.

I mean, sure, I suppose milk in a box tastes better than canned milk. But it's still horrible. And while some Pomi tomato products in aseptic packaging tastes better than some brands of canned tomatoes, there are plenty of brands of canned tomatoes that taste 100 times better than Pomi. The only other stuff I'd consider edible that's typically packaged in aseptic boxes is juice, and as a general rule I can't stomach juice that I don't extract from the fruit myself.

What stuff can you think of that does well in aseptic boxes compared to the other usual methods? Stocks and broths seem to do well in aseptic boxes, although I'm not sure they do any better in boxes than they do in cans (I'd have to taste the same brand side-by-side). It's certainly more convenient in a box.

[weinoo]

For example, can we hear it for aseptic boxes? I don't actually understand the technology, but stuff in them generally tastes much better than stuff in cans.

Yea? I'm not so sure about that.

I mean, sure, I suppose milk in a box tastes better than canned milk. But it's still horrible. And while some Pomi tomato products in aseptic packaging tastes better than some brands of canned tomatoes, there are plenty of brands of canned tomatoes that taste 100 times better than Pomi. The only other stuff I'd consider edible that's typically packaged in aseptic boxes is juice, and as a general rule I can't stomach juice that I don't extract from the fruit myself.

I have to go along with Sam on this. We buy the milk, only because it comes in 1 cup sizes, and that way we're not throwing out 3 cups of milk when the quart goes sour before we use it up. Pomi tomatoes are convenient, but many brands of cans are so much better - though let't not forget that Pomi packs pretty much salt-free, which isn't always the case with canned tomatoes.

I do like, and keep, some of the high-end stocks - once again, I love the 1 cup sizes.

[rotuts]

trader Joe's Turkey Gravy

its not as good as mine, but if you goose it up a little: a little garlic, some Bell's seasoning, maybe reduced white wine

it will have a fine conversation with your mashed potatoes. when your not roasting your own Turk.

which is most of the time.

[David A. Goldfarb]

I think the Pomi tomatoes have an advantage when you want to use them in a dish that doesn't cook for a long time, like a quick sauce with basil and olive oil that takes five minutes just to warm up the tomatoes without cooking them long enough to release a lot of water. For a sauce that cooks for a long time and reduces, it's more important to have a higher quality tomato, and the fresher, less-cooked taste of a tetra-packed tomato is going to be lost anyway.

[FauxPas]

Paper-based egg cartons!

Made from recycled materials and can be re-used several times for safe egg storage and transport. Or can be used to store or transport other items - golf balls, figs, apricots, etc.

Excellent for seed-starting as they are compostable. Also useful for organizing and storing craft items such as beads.

Apparently developed in BC, Canada (I didn't know this):

http://www.bcnorth.ca/magazine/pages/jim/egg/egg1.htm

[runwestierun]

We have to compare like products. This isn't a debate about the best tomato brand. The question is: do Pomi tomatoes in boxes taste better than the exact same Pomi tomatoes in cans?

[natasha1270]

Zico coconut water. Aseptic packaging vs plastic bottle. The box is better. Along these lines, glass bottle sodas generally taste better than their plastic brethren, don't they?

My friend tells me the soy and almond milk products in the refrigerator section are better tasting than the shelf versions. I had always assumed one was just chilled but maybe there is an incremental difference in processing time the product goes through?

As a special treat when we went away on vacations as a child, we were allowed to buy a pack of the individual serving box cereals and you would just cut open the box & waxed insert, pour the milk directly in and voila! They were meant to be packaging and bowl all in one. Do they still package them this way?

Also, I was at Old Navy last week and saw they had a few Sistema pieces. The really clever item was the fork/spoon/chopstick combo! Am thinking I may go back to pick one up for my own lunchbag.

Edited July 11, 2011 by natasha1270 (log)

[David A. Goldfarb]

We have to compare like products. This isn't a debate about the best tomato brand. The question is: do Pomi tomatoes in boxes taste better than the exact same Pomi tomatoes in cans?

Are there Pomi tomatoes in cans? Pomi is a Parmalat product, and my impression was that they are more about finding ways to use the packaging than finding ways to sell tomatoes. Maybe the same tomatoes are sold in cans under some other brand, but I suspect that a big conglomerate like Parmalat is sourcing tomatoes from all over, and it would be hard to pin that down.

I think the reason that Pomi tomatoes taste fresher when used in ways that take advantage of that property, is that the packaging method doesn't involve heating the tomatoes as much as canning.

[Seattle Food Geek]

I don't know that I'd call it incredible, but I really like the granulated sugar that comes in the milk carton-style packaging. It's easy to pour, and it stores well. Why does flour still have to come in leaky, tear-prone paper sacks? Hop on the carton train, flour makers!

[andiesenji]

Zico coconut water. Aseptic packaging vs plastic bottle. The box is better. Along these lines, glass bottle sodas generally taste better than their plastic brethren, don't they?

My friend tells me the soy and almond milk products in the refrigerator section are better tasting than the shelf versions. I had always assumed one was just chilled but maybe there is an incremental difference in processing time the product goes through?

As a special treat when we went away on vacations as a child, we were allowed to buy a pack of the individual serving box cereals and you would just cut open the box & waxed insert, pour the milk directly in and voila! They were meant to be packaging and bowl all in one. Do they still package them this way?

