Abstract:
A chilled food product comprising a generally flat holder, a foldable food supported on the holder which food comprises a generally flat dough-based material supporting at least one edible filling or topping, and a removal wrap containing the holder and the food. The holder comprises a base, first and second sides adjacent the base, and a pair of lines of weakness between the base and the first and second sides, respectively, wherein the lines of weakness facilitate folding of the sides of the holder and the foldable food into a folded food product after cooking the unwrapped chilled product. The cooked folded food can be handheld in a comfortable manner via the holder. The holder also can incorporate means to aid increasing the exposure or repositioning of the cooked folded food while contained in the holder for eating convenience. Holders having flaps or slots to improve access to held foods also are provided. A method of serving packaged chilled food products incorporating the holder also is provided.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     This invention relates to food products, food holders, and more particularly to food products having food holders to facilitate their consumption.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     Sandwich products, such as pita bread sandwiches (e.g., gyro sandwiches), are popular handheld foods, which do not require eating utensils. Preassembled frozen sandwiches are often sold at retail locations and can be cooked or warmed up by customers on-site using a rapid heating oven, such as a microwave oven, provided at the same location. These retail locations include convenience stores having stand-up food preparation capabilities in which frozen foods can be sold, cooked onsite, and then eaten on-site or off-site by customers. Freezing the sandwiches increases the product&#39;s shelf life and helps preserve the freshness of the product until defrosted and cooked. Heating the sandwiches not only defrosts the food items but also makes them more savory for the customer.  
         [0003]     Frozen folded sandwich products often do not have a uniform thickness, and thus can be difficult to efficiently store in shipping boxes or in retail freezers provided on-site at retail locations as their shapes are not conducive to vertical stacking. Also, a consumer may find it uncomfortable to directly grasp a heated sandwich. In addition, a warmed sandwich may contain juices, fillings, or condiments, which are more apt to transfer or drip onto the consumer&#39;s hand if directly held. These problems may be aggravated if a consumer wants to transport and eat the cooked sandwich outside the retail location where it was purchased and cooked.  
         [0004]     There is a need for arrangements by which refrigerated or frozen sandwiches or other food items can be more conveniently stored and cooked, and, after being cooked, consumed by hand in a more tidy, comfortable and portable manner.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0005]     The invention relates to food products and food holders useful with them. In one embodiment, a chilled food product comprises a generally flat holder, a foldable food comprising a generally flat dough-based material supporting at least one edible filling or topping wherein the foldable food is supported on the holder, and a removal wrap containing the holder and the food, wherein the holder comprises a base, first and second sides adjacent the base, and a pair of lines of weakness between the base and the first and second sides, respectively, and wherein the lines of weakness facilitate folding of the sides of the holder and the foldable food into a folded sandwich type product after cooking the unwrapped chilled product. The holder may be thermally insulative and may be made of an inexpensive disposable, recyclable material, such as corrugated paperboard. The foldable food item may be a pizza, or a sandwich, such as a gyros sandwich or other pita-based sandwich configured similarly to a frozen pizza in its unfolded flat position to facilitate storage, transport, handling and/or retail sale of both sandwiches and pizzas together.  
         [0006]     The holder is adapted to be reconfigured from an initial flat orientation into a folded orientation. The initial flat holder orientation is advantageous as a support surface upon which an open sandwich may be assembled thereon and as a support during freezing, packaging, storage and cooking. The folded holder orientation is advantageous as it concomitantly effects folding of the cooked food item and acts as a container allowing the cooked food item to be handheld in a comfortable and convenient manner during consumption. The need for a consumer to directly contact a hot food is eliminated, and transfer or drippage of food filling or topping material(s) to consumer&#39;s hand or clothes is reduced. Also, the chilled (e.g., frozen or refrigerated) food products comprising the flat holder and open food item assemblies of embodiments herein have a convenient shape for packaging and stacking during handling, storage and retail display of the chilled food products.  
