Disposable bowls for soup

[Fernwood]

We have an annual party where soup is the main food offering. Many guests (almost 100), quite crowded, most folks standing around. In the past I bought disposable rigid plastic bowls like these (though white): Plastic soup bowls. They were OK. I am thinking of trying these instead: Stalkmarket sugar cane fiber soup bowls. Does anyone have experience with this material? Most important features would be rigidity and not feeling too hot in the hand. I like the 12 oz size. The sugar cane fiber ones appear to be a slightly deeper shape, which would be desirable.

Any feedback would be welcome! Thanks, Fern

[Jaymes]

Years ago, I did a lot of entertaining, and I mean a lot. When you routinely host dinner parties in your (quite ordinary) home for 30, 40, 80, 100, you have to come up with some creative ways to do it. For me, soups often fit the bill. I'd do hearty soups like chili, potato & clam chowders, gumbo, red beans & rice, etc. And I figured out that mugs were the best way to go. They don't spill easily, and they have handles, and that made it easy for guests to wander around carrying their mug of soup. If they wanted to pause to bite into something else, like cornbread, biscuits, or take a drink of something, the soup spoon stays in the mug, unlike bowls, that often are not deep enough for the spoon to rest in without flipping out and making a big mess.

I don't know what your budget permits, nor what sort of storage space you have, but I laid in a supply of glass mugs (and spoons - I hate plastic spoons) from a restaurant supply house. I think my initial outlay was about $200 or so, for 9 or 10 dozen (don't remember exactly), but I used those mugs constantly. They were good for the sorts of heavy, filling dinner-type soups that I mentioned, but I also used them to serve desserts of all sorts (puddings, ice cream, bananas foster, a piece of poundcake topped with macerated fruit & whipped cream), punches, mixed drinks, hot chocolate, coffee, hot buttered rum, eggnog, apple cider, appetizers like ceviche, shrimp cocktails...well, the uses were endless. I stored them in their original cases in a back closet and, after using them, into the dishwasher and then back into their storage boxes.

http://www.acemart.com/prod6226.html

They were so handy, and I used them so often, that I also purchased several dozen of those speckled blue/black "camp mugs" at a hardware discount store to use for outdoor gatherings.

Edited November 30, 2013 by Jaymes (log)

[LizD518]

Be careful with anything compostable and check that hot items are ok. Some items will start to melt just when sitting in the sun! It's a bigger issue with the clear plastic-looking items, but still worth checking.