Also, I was at Old Navy last week and saw they had a few Sistema pieces. The really clever item was the fork/spoon/chopstick combo! Am thinking I may go back to pick one up for my own lunchbag.

I don't know if the single serve boxes for use as a cereal bowl are still around but they are now packaging this way.

My neighbors, who have several children, have these delivered on a regular basis as they are not always available at Costco.

[Fat Guy]

I think the Pomi tomatoes have an advantage when you want to use them in a dish that doesn't cook for a long time, like a quick sauce with basil and olive oil that takes five minutes just to warm up the tomatoes without cooking them long enough to release a lot of water. For a sauce that cooks for a long time and reduces, it's more important to have a higher quality tomato, and the fresher, less-cooked taste of a tetra-packed tomato is going to be lost anyway.

I think you've hit the nail on the head: fresher, less-cooked, and I'd add less processed. This is what I notice about aseptic anything versus the rough canned equivalent, be it tomatoes, tuna or anything I can think of. I agree if you're going to cook it a long time or otherwise manipulate it then you lose that advantage. I also wish some of the super-premium DOP-type packers would offer stuff in aseptic packaging, since Pomi tomatoes are clearly not the world's best (nonetheless I think they taste fresher than the world's best, and you have to add a lot of salt to make a fair comparison). I don't think there would be any contest if a top-quality San Marzano tomato product in a can and an aseptic box got tasted side-by-side.

[slkinsey]

I suppose it depends on what you want to use the tomatoes for. If anyone has a copy of Modernist Cuisine handy, I believe there is something in there about a flavor compound that only develops in tomatoes when they're cooked a certain amount -- and that a preference for this flavor is a reason many (most?) people prefer canned tomatoes over fresh for cooked tomato sauces.

Whether or not Pomi's perceived "freshness" (which may simply be a lack of development of this chemical) is necessarily an advantage is a meaningful question. If you have to cook the Pomi tomatoes longer to get the right flavor, then I see this as a disadvantage. I don't particularly care for the flavor profile of Pomi straight out of the box, which shares some similarities with what I don't like about the flavor of uncooked tomato paste. And when I want "fresh flavor" in a tomato prep my usual method is to use, yanno, fresh tomatoes.

None of which is to say that there's anything necessarily worse about this flavor profile. It's just not the one that I prefer. On the other hand, one could say similar things going in the other direction. There's nothing necessarily better about the flavor profile of aseptic packaged tomatoes either. I haven't had the opportunity to do a side-by-side comparison of canned and aseptic packed top quality San Marzano tomatoes, but needless to say that if the aseptic packed tomatoes still had that "not quite cooked enough" flavor profile, I would prefer the canned ones.

[David A. Goldfarb]

I also prefer fresh tomatoes when they're in season, but that isn't the case for most of the year.

I heard an interview with Batali once that said that the reason that he preferred canned tomatoes for sauce even when tomatoes were in season was that they came peeled, and that it was unacceptable to have peels that felt like little slips of paper in his sauce, and it was too labor intensive to have to peel them in his own kitchens.

[deepfryerdan]

Resealable bags of shredded cheese. I don't always buy pre-shredded cheese but when I do I love that it's resealable.

[lowonthehog]

Following Seattle Food Geek's line, wine boxes are not incredible, but ingenious and very important, because they dispense wine without increasing air exposure. I cook with more wine (and get more layers of flavor) with no worries about how I'll use the rest of the bottle.

Now we just need box wine purveyors to stop positioning themselves only at the low end of the market and start to deliver better wines in boxes.

[Nayan Gowda]

The egg shell. Absolute genius!

[Kouign Aman]

Right up there with the orange and banana peels!

Edited July 11, 2011 by Kouign Aman (log)

[pastrygirl]

I don't know that I'd call it incredible, but I really like the granulated sugar that comes in the milk carton-style packaging. It's easy to pour, and it stores well. Why does flour still have to come in leaky, tear-prone paper sacks? Hop on the carton train, flour makers!

I hate those! They are not so bad if you are weighing and weigh very carefully and don't have to put any back in the carton, but forget about dip and sweep measuring by cups. If you pour it into a measuring cup, how are you supposed to level it off? I prefer to either keep my sugar in the 5# bag inside of a gallon sized ziploc, or transfer it to another container with an airtight lid, like a cambro. The bag is only a pain when it is first opened and full. I should admit that my house is plagued by tiny ants, who will occasionally appear in one room or another and I've thrown too much food away already to not keep my dry goods airtight and ant-proof.

[haresfur]

Squeeze bottles that stand on their lids.

[dcarch]

The ubiquitous Chinese take-out box.

It's in NYC's Museum Of Modern Art's permanent exhibition.

dcarch

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_hPqlNACc-u0/S7y1uV5bxqI/AAAAAAAAAJ4/KnWZjFeuLKU/s1600/Photo0368.jpg

Edited July 12, 2011 by dcarch (log)

[Fat Guy]

What do you call this thing? It keeps the bag of English muffins or whatever closed. I think it's pretty great.

Can anybody think of a product that comes in both cans and aseptic packaging -- exact same product -- that I can compare side-by-side? Tuna is the one I'm thinking of so far.