“Like
a good neighbor or a cheerful co-worker, toast can make life richer
without much fanfare.”
— Bob Condor, Chicago
Tribune
|
The funny thing, is
that this new and original product sounds suspiciously like the toaster
pizza that won first place in the 1995 Fourth Annual Product Development
Competition held by the Institute of Food Technologists. A team of students
from Cornell overcame difficulties like dripping cheese and tomato sauce
and ran away with the prize.
 Unfortunately,
they didn't get any money for their idea, despite the similarity between
their product and Toaster Breaks. We asked Ellen Chamberlain, a member
of the team, about the new product. "Yes, we have noticed this "novel"
idea that recently hit the marketplace. No, we did not receive any money
for it," she wrote in her e-mail. Still, she was philosophical about
the situation. "As students, we are at a disadvantage to gain control
over these products due to lack of funds and production facilities. Our
main point in working on these products is to win a competition. Which
we did. We are satisfied."
For a look at the
technical difficulties of making pop-up pizza, check out this media release
from Cornell about the toaster pizza team. Here are some excerpts:
The prototypes...consists of two dough discs filled with cheese, tomato
sauce, and pepperoni. They require 1 1/2 minutes to cook at a medium setting....Fluted
edges keep the ...sauce and cheese from leaking into the toaster. An acetylated
monglyceride barrier between the crust and the sauce is the secret to
the crisp texture, and a thick paste-like sauce prevents "squirt
out" when the consumer takes that first all-important bite....
The team researched toasters. "We relied heavily on a study by Pillsbury
that charted thousands of toasters for spring, shape, and size for the
Toaster Strudel," said [food chemist Michael] King. "Based on
that study, we came up with an optimum weight of 50 grams, an optimum
width of half an inch, and an optimum diameter of 3 3/4 inches."
For the entire press
release, here's the URL: http://www.nysaes.cornell.edu/pubs/press/popup.pizza.html
|
Not
every toaster food product has been a success. Here are some that
weren’t: