Gizmodo Australia » fruit

Laser-Etched Fruit And Vegetables Could Replace Sticker Labels

Sean Fallon — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 03:40:00 +0000

It doesn’t seem like a big deal, but I’ll be dammed if those stupid stickers are not extremely annoying. Fortunately for people who actually eat fruit and vegetables from time to time, low-energy laser etching may be the answer.

Tests have concluded that foods labelled with the low-energy carbon dioxide laser beam show no signs of increased decay when compared to their stickered counterparts. The system has already been employed in New Zealand, Australia and Pacific Rim countries, but the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is in the final stages of approving the procedure for US agriculture. Honestly, fruit branding cannot come soon enough. Truly, this is a problem of national importance. How many more stickers must we eat? [Physorg via Inhabitat]

Fresh Fruity Floating Bath Favours

Jason Chen — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 22:00:00 +0000

Do these floating bath fruits actually do anything? Other than draining three AAA batteries and lighting up your water in a rainbow of colours, no. [Himeyashop via Technabob via Boing Boing Gadgets]

Japanese Find Out How to Make Heart-Shaped Watermelons

Jason Chen — Mon, 11 May 2009 20:40:00 +0000

Having mastered the art of making square watermelons and even pyramid watermelons, Japanese farmers turned to making heart-shaped watermelons.

These 15,750 yen ($US160) watermelons were grown by a couple and took three years to perfect down to the point where they were good enough to convince people to pay $US160 for them. There’s only 20 melons in this batch, but we’re sure Mr. and Mrs. Hiroichi Kimura will grow more next season. [Asahi via Japan Probe via Inventor Spot via Boing Boing]

ShotCarver Transforms Fruit Into Evil Booze Holder

Mark Wilson — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 22:40:00 +0000

Fruit need not be healthy. The $US12 Shotcarver will core almost any produce under the sun. The resulting hole is intended for hard liquor, which is intended to kill you. [CoolStuffExpress via NerdApproved]

How You Like Them Apples, Apple?

Mark Wilson — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 17:00:00 +0000

Who woulda thunk that an apple company might actually use an apple in their logo…especially one that’s about a bite away from trademark infringement? [Flickr via TUAW]

When Life Gives You Lemons, Make A Nicely Designed Digital Clock

John Mahoney — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 13:10:00 +0000

You probably remember the ol’ lemon/copper battery via electrolysis experiment from when Mr. Wizard blew your mind with it in 1958. But this “Citrus Clock” by French design troupe Anna Gram updates the concept with a touch of Ikea sensibilities, to the point where we might be cool with this sitting on the kitchen counter (quick access for lemon tea). But the UV bug light we’d have to install next to it to catch the fruit flies might cancel out the sleekness. [Anna Gram via Design Boom]

Apple Apples Are Not from Apple

Jesus Diaz — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 17:00:00 +0000

Risking a spacetime paradox that could destroy the entire Universe, a Japanese guy has devised a way to naturally grow Fuji apples with the Apple logo on them. His technique is very simple: Apply an Apple sticker (or iPod or Appleish Heart) a month before harvesting.

I knew girls who apply stickers while tanning to get temporal sun tattoos, but I never heard of this technique to do the same thing with fruits. As much as I like Apple and apples, though, I prefer them on suntanning girls. [Nobon via Cult of Mac]

Apples or Oranges? This Smart Scale Can Tell the Difference

Jack Loftus — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 22:00:00 +0000

I happen to love the automated check out lines at the supermarket, but I hate the five or six seconds of my day that are wasted there when I have to manually input the name of the produce I’m weighing on the scale. Lucky for me, and for other lazy people who absolutely have to have those five seconds back, there’s a new development in automated check out scales that could revolutionise the supermarket industry. Here’s a hint: It’s like facial recognition, but for fruit!

The scale, developed by the German Fraunhofer Institute, works by snapping an image of the fruit or vegetable in question and comparing it to a produce database. If you’re one of the earth-hating people who needs their fruit wrapped in plastic bags, don’t worry, because the scale’s image processing can see through them. It can even differentiate between various pieces of fruit that are at different stages of ripeness (yellow versus green bananas, for example).

The 300 or so scales in the field now are being tested in Europe, with US plans taking shape for the near future. [I4U via OhGizmo]

BLUE Bowl Shines Light on Your Fruit to Stop the Rot

Gizmodo US Edition — Thu, 15 May 2008 13:36:00 +0000

This design concept from Ahmet Bektes, Koray Gelmez & Eda Kose uses “Action Fresh Blue” technology—apparently used in “many new refrigerators”— to keep your fruit fresh. It seems that this tech is essentially a blue light, which shines down from the bowl’s handle, killing bacteria. Hmmm: I’m sceptical. But at least it’s rechargeable, and has a nifty blue halo all around when it’s in action so your kitchen looks all 21st Century. If it really works, it might be useful if you’re like me: buying a lot a fruit when on a health-kick, and then just leaving it in the bowl to go mouldy. [Envee Apparel via Home Tone]

Yes, We Have Some Bananas, ‘Cause We Saved Them With NANA Saver

Gizmodo US Edition — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 12:15:09 +0000

Whole bananas just look after themselves in your fruit bowl until they go all brown and spotty. But if your recipe calls for half a banana, then you know the spare hemibanana is going to go all gooshy really fast and you’ll end up binning it. That’s where NANA Saver comes in, with its pincer-like action grabbing onto the end of your bisected fruit and protecting it with a little sealing plate, keeping it fresh from the air. Simple, and only US$2.98. Or you just could eat the other half. I’m just saying. [Product via Nerd Approved]