         [0007]     In other embodiments, a holder is provided which can be used in the chilled food product, in which the holder has an integral flap portion and/or slot allowing a consumer to manually push or slide the folded food item towards the opposite end of the holder to increase the exposure of the food item while still held in the holder for added eating convenience. The holder also can have perforated fold lines which also can be manually torn, allowing a part or parts of the holder to be manually bent away from the folded food item, or manually removed from the holder, to increase the exposure of the folded food item contained in the remaining portion of the holder for added eating convenience.  
         [0008]     A method of serving packaged frozen or refrigerated food products incorporating the food holder is also provided. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0009]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a food product and holder according to an embodiment of the invention.  
         [0010]      FIG. 2  is a plan view of a food holder blank having fold lines according to an embodiment of the invention.  
         [0011]      FIG. 3  is a plan view of a food holder blank having multiple sets of fold lines according to another embodiment of the invention.  
         [0012]      FIG. 4  is a plan view of a chilled food product according to an embodiment of the invention.  
         [0013]      FIG. 5  is a sectional view of the food product of  FIG. 4  taken along direction  5 - 5  thereof.  
         [0014]      FIG. 6  is a plan view of a food holder blank having fold lines according to another embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0015]      FIG. 7  is a plan view of food holder blank having fold lines according to yet another embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0016]      FIG. 8  is a plan view of food holder blank having fold lines and tear away features according to another embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0017]      FIG. 9  is a top view of a food item held with a food holder formed with the blank of  FIG. 8  according to another embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0018]      FIG. 10  is a side view of the food item held with the food holder according to  FIG. 9 .  
         [0019]      FIG. 11  is a plan view of a food holder blank having fold lines according to another embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0020]      FIG. 12  is a side view of food product with a food holder formed with the blank of  FIG. 11  according to another embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0021]      FIG. 13  is a front view of folded food holder formed from the blank of  FIG. 11  and holding a folded food item, which shows bent configurations of the holder sides according to another embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0022]      FIG. 14  is a plan view of a food holder blank having fold lines according to another embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0023]      FIG. 15  is a perspective view of a folded food holder formed from the blank of  FIG. 14 .  
         [0024]      FIG. 16  is a perspective view of a folded food holder formed from the blank of  FIG. 14  showing a torn flap portion displaced from the holder base portion according to another embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0025]      FIG. 17  is a side perspective view of a folded food holder of  FIG. 16  showing the manipulatable position of a folded food item using the torn flap portion and indicating the direction of movement imparted to the folded food item according to another embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0026]      FIG. 18  is a plan view of food item holder blank having fold lines and finger slots according to another embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0027]      FIG. 19  is a bottom perspective view of a folded food holder of  FIG. 18  with the position of a folded food item being manipulatable with the slot in the holder base portion according to another embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0028]      FIG. 20  is a side view of the folded food holder of  FIG. 18  indicating the direction of movement imparted to the folded food item.  
         [0029]      FIG. 21  is a plan view of food holder blank having fold lines and finger slots in sides thereof according to another embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0030]      FIG. 22  is a side view of food holder blank having fold lines and finger slots according to  FIG. 21 .  
         [0031]      FIG. 23  is a side view of a folded food holder of  FIG. 21  with the position of a folded food item being manipulatable with the slot provided in a side of the holder according to another embodiment of the present invention.  
     
    
       [0032]     The figures are not necessarily drawn to scale. Similarly numbered elements in different figures represent like features unless indicated otherwise.  
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0033]     Referring to  FIG. 1 , in one embodiment a ready-to-eat food product  10  includes folded food item  20  supported in a folded food holder  100 . The holder  100  is bimodal structure in that it has a folded configuration, such as indicated in  FIG. 1 , and a flat (unfolded) configuration, such as indicated in  FIG. 2 .  
