Jelloware cups are made entirely out of agar and come in three tasty flavors.
The cups were designed to be thrown into the grass after they are used, as agar is a seaweed extract and actually nurtures the growth of plants.
For more cup designs, check out: 17 Cool and Unusual Mugs
eliza
awesome + kewll..
Jul 25th, 2010
so
isn’t that the stuff we grow bacteria on in bio labs
Jul 25th, 2010
Aarti Harish
Cheee….i didnt like that…even i’ve used agar in the labs…
Jul 26th, 2010
Arkwright
@ so:
Yep, but people have been eating agar for years before it was even used as a culture medium.
Probably a bit expensive, and I don’t know how easily they’d break in transport or in use, but I would honestly consider getting a few packs just for the novelty alone when I feel like reusable glasses made from glass wouldn’t be the preferred option.
Jul 26th, 2010
izza
@so:
I’ve been ate agar since baby (literally), and I couldn’t remember sick after eating it. In fact, it helps food digestion and smooth the food in intestine.
I am almost 40 now…
*sorry my bad english, not my 1st language*
Jul 26th, 2010
rash
the way it looks makes me wanna throw up!!!:s
Jul 26th, 2010
Betty
Brilliant! We bought some agar gelatin once at an Asian market and we had a fantastic time experimenting with adding different flavors and making all kinds of shapes. It holds it’s shape amazingly and is good to eat–obviously!
Jul 26th, 2010
forumlogic
Can you imagine these being used in a pub? – would stop the glassing injuries from all the “tough guy” brawling – lol
Jul 26th, 2010
Yuu
The agar is just to make the media plates solidify while permitting growth – it’s the sugars, peptones, amino acids, etc that make the media ideal for culturing lab organisms… like any food item good storage habits will keep it fresh / free of mold/bacteria.
Awesome idea. Great for outdoor parties.
Jul 26th, 2010
emmajane
what flavors are they? they don’t look very appetizing, and they’re not that clean. if you put it on a table or pass it around and then eat it it is going to be covered with germs. yuck!
Jul 26th, 2010
Kate
i think the only way for not eating bacteria with the glasses is to hold it with some kind of tinfoil or plastic bag. anyway, it doesn’t look very delicius but it is a… good idea.
Jul 26th, 2010
Rick A
@emmajane
Then please don’t think about all the germs that are on money. There are litteral millions on a bill or a coin.
Would you say no to $100 bill now that you know?
Stop being a wussy.
Jul 27th, 2010
Doink
These would be a really good idea! Would save alot of garbage, thus a cleaner environment.
Jul 28th, 2010
Jack
agar is just a setting agent, why do people assume something dirty just because its used in something else.
Jul 28th, 2010
Stacie
A good idea, though not exactly practical at this point. However, some people are confused that this is to be 100% consumed. This is not the case here, note that the point of the agar cup is so that it can easily be thrown aside and will biodegrade completely and quickly while also nourishing the environment.
Jul 29th, 2010
MissSpider
do they melt in your hand, not in your mouth? o.O
Jul 30th, 2010
coz
nope won’t melt, good under 85 F. If everyone is sick about germs. I worked in a factory that cut up cows and pigs. The table you put your cup on is way more clean than the tables we used and oh don’t forget the fecal matter in ever ground beef burger
Aug 4th, 2010
hi
@emmajane lemon-basil, ginger-mint and rosemary beet are the flavours…
Aug 4th, 2010
Ben
Agar gel is just a “fake” plant-based gelatin which is used in a huge array of foods, including vegetarian jello. It’s a plant-based peptide chain which gels very easily.
Yes, it’s also used in a wide array of scientific experiments, including culturing. It’s simply the medium on which the culture grows, however. It doesn’t inherently contain any bacteria. That would be like saying “all glass is dirty because we use glass petri dishes to grow bacteria” or “all plastic is dirty because I sneezed on my keyboard” or “all metal is dirty because I saw rust on a bridge once” or…you get my drift? It’s just faulty logic.
