I am looking for ingredients and recipe for the following,
A palatable substance that:
Tastes good, or can be made to
Will dissolve (quickly if possible) in saliva but not warm water
Something that is moldable.
Something that will be fairly rigid in its final state.
Something that I can make in my kitchen at home, no matter how difficult.
Something that will be fairly rigid in it's final state and at room temp.
Something that I can make in my kitchen at home.

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Clarification of Question by bselltiz-ga on 13 Apr 2006 10:21 PDT

sorry, that was a cut and paste error, it should simply read:

I am looking for ingredients and recipe for the following,
A palatable substance that:
Tastes good, or can be made to.
Will dissolve (quickly if possible) in saliva but not warm water.
Something that is moldable.
Something that I can make in my kitchen at home, no matter how difficult.
Something that will be fairly rigid in it's final state and at room temp.

---

Clarification of Question by bselltiz-ga on 13 Apr 2006 10:51 PDT

In short, I want to make an edible container.

Hi,

There are many different and creative ways to make edible containers.
I'll list a few here for you. You weren't very specific about the type
of food you want to serve in the containers, so I'll try to provide
you with ideas for deserts, fruit, vegetables and savory items such as
cheese and meats. I've also provided a few jello-specific suggestions
since you did give jello as an example.

Sunset Magazine had an elegant recipe for a carmelized sugar bowl. It
can be found online at:

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1216/is_n4_v184/ai_8833875 

Of all the recipes and Ideas I list, this one is the most likely to
withstand warm water or some other warm soupy substance placed inside.

A recipe for an edible chocolate almond desert bowl can be found at:
http://www.recipezaar.com/102213

Of course there is always good old chocolate; chocolate bowls have
been used as edible containers for many years. The higher the paraffin
content of the chocolate, the warmer an item can be that it will hold.
Examples of dozens of chocolate bowls can be found at:

http://tinyurl.com/qc6c4 

Some of these are even available for purchase.

An extremely creative idea for a quick chocolate bowl is to dip a
balloon in white chocolate. From ivillage.com's Easter ideas:

http://home.ivillage.com/holiday/easterpassover/0,,2gwr-p,00.html
"...create your own edible bowl by dipping blown-up balloons in melted
white chocolate chips. Place the dipped balloons on a waxed paper-
lined baking sheet and refrigerate until the chocolate is hard, pop
and remove the balloon, and voila -- an edible white chocolate bowl."

Another sweet option is to  make an edible container from fruit. Small
examples would include hallowed out poached pears, and cantaloupe
bowls (with the outer skin removed). You can carve and create larger
containers from watermelon or other large melons.

If you wish to serve jello in an edible bowl, I would suggest making
the jello separately, let it cool completely and then cut it and serve
it in the edible container. If having the jello molded to the shape of
your edible container is a must, then prepare the jello in a separate
container, cool it to room temperature or below and then pour it into
the edible bowl. The jello can then be further cooled and solidified.

There is an article on "Creating Edible Food Containers" at the
dummies.com site. It covers several vegetable-based edible containers,
including broccoli, pumpkin, and squash.
http://www.dummies.com/WileyCDA/DummiesArticle/id-1457,subcat-FOOD.html

You can bake tortillas to create bowls that can be filled:
http://www.texmextogo.com/store/PPF/parameters/82_2/more_info.asp

You can also fry tortillas to make edible containers. The fried
tortillas are much for tolerant for holding moist food inside, such as
salsa, fruit, and jello. Here is an example:
http://tinyurl.com/s6ca4 

Staying on the savory side, many people have fried bologna in a
cup-like shape and used that as a bowl for serving eggs and other
savory items. In addition, you can use small round loaves of bread to
serve dip or soup. A picture of a bread bowl can be found at:

http://istanbul.metblogs.com/photos/zaruret.jpg 

In doing my research, I also came across a few other interesting
edible containers. They probably won't be of practical use, but you
might find them an interesting curiosity!

A pattent issued for an edible container:

http://tinyurl.com/nsgj6

Back in the 1940's, there was a dried-fruit-pulp-based drink container
available for purchase. Here is a picture:

http://www.historicphotoarchive.com/caps/00008.html

I hope the links and ideas above provide you with the answer that you
needed. Please let me know if any of the above need further
clarification, or if more specific recipies or pictures are needed.

Thank you for using Google Answers!

pkp-ga

I doubt that there is any substance that will dissolve quickly in
saliva but not in warm water. The only meaningful difference between
saliva and warm water would be the small quantity of enzymes in
saliva, and I don't think these enzymes would cause rapid dissolution
of a substance that is indissoluble in warm water.

It might help if we knew what you plan to do with this substance, and why.

In short, I want to make an edible container.

...you mean like a gingerbread house?

no, not a gingerbread house. It would simply hold a bunch of Jello or
something similar. It would need to keep it's shape and be edible.

It's not difficult to make an edible bowl out of stiff sugar dough.
Sugar artists do this all the time. It can be done at home; my aunt
once made some cute little edible Easter baskets. But withstanding
warm water is going to be the deal-breaker. As I said above, I suspect
that anything that will dissolve easily in saliva will also dissolve
easily in warm water.

Chocolate might be made to cooperate.

Mmmmm, chocolate. And Jello. Oooh, choclate Jello pudding in a
chocolate bowl. With chocolate cream sauce and chocolate sprinkles.

Ahhhhhhh.