         [0034]     Referring to  FIG. 2 , the holder  100  initially comprises a flat single circular blank  101 . The blank has a unitary construction. The blank preferably is a foldable paperboard construction. Paperboard has the desired structural and thermal insulation properties, which are also attractive from cost and recycling standpoints. In this embodiment, the paperboard blank  101  has two fold lines  103  and  105  extending parallel to a diametrical axis  107  of the blank  101 . These fold lines are chords in that they extend between two positions around the blank periphery  109 . A base portion  111  is defined in the blank  101  between the two fold lines. The fold lines  103  and  105  form lines of weakness in the blank  101  about which the side portions  113  and  115  of the blank  101  can be folded in a hinged manner at and along the lines of weakness while supporting and folding a food item, e.g., an open sandwich assembly or a pizza (e.g., see  FIG. 1 ). The fold lines  103  and  105  are locations where the paperboard is partly crushed or partly cut through its thickness, or intermittently perforated, and so forth, to form a line of weakness relative to the immediately adjoining untreated portions of the blank. The fold lines  103  and  105  may be formed by crease scoring, cut scoring, intermittent perforating, and so forth.  
         [0035]     The scored blank  101  is particularly useful for holding a food item developed in a folded pita or pizza format, and the like. In one embodiment, the scored blank is generally circular in shape, although other blank shapes also may be used. The circular shape generally has a diameter suitable for retaining and folding of a food item supported thereon as described herein while being hand-held. The circular shape, for instance, may have a diameter of approximately 4 to 8 inches (102 to 203 mm). In a preferred embodiment, the shape of the blank generally corresponds to the peripheral shape of a food item to be supported and folded thereon. For instance, a square-shaped sandwich or pizza also may be supported upon a square-shaped blank having approximately the same dimensions.  
         [0036]     Referring to  FIG. 3 , in another embodiment, a second pair of fold lines  117  and  119  are formed across a circular paperboard blank  501  extending parallel to a second diametrical axis  108  of the blank  501 , in which fold lines  117  and  119  are oriented substantially perpendicular to the first diametrical axis  107 , or at some other intersecting angle. Additional pairings of such score lines can be provided across the same blank. The provision of a plurality of score line pairings oriented at different directions across the blank increases the number of folding direction options available to a consumer.  
         [0037]     Referring to  FIG. 4 , a chilled food product  400  is shown comprising a chilled food item  40  supported on a paperboard blank  101 , which together are contained in a transparent sealed plastic package  48 . It will be appreciated that the food item  40  alternatively may be an open (unfolded) sandwich assembly or a pizza, and so forth. The food item  40  may be frozen, or refrigerated at a non-frozen yet preservation-enhancing cooled condition.  
         [0038]     Referring to  FIG. 5 , food item  40  has a generally flat construction including an upper food layer  42  containing at least one edible filling and/or topping which is supported an edible dough-based product layer  44 , e.g., pita bread, pizza crust, etc., which in turn is supported on circular paperboard blank  101 . Preferably, the dough-based layer  44  may be a prebaked bread (e.g., pita bread), or a prebaked or parbaked pizza crust, which will not need significant further baking, only warming, when a consumer cooks or heats the food item for consumption. The bread or crust  44  preferably has a diameter which is approximately the same or less in magnitude than the diameter of the blank  101  (shown slightly offset forward from its normal position in  FIG. 4  merely to facilitate the illustration).  
         [0039]     As indicated, at least one sandwich filling or pizza topping, as applicable, is deposited on the upper exposed surface  46  of the bread or crust layer  44 . For example, in preparing gyros sandwiches, seasoned precooked meat slices, shredded lettuce, tomato slices, and Tzatziki (yogurt cucumber) sauce may be applied to the top exposed surface of pita bread. For preparing a pizza product, tomato sauce, cheese, vegetable topping, and/or a meat topping, and so forth, may be applied onto a flat pizza crust, which preferably is a circular or square-shaped crust having a diameter suitable for being held by hand when folded in half. These unfolded food assemblies  40  are also referred to herein as “open sandwiches.” 
