Chinese food box
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An oyster pail (also known as a paper pail, Chinese food box or Chinese takeout container) is a folded,
wax Waxes are a diverse class of organic compounds that are lipophilic, malleable solids near ambient temperatures. They include higher alkanes and lipids, typically with melting points above about 40 °C (104 °F), melting to give low ...
ed or plastic coated,
paperboard Paperboard is a thick paper-based material. While there is no rigid differentiation between paper and paperboard, paperboard is generally thicker (usually over 0.30 mm, 0.012 in, or 12 Inch#equivalences, points) than paper and has certain ...
container A container is any receptacle or enclosure for holding a product used in storage, packaging, and transportation, including shipping. Things kept inside of a container are protected on several sides by being inside of its structure. The term ...
originally designed to hold oysters. It commonly comes with a handle made of
solid wire Overhead power cabling. The conductor consists of seven strands of steel (centre, high tensile strength), surrounded by four outer layers of aluminium (high conductivity). Sample diameter 40 mm A wire is a flexible strand of metal. Wire is co ...
. Currently, it is often in use by
American Chinese cuisine American Chinese cuisine is a cuisine derived from Chinese cuisine that was developed by Chinese Americans. The dishes served in many North American Chinese restaurants are adapted to American tastes and often differ significantly from those ...
restaurants primarily throughout the United States, to package hot or cold
take-out A take-out or takeout (U.S., Canada, and the Philippines); carry-out or to-go (Scotland and some dialects in the U.S. and Canada); takeaway (England, Wales, Australia, Lebanon, South Africa, Northern Ireland, Ireland, and occasionally in Nort ...
food. It can also sometimes be found in other Western countries, such as Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Poland, England and Brazil, but is rarely seen in China and other Asian countries with high numbers of ethnic Chinese.


Uses

The container has the advantage of being inexpensive, durable and fairly leak-proof when kept upright. The top usually includes a locking paperboard tab so that it is self-closing. The simple
origami ) is the Japanese paper art, art of paper folding. In modern usage, the word "origami" is often used as an inclusive term for all folding practices, regardless of their culture of origin. The goal is to transform a flat square sheet of pape ...
-like folded construction allows for some escape of
steam Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization ...
from hot food. It is typical to eat directly out of the container with
chopsticks Chopsticks ( or ; Pinyin: ''kuaizi'' or ''zhu'') are shaped pairs of equal-length sticks of China, Chinese origin that have been used as Kitchen utensil, kitchen and List of eating utensils, eating utensils in most of East Asia, East and Southe ...
. The containers are primarily used with
American Chinese cuisine American Chinese cuisine is a cuisine derived from Chinese cuisine that was developed by Chinese Americans. The dishes served in many North American Chinese restaurants are adapted to American tastes and often differ significantly from those ...
, though they have begun to spread in some European and Latin American countries. Oyster pails that can be used safely in
microwave oven A microwave oven (commonly referred to as a microwave) is an electric oven that heats and cooks food by exposing it to electromagnetic radiation in the microwave frequency range. This induces polar molecules in the food to rotate and produce t ...
s (without the metal handle, which can cause
arcing An electric arc, or arc discharge, is an electrical breakdown of a gas that produces a prolonged electrical discharge. The electric current, current through a normally Electrical conductance, nonconductive medium such as air produces a plasma (p ...
) are available. Microwave-safe pails often have no handle, or a plastic handle. If an oyster pail has no visible handle, care must be taken to ensure there are no metal clamps before microwaving. The containers may also be used for storing or transporting non-food items, such as soap bath beads or small parts. Takeout containers have also been offered as novelty packaging for small gifts.


History

Early patents date to 1890, 1894, and 1908. The paperboard oyster pail was invented at a time when fresh
oyster Oyster is the common name for a number of different families of salt-water bivalve molluscs that live in marine or brackish habitats. In some species, the valves are highly calcified, and many are somewhat irregular in shape. Many, but not al ...
s were more popular, more plentiful, and less expensive than they are today. Since shucking oysters (removing the raw meat from the shell) takes some skill and can be difficult and dangerous, it was common to have the oyster seller open the oysters so they could be taken home for use in recipes. The oyster pail provided an inexpensive and sanitary way to do this. In the early 20th century oyster pails were used to hold
honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of plants (primar ...
. In the mid-20th century,
overfishing Overfishing is the removal of a species of fish (i.e. fishing) from a body of water at a rate greater than that the species can replenish its population naturally (i.e. the overexploitation of the fishery's existing fish stock), resulting in th ...
(and the subsequent rise in price) of oysters left manufacturers with a significant number of unsold oyster pails. In the US after
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, there was a huge increase in sales of takeout foods that could be purchased from restaurants, and heated at home.
Chinese food Chinese cuisine encompasses the numerous cuisines originating from China, as well as overseas cuisines created by the Chinese diaspora. Because of the Chinese diaspora and historical power of the country, Chinese cuisine has influenced many ...
proved to be a popular choice, since it was tasty, unusual, fairly inexpensive and traveled well. The oyster pail was quickly adopted for "Chinese
takeout A take-out or takeout (U.S., Canada, and the Philippines); carry-out or to-go (Scotland and some dialects in the U.S. and Canada); takeaway (England, Wales, Australia, Lebanon, South Africa, Northern Ireland, Ireland, and occasionally in Nort ...
". The paperboard pails were to some extent self- insulating, and could be used for a wide variety of foods including cooked
rice Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima ''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...
, moist dishes such as
egg foo young Egg foo young (, also spelled egg fooyung, egg foo yong, egg foo yung, or egg fu yung) is an omelette dish found in Chinese Indonesian, British Chinese, and Chinese American cuisine. The name comes from the Cantonese language. Egg foo young is d ...
and
sauce In cooking, a sauce is a liquid, cream, or semi-solid food, served on or used in preparing other foods. Most sauces are not normally consumed by themselves; they add flavor, moisture, and visual appeal to a dish. ''Sauce'' is a French word t ...
d dishes, though they were generally unsuitable for hot highly liquid dishes such as
soup Soup is a primarily liquid food, generally served warm or hot (but may be cool or cold), that is made by combining ingredients of meat or vegetables with stock, milk, or water. Hot soups are additionally characterized by boiling solid ing ...
s. The containers are also used by restaurants offering classic American takeout food, such as
French fries French fries (North American English), chips (British English), finger chips ( Indian English), french-fried potatoes, or simply fries, are '' batonnet'' or ''allumette''-cut deep-fried potatoes of disputed origin from Belgium and France. Th ...
or
fried clams Fried clams are clams dipped in milk, floured, and deep-fried. Fried clams are an iconic food, "to New England, what barbecue is to the South". They tend to be served at seaside clam shacks (roadside restaurants). Clam rolls are fried clams serv ...
, but the containers have become strongly associated with Chinese takeout. In 2011, the
Smithsonian National Museum of American History The National Museum of American History: Kenneth E. Behring Center collects, preserves, and displays the heritage of the United States in the areas of social, political, cultural, scientific, and military history. Among the items on display is t ...
displayed Chinese takeout containers in its exhibit ''Sweet & Sour: A Look at the History of Chinese Food in the United States''.


See also

*
Foam food container A foam food container is a form of disposable food packaging for various foods and beverages, such as processed instant noodles, raw meat from supermarkets, ice cream from ice cream parlors, cooked food from delicatessens or food stalls, or bevera ...


Notes

{{packaging Food packaging American Chinese cuisine Food storage containers Oysters Paper products