Water Bottles You Can Eat?
Sometimes we find it difficult to drink the recommended daily amount of water. (If this is you, read my clever life hacks for fixing this here). However, it seems that there is a new exciting innovation that can help. It not only makes drinking water easier but possibly more enjoyable too. Its official name is "Ooho". It is essentially a blob of water or an "edible water bottle".
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What The Story?
The innovation was created by Pierre Paslier, Guillaume Couche and Rodrigo Garcia Gonzalez of the 'Skipping Rocks Lab' in London. The edible water bottle, "Ooho" is a biodegradable, inexpensive "water bottle" that could be the future of hydration.
It used to be that vegetables and fruits were the only way to "eat" water (since most of them have a high water content). But new inventions like Ooho mean that this might no longer be the case. This new edible bottle looks more like a water balloon or silicon implant.
A Remix On A Cooking Methods?
The process of creating the water ball is somewhat of a remix on a cooking method that is known as 'spherification'. It is created by encapsulating a frozen ball of water in layers of membranes made of calcium chloride then brown algae. But I'm sure you will be happy to know that the gelatinous coating is edible and safe for human consumption.
Can You Buy It In The Supermarket?
The makers of the Ooho received around $22,500 of funding in the form of a sustainability award from the EU. This means that we could be seeing edible water blobs in the supermarket in the near future.
OK, so the bit about getting this in the supermarket might be a bit premature given that the current stage of the production isn't yet ready to toss in your bag and it still has some way to go before becoming a fully fledged usable product.
But it should be commended for it's attempts to address serious environmental issues caused by the popularity of plastic water bottles.
Why Was Ooho Created?
Estimates show that 50 billion plastic bottles are used in America alone. Now consider that many plastic bottles are non-recyclable and contain harmful (possibly cancer-causing BPA's) then you can see that we have a big problem and any attempt to fix this is most welcomed in my eyes. If the thought of "eating" water is not for you then don't worry because it turns out that it's not a must. One of the creators, Paslier told the Guardian newspaper UK. "At the end of the day you don’t have to eat it. But the edible part shows how natural it is. People are really enthusiastic about the fact that you can create a material for packaging matter that is so harmless that you can eat it."
Is Ooho 100% Natural?
If you doubt the claims of it being 100% natural, then make it at home by yourself and see. If this is of interest, the section that follows will show you how to do just that. But before that, check out the video below. See what it’s like to hydrate with the edible water bottle "Ooho"...
How To Make An Edible Water Bottle
Edible Water Bottle Ingredients / Recipe
Right so you want to make your very own blob of edible water? To start you will need:-
- 1x large bowl that can hold at least four cups of water and a smaller bowl filled with tap water (for rinsing).
- 1x small bowl filled with one cup of drinking water (ideally filtered or from a clean source as this is the water you will be drinking).
- A digital scale.
- A curved spoon or ladle.
- A mixing spoon.
- A hand mixer.
How To Make Edible Water Bottles
1: Dissolve Sodium Alginate (aka Agar Agar) in Water.
Put 1 gram of sodium alginate into the bowl that contains one cup of drinking water, then use the hand mixer to mix them both thoroughly. Once fully dissolved, let the mixture sit for 15 minutes to make sure it contains no air bubbles.
2: Mix the Calcium Lactate in a Different Bowl.
Take 5 grams of the calcium lactate and put it in the large bowl that contains 4 cups of water. Mix both together and ensure it is completely dissolved by using a mixing spoon or an ordinary whisk.
3: Place Sodium Alginate into The Calcium Lactate Bath.
Use the ladle or curved spoon to scoop up the sodium alginate then gently put it into the calcium lactate bath. Once it is in, you will see it start to form a sphere.
If you want more than one edible water blob then repeat the process. But be careful to not let the bath become over-crowded. This is because each sphere needs lots of space to be fully immersed in the calcium lactate.
4: Mix The Solution.
Once the spheres have taken shape and you can see this to be the case then gently stir for roughly 3 minutes to aid the full formation of the gel.
5: Put The Water Balls into a Fresh Water Bowl.
Use a spoon (ideally one with holes) and carefully remove the small balls of water and put them into the bowl with regular water so that it can settle.
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That's it! Your very own home-made edible water bottle is ready to go!
Remember that they are still very fragile and can easily burst leading to water spillage everywhere. The Ooho is still in the prototype stage, however, you can use these little blobs to impress your coworkers and friends.
If nothing else, think of this as a cool little party trick!
Original story: https://www.mrwatergeek.com/edible-water-bottle/