         [0040]     The food item  40  and supporting blank  101  are then packaged, such as by placing and enclosing the food item/blank assembly ( 40 / 101 ) within a plastic wrapping bag  48 . The blanks and open sandwiches or other comparable food items can be conveniently packaged, for example, with conventional packaging equipment and arrangements used for packaging of frozen pizzas. The packaged food item and blank assembly ( 40 / 101 ) may then be frozen rapidly to provide a frozen food product, which is maintained under freezing conditions during handling and storage to preserve the food product until unwrapped and cooked for consumption.  
         [0041]     After removing the packaging wrap of the frozen food product, the frozen food item and holder blank are placed in heating device, preferably a rapid heating oven, such as a microwave oven, and heated up while still supported on the blank. Once heated, the holder acts a container to aid holding of the food item as it is eaten and/or transported, and helps to protect the consumer&#39;s hand from the heated food product. In particular, after heating the food item on the flat holder, the combination is removed from the oven and the holder is manually folded from opposite sides at a pair of the parallel scores lines. This folds the blank and also the food item in a corresponding manner. The arrangement of fold lines assures that when folded, the blank will fold about both of the parallel fold lines, instead of about only one of them. The resulting folded blank provides a food holder having a generally horizontal base portion which separates the folded angled sides of the blank. The intervening spacing formed above the base portion and between the inner faces of the sides of the holder accommodates the folded food item. This arrangement permits the user to compress the sides of the holder from the outside of the holder by hand to grip the food item in place with a single hand while holding and eating it without unduly squeezing or distorting it (see  FIG. 1 ). The folded food item can be eaten like a sandwich while held with the holder. The folded blank serves as a container to hold the hot food product while it is consumed, protecting the eater from the heat of food and/or food drippings, etc. This enhances the consumer&#39;s dining experience and comfort.  
         [0042]     The food holder blank  101  is made of a foldable material, which is sufficiently heat-tolerant to withstand the thermal conditions associated with reheating the sandwich, pizza or other food item supported on it. For example, the foldable material may be paperboard, such a mono-layered paperboard, or corrugated paperboard (commonly referred to as cardboard). Corrugated paperboard is generally preferred because it sufficiently stiff, yet foldable, as well as being a relatively good thermal insulating material due to the fluted structure thereof defining interior air pockets. Also, the food holder blank  101  also may include a susceptor layer or film. That is, the blank  101  may have a multi-layer construction comprising a paperboard layer or cardboard portion, and a microwave susceptor layer (e.g., a thin metal layer) provided on an exposed side of blank which will face the food item, in order to facilitate heating of a food item supported on the blank when it is cooked or heated in a microwave oven.  
         [0043]     Suitable corrugated paperboard or cardboard generally comprises a corrugated medium or fluted paper layer that is sandwiched between two generally flat paper liners. Methods of manufacturing corrugated paperboard are well known in the art. For instance, a corrugated medium typically is formed in a machine, which moistens or steams a generally flat paper web to soften and make it more pliable prior to passing it between a pair of toothed corrugating metal rolls geared to run in complement to each other. The corrugating rollers impress permanent parallel flutes in the paper perpendicularly to the machine direction. The flutes typically are defined by a regular pattern of alternating ridges and grooves. The flutes often are oriented straight and parallel to each other, but may be sinusoidal. In cross section, a flute may be S-shaped, C-shaped, Z-shaped, or have any other configuration known in the art. After a corrugated medium is formed, the tips of the flutes on one side of the medium are adhered or otherwise joined to the surface of a flat paper liner to produce single-faced corrugated paperboard. Double-faced corrugated paperboard is made by adhering or otherwise joining paper liners to the flute tips on both sides of the corrugated medium. Food grade adhesives, such as food grade starch-based adhesives, preferably are used to join the component layers of the corrugated paperboard. The corrugated paperboard preferably has a thin continuous edible wax coating (e.g., paraffin wax film), or another food compatible moisture barrier coating provided on at least the food contacting side of the cardboard.  
         [0044]     The corrugated paperboard should be sufficiently rigid and stiff such that it does not readily distort when compressive forces of a hand are applied to it, but is flexible enough that it can be folded at score or crease lines in manners described herein without tearing or rupturing.  
