The edible water packaging Ooho! might be the solution to plastic waste pollution, one of the most pressing issues of our times. Edible water packaging could avoid plastic bottles polluting cities, parks, oceans and even the slopes of Mount Everest.
Ooho! is a project of Spanish innovation designer Rodrigo García González, and his French counterparts Guillaume Couche and Pierre Paslier, who together founded Skipping Rocks Lab in London. Ooho! Is the first project of this innovation lab. It is a water package made of a gelatinous membrane that is tasteless. A simple portable, fully compostable, even edible water package that feels like jelly in your hand, invites to play and is fun to sip water from. Capturing liquid in a gelatinous membrane is called spherification, an old technique that has become fashionable again. Catalan chef Ferran Adrià, for example, has done awesome things with this method in his (high) cuisine.
Inspired by nature
In his Ted talk in Groningen last February, Rodrigo asks us to rethink how we consume water and what we leave behind after drinking. He tells how the water blob was inspired by nature, by the membranes that you find in eggs, grapes or caviar. And actually, as he shows, it is an easy thing to make yourself as many people show on the internet. It is a trend! Other projects García González did, like creating strong building structures from discarded water bottles demonstrate the passion he has for the plastic waste problem.
In previous posts we have discussed other edible food carriers. The video that comes with this post shows how it works and how it is made. And it shows the difference in the drinking experience with water from a plastic bottle. Apart from all the sustainable benefits, you’ll have a laugh while drinking from the Ooho! blob, that’s for sure! And with a little practice you should be able to drink it while keeping dry.
Ooho! is made with ingredients like sodium alginate and calcium lactate that are natural, simple and accessible for everybody. So if you are bored or inquisitive: do try this at home!