Also, as was stated previously, as well as mentioned in the article, they aren’t necessarily meant to be eaten. You can eat them, and you won’t get sick from them (unless the surface you set them on was just disgusting). But they’re made to be a “replacement paper cup” as a one-time use cup that won’t fill up landfills.
Aug 12th, 2010
Erica
I work in a lab and we use agar for running DNA samples via gel electrophoresis. We hear of poor grad school students sometimes even cooking some up to eat if they’re that strapped for cash. It’s perfectly safe but plain in flavor. :)
Aug 12th, 2010
SayBlade
Oooooh! Why did you use a name brand in what you called this. It is NOT Jello. Jello is made of animal products, namely gelatin which comes from animal bones. Agar, on the other hand is a plant based substance which is therefore vegetarian. You can find it in South Asian grocery stores or health food stores. You can use it to gel many things but don’t use anything that’s very acidic, like tomatoes, citrus fruit, etc.
The cups are truly agarware!
Aug 12th, 2010
Estella
Clarification: agar is not plant-based, it’s algae-based, and hence is /protist/-based. Different kingdom.
Aug 13th, 2010
Kelly
I used to work for Leonidas Chocolates. Huge in Europe. Really good stuff. Their fruit jelly candies were made of Agar. One of my favorite things to eat in a room full of chocolate. That’s gotta say something. The fig one was pure heaven…
Aug 14th, 2010
amy
Agar Agar is pretty commonly used in the culinary world. Mostly because its a vegan form of gelatin. Also it gels into a much more solid form than normal gelatin. Its fairly inexpensive if you get it from the asian food stores like super 88’s in the new england area.
p.s.
these are just the cuttest things ever! any have the recipe i couldnt find it on the page :P
Aug 24th, 2010
Habibies
Yummmy and Awesome :P
Aug 26th, 2010
Elena
inventions like these give me hope for my species. i dream of the day that when anytime i see a cup (or, as today, many cups) blowing on the side of the road, i know it will be peacefully biodegrading and joining the food chain in short order. my world co-dwellers are such slobs…
Aug 30th, 2010
m8
this is perfect if the jello is made with alcohol, AND the content of the cup is also alcohol. but is holding the cup like touching jello? because then i cant find this to be very practical as most jellos are moist and slimey
Sep 1st, 2010
sum1
In my country agar is common food… It tastes good and you should try it sometime… But dunno bout the that Jello-thing…
Sep 7th, 2010
Bobb
A food and a drink! And good for the enivironment!
Sep 8th, 2010
Veronica
Just stumbled across your post and love it! Thanks so much for sharing. It is actually pretty coincidental because just this morning we were discussing agar agar in class(at culinary school). On of the chefs wanted to puree over ripe melon, mix it with agar agar and the push it through a cheesecloth to make melon “caviar”.I had no idea it could be found in asian markets, but so glad to find that out as well! I happen to have a pretty large asian food market right up the street from me (in NJ). Could you possibly share the instructions on how you made them? Thanks!
Sep 8th, 2010
Anthony
How do you make the shape of the cups, with a mold?
Sep 11th, 2010
Sally
I just thought that you should know how they make real gelatin. It is made from boiling animal joints and bones and tendons etc.
Oct 11th, 2010
Jess
These make me think of the cups that Willy Wonka eats in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory!
Oct 11th, 2010
Nik
Great idea, but how i can drink hot tea in this? )))
Nov 10th, 2010
Kate
Oooooh! I love agar, it’s functional AND tasty! Well, tasty if you add flavoring to it, of course. Otherwise it tastes like plain gelatin (that is to say, tastes like Vaseline and air and nothingness).
Fantastic idea! I’m going to suggest this to the folks for our next family reunion!
Nov 10th, 2010
Megan
I don’t think I’d eat it. But, like the article said, you can just toss it on the ground after you use it if you wanted to.
Jan 10th, 2011
Sarah Farrukh
Sweet and Yummmy :P
May 26th, 2011
Rose
I think your ideas are great for the eatable cups (jello and coffee) do you have a receipt for them that you can share
Sep 20th, 2013