         [0045]     In one non-limiting example, the corrugated paperboard is constructed of wax-coated Kraft paper liners (plain or bleached), and a corrugated medium comprising Kraft paper and has an overall board thickness suitable for supporting and folding food products in accordance with embodiments of the invention such as described herein.  
         [0046]     The paper liners may be preprinted with instructions, logos, etc. The paper liners also may be bright white clay coated in a conventional manner before being wax coated. This minimizes porosity and improves printability.  
         [0047]     Additional advantageous configurations of the holder are also embodied by the present invention, which are described below.  
         [0048]     Referring to  FIG. 6 , for instance, the holder blank  601  comprises a squared portion  602 , and integral arched flap portion  604  (indicated by diagonal lines) at one end  606  thereof, which portions merge at an additional line of weakness  608  which is arranged in an orientation generally perpendicular to and intersecting parallel lines of weakness  603  and  605  which transverse both blank portions. The intervening area between lines of weakness  603  and  605  defines the base portion  609  of the holder  601 , while the flanking blank areas  611  and  613  will form the side portions of the holder when folded as described herein. The arched flap portion  604  is foldable out of its plane (e.g., upwards in the perspective of  FIG. 6 ) at fold line  608 , allowing a sandwich or pizza supported between lines  603  and  605  on base portion  609  in a folded holder configuration to be manual pushed via the flap portion  604  towards an opposite end  607  of the holder  601 . In this and other subsequently described embodiments, the objective achieved is providing the consumer the ability to manually push the sandwich or pizza from one of its ends so that more of the opposite end of the sandwich or pizza can clear the opposite peripheral end of the holder, exposing more food portions for eating convenience.  
         [0049]     Referring to  FIG. 7 , the holder blank  701  is a variation of the blank  601  illustrated in  FIG. 6 , in which blank  701  comprises a circular shape, which has an additional line of weakness  718  arranged in an orientation generally perpendicular to and intersecting lines of weakness  703  and  705  extending parallel to diametrical axis  708 . The intervening area between lines of weakness  703  and  705  defines the base portion  709  of the holder  701 , while the flanking blank areas  711  and  713  will form the side portions of the holder when folded as described herein. The arched flap portion  604  (indicated by diagonal lines) is foldable out of its plane (e.g., upwards in the perspective of  FIG. 7 ) via fold line  718 , allowing a food item supported between lines  703  and  705  in a folded holder configuration to be manual pushed via the flap portion  704  towards an opposite end  707  of the holder  701 .  
         [0050]     Referring to  FIG. 8 , the holder blank  801  has fold lines  803  and  805  extending parallel to diametrical axis  808 , and also includes a perforated line  804  which approximately bisects the blank  801  at a right angle to the fold lines  803  and  805 . The perforated line  804  includes a chord portion  802 , and an upper right hand quadrant  810  is defined in the blank  801  between chord portion  802  and fold line  803 . The perforated line  804  also includes a chord portion  806 , and an upper left hand quadrant  814  is defined in the blank  801  between chord portion  806  and fold line  805 . The intervening area between lines of weakness  803  and  805  defines the base portion  809  of the holder  801 , while the flanking blank areas  811  and  813  will form the side portions of the holder when folded as described herein. As illustrated in  FIG. 8 , quadrant  810  has a peripheral edge portion  821 , quadrant  814  has a peripheral edge portion  823 , quadrant  811  has a peripheral edge portion  822 , and quadrant  813  has a peripheral edge portion  824 .  
