When it comes to the use of bamboo in everyday life, the first thing that comes to mind is flooring in the form of parquet boards, which is gaining more and more popularity, as well as durable and stylish furniture.
Not everyone knows that kitchen equipment can also be provided with bamboo. The range of such dishes is far from being limited to the usual chopping boards and Teflon-coated blades .
The myth that dishes from this material has a rough appearance and does not fit the interior of every kitchen is easy to refute. Cutlery, plates, bowls, cups, glasses, salad bowls, disposable tableware made of bamboo amaze with a riot of colors and a variety of shapes.
Bamboo at home
Bamboo has been used in everyday life for thousands of years. Young shoots were consumed as food, used as a medicine, built houses, bridges, fences, made furniture and clothes, hats and wicker utensils, writing accessories and paper, weapons and containers for bulk products, handles for umbrellas and bags fishing rods.
In the United States, a hundred years ago, they traveled around the cities on light bicycles with a bamboo frame.
In many traditional oriental cultures, bamboo has become a symbol of friendship, longevity, strength, and invincibility. In some countries of Asia, they even believed that humanity owes its appearance on Earth to this amazing plant.
In European culture, this material is again gaining well-deserved popularity, slowly but surely displacing the ubiquitous plastic from its positions. People learn more about healthy lifestyles and are eager to get rid of things that can harm the health and well-being of the environment. Therefore, bamboo utensils are of such high interest to consumers.
Strengths of bamboo dishes
Buyers should even find out for what cases bamboo utensils are suitable before buying. The properties, features of the use of such utensils and the mandatory requirements for caring for it - all these points deserve special attention and consideration.
When dishes are made from natural materials, this in itself is its virtue. Manufacturers claim that even brightly painted, it consists of 99% natural raw materials.
In addition, the advantages of such products are:
- special aesthetics, bright colors and stylish appearance;
- light weight;
- impact resistance;
- low price;
- antiseptic properties of the material;
- lack of harmful secretions in food;
- lack of extraneous odors, preservation of the natural aroma of food;
- heat insulating properties;
- blades and spoons will not scratch the surface of stewpan and pans covered with Teflon;
- bamboo dishes are not stained with food and do not absorb odors and liquids;
- remains smooth for many years, unlike wood and plastic;
- the color coating does not fade even after repeated washing.
Weaknesses of Eco-friendly Cookware
But is bamboo cookware really worth it? Fissman, a popular kitchen utensil store, recommends that you take care of your eco-friendly dishes:
- wash products with a soft sponge with liquid detergent or in a solution of soapy water;
- the use of any abrasive products is prohibited;
- Before washing in a dishwasher, carefully study the recommendations of the manufacturer of the unit and dishes;
- storage of liquids for two or more hours in bamboo vessels may be fraught with biodegradation of the latter;
- the possibility of using in a microwave oven depends on the recommendations of the manufacturer of the dishes;
- such dishes should not be used for too hot food products (more than 75 degrees);
- Do not place it on electric heaters and hobs.
Possessing many advantages, in return it requires special care. Despite its versatility, bamboo utensils can replace only cutlery and dining utensils, but not cooking utensils.
What kind of dishes do you have?
Distinguish between dishes for multiple use and disposable, with patterns applied with colored paints, and natural texture, coated with transparent varnish.
Appearance and method of use of products depend on manufacturing technology.
The technology for making dishes from bamboo
Bamboo is an easily renewable natural resource. This plant grows at an amazing rate. Within an hour, the stem is extended by three centimeters.
Even the cut stems placed in the water continue to grow, as do the stumps left after harvesting the bamboo. In terms of economic and environmental efficiency, these are almost ideal raw materials.
For the production of dishes intended for repeated use, only shoots are taken. The crushed pulp is subjected to hot pressing into the necessary forms and, depending on the design, coated with transparent food varnish (to preserve the natural pattern) or colored food enamel with water-repellent and bactericidal properties.
To give the utensils high aesthetic properties, dishes are painted with bright colors made with the addition of permitted food colors and soy.
Unscrupulous manufacturers, trying to cash in on the fascination of people with environmentally friendly products, instead of hot pressing, use very dubious adhesives, which impregnate a lot of sawdust of unknown origin.
Covered with painted glaze, such dishes may have an attractive appearance, but with it an unpleasant feature to release harmful substances into food. Therefore, an inattentive attitude to the choice of the manufacturer can cost the buyer not only money, but also health.
Disposable tableware made of bamboo
Biodegradability is the main advantage of disposable food accessories made from this material.
Bamboo plates and cups can put an end to the centuries-old dispute between paper and plastic disposable tableware lovers, because they have the best qualities of both.
The aesthetics of this utensil will appeal to lovers of a healthy lifestyle, connoisseurs of natural household items and fighters for the cleanliness of places to relax in nature.
Even if an unexpected downpour causes tourists to leave the picnic area and does not allow them to quickly collect used disposable tableware, as often happens, unfortunately for more responsible tourists, nature itself will clean it by quickly processing bamboo fiber.
The range of disposable tableware includes not only glasses and plates suitable for use on nature and receptions, but also forks, canapé skewers, cocktail tubes, toothpicks, skewers, bar peaks, dowel sticks for pastry products, sushi sticks, placemat, stirring sticks and even napkins.
Consumer Reviews
If the choice of the buyer was dishes from bamboo, reviews of real consumers will be interested in him first of all. Most people who have expressed an opinion on this kitchen utensil highly value its consumer properties.
Few disappointed indicate that they expected accessories to be unbreakable at all. Some experiment lovers deliberately put the items in microwave ovens in order to find out what would happen. For the majority of those testing, the dishes retained all consumer qualities, and for some, it ignited. Unfortunately, not all people who left reviews indicated the brand of the manufacturer.
The housewives who used it for its intended purpose and in accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations did not complain about cracks and chips during operation.
Dishes for business
Pressed bamboo dishes have become a fashionable trend among cafe owners arranged in accordance with the environmental concept, sushi bars, ethnic cuisine restaurants and children's entertainment centers.
Inexpensive utensils are durable, have a presentable appearance and become the highlight of the institution, raising service to a new level.
To summarize briefly. Appearing a few years ago, bamboo dishes quickly won their fans and took a leading position in the niche of eco-dishes in the market of kitchen accessories.