         [0051]     As shown in  FIG. 9 , an initially generally flat food item  813  has been placed upon blank  801 , and then blank  801  has been folded upward along fold lines  803  and  805  until the peripheral edge portions  821  through  824  are all initially oriented generally upright, followed by selectively displacing quadrants  810  and  814  of the holder in a downward direction while leaving quadrants  811  and  813  in their generally upright food holding position. The food item  813  may comprise, for example, a piece of pita bread, a pizza crust, etc., supporting edible sandwich fillings or pizza toppings, which in the folded configuration sandwiches the fillings or toppings  830  between opposite folded sides  831  and  832  of the bread or crust. The upper right quadrant  810  of holder blank  801  can be bent away and separated from the blank  801  by manually tearing along perforated line  804  at its chord portion  802  until the quadrant  810  is separated from the adjoining side portion  815  of the blank  801  (e.g., see  FIG. 10 ). Similarly, the opposite side upper right quadrant  814  likewise can be bent away and separated from the blank  801  in a similar manner by manually tearing along perforated line  804  at its chord portion  806  until the quadrant  814  is separated from the adjoining side portion  813  of the blank  801 . In this manner, an end portion  818  of the folded food item  813  cradled in the holder  801  can be further exposed for eating convenience while the rest of the food item remains securely held by the remainder of the holder. For instance, the quadrants  810  and  814  can be bent downward a sufficient degree to be approximately planar with the base portion  809  of the holder  801 , such as illustrated in  FIG. 10  relative to quadrant  810 , or they may be bent even more extensively so as to be angled downward relative to base portion  809  and thereby further distanced from the exposed portion  818  of the food item  813  to be eaten. The perforated line  804  also can be torn along its entire length to separate both the quadrants  810  and  814 , and also the base end portion  816  of base portion  809  as a separable flap portion  819  freed from the remainder  820  of the holder. Although line of weakness  804  has been illustrated in  FIGS. 8-10  as being a perforated line, it will be appreciated that it can be formed as any readily manually peelable type of line of weakness. Also, the perforated line  804  does not have to exactly bisect the blank  801 , and it may intersect the fold lines  803  and  805  at a location nearer to one edge  840  of the blank  801  than the opposite edge  841  thereof, or vice versa, to the extent that portions of the food item  813  can be exposed when flaps  810  and  814  are displaced away from the remainder of the food holder in the manner generally described above.  
         [0052]     Referring to  FIG. 11 , holder blank  1101  has a first pair of fold lines  1103  and  1105  arranged parallel to the diametrical axis  1108 , and the holder base portion  1109  is defined between these fold lines. The holder blank has side portions  1111  and  1113  flanking base portion  1109 . An additional pair of parallel fold lines  1117  and  1119  are provided laterally outside the first pair of fold lines, e.g., as located approximately midway between the nearest fold line  1117  or  1119  and the periphery  1106  of the blank  1101 . Side quadrants  1116  and  1118  are defined in the side portions of the blank at regions located on the free edge sides (i.e., the direction away from base portion  1109 ) of the fold lines  1117  and  1191 .  
         [0053]     Referring to  FIG. 12 , the illustration of a food holder  1102  formed from folding blank  1101  while supporting a folded food item  1112  shows that each side quadrant  1116  and  1118  of the blank  1101  is manually bendable in a direction away from the unbent side portions  1114  and  1115  of the sides  1111  and  1113 , respectively, and folded sandwich  1112  thereon. In this manner, more of the food item can be exposed for eating convenience.  
         [0054]     Referring to  FIG. 13 , side portions  1114  and  1115  of the food holder  1102  generally are foldable at the associated fold lines sufficient to provide an absolute angle α greater than about 45° with the base portion  1108  when the blank is manipulated into its folded configuration. This feature also may be applied to other holder embodiments described herein.  
         [0055]     Referring to  FIG. 14 , a cardboard holder blank  1401  has a pair of perforated fold lines  1403  and  1405  arranged parallel to the diametrical axis  1408 , and the holder base portion  1409  is defined between these perforated fold lines. The holder blank has side portions  1411  and  1413  flanking base portion  1409 . In this illustration, traces  1404  indicate the direction of corrugation of the cardboard blank construction, i.e., the corrugation flutes extend in a direction parallel to the direction of corrugation. In this illustration, perforated fold lines  1403  and  1405  are formed in the blank  1401  in an orientation generally perpendicular to the direction of corrugation of the blank  1401 .  FIG. 15  illustrates the folded configuration  1402  of blank  1401 . As understood, the folded holder  1402  will support and impart folding action upon an open sandwich or pizza supported thereon, such as after cooking the sandwich or pizza.  
         [0056]     Referring to  FIG. 16 , the perforated fold lines  1403  and  1405  not only serve as fold lines but in this embodiment also can be manually torn along portions thereof from the base portion  1409  to provide a free flap portion  1410  displaced from the untorn remainder  1414  of the base portion  1409  in the direction indicated towards an end of the food item by a consumer in the direction indicated. By orienting the perforated fold lines  1403  and  1405  generally perpendicular to the direction of corrugation (indicated by traces  1404 ) of the cardboard blank construction, it is relatively easier to manually curl the free flap portion  1410  back towards an end of the food item being held in the holder. Referring to  FIG. 17 , a folded food holder  1402  is illustrated which is formed from folding blank  1401  along the fold lines  1403  and  1405  while supporting a folded food item  1412 , which shows the flap portion  1410  torn from the base portion  1409  along perforated fold lines  1403  and  1405  and used to push an end  1419  of the food item  1412  away from one holder end  1417  and towards the opposite end  1418  of the holder  1402  in the direction indicated by the arrow, providing more sandwich or pizza clearance at said opposite end for eating convenience.  
         [0057]     Referring to  FIG. 18 , holder blank  1801  has a pair of fold lines  1803  and  1805  arranged parallel to the diametrical axis  1808 , and the holder base portion  1809  is defined between these fold lines. The holder blank has side portions  1811  and  1813  flanking base portion  1809 . The holder blank  1801  also includes cut-outs or finger slots  1804  and  1804  provided at opposite ends  1817  and  1819 , respectively, of the blank  1801  inside base portion  1809 .  
         [0058]     Referring to  FIG. 19 , a folded food holder  1802  is illustrated which is formed from folding blank  1801  along the fold lines  1803  and  1805  while supporting a folded food item  1812 , which shows the inserted finger  1815  of a consumer as placed into the slot  1806  provided in the end  1819  of the base portion  1809 , and manual application of a pushing force to an end  1813  of the folded food item  1812  via the slot is effective to move or slide the food item in the holder  1802  in the direction indicated by the arrow towards an opposite end of the holder  1802 .  
         [0059]     Referring to  FIG. 20 , the direction of displacement of the folded food item  1812  effected by use of finger slot  1806  in the folded holder  1802  is indicated by the direction arrow, providing more clearance of the food item at the opposite end  1814  of the holder  1802  for eating convenience.  
         [0060]     Referring to  FIG. 21 , holder blank  2101  has a pair of fold lines  2103  and  2105  arranged parallel to the diametrical axis  2108 , and the holder base portion  2109  is defined between these fold lines. The holder blank has side portions  2111  and  2113  flanking base portion  2109 . The holder blank  2101  also includes cut-outs or finger slots  2104  and  2106  provided in side portions  2111  and  2113 , respectively. The cut-outs  2104  and  2106  extend parallel to the diametrical axis  2108  along a direction between opposite ends  2117  and  2119 , respectively, of the blank  2101 .  
         [0061]     Referring to  FIG. 22 , a folded food holder  2102  is illustrated which is formed from folding blank  2101  along the fold lines  2103  and  2105  while supporting a folded food item  2112 , which is visible and manually accessible through the cut-out  2104 .  
         [0062]     Referring to  FIG. 23 , a finger or fingers can be inserted through slot  2104  (or  2106  on the opposite side of the folded holder) to push the folded food item  2112  via an exposed outer surface  2113  of a sandwich bread or pizza crust, etc., towards a holder end  2119  and away from the opposite holder end  2117  in the direction indicated by the arrow, providing more clearance of the food item at holder end  2119  for eating convenience.  
         [0063]     While the invention has been particularly described with specific reference to particular process and product embodiments, it will be appreciated that various alterations, modifications and adaptations may be based on the present disclosure, and are intended to be within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the following claims.