Punnet facts for kids

Empty punnets

A punnet is a small container, often shaped like a box or basket. People use punnets to collect, move, and sell fruits and vegetables. They are especially good for delicate fruits like berries that can easily get squashed or bruised. Punnets also help measure a certain amount of fruit.

What's in a Name? The Origin of "Punnet"

The word "punnet" is mostly used in countries that were once part of the British Empire. Its exact origin isn't fully known. Some people think it comes from an old British word, "pun," which meant pound. This makes sense because these containers were once used to measure things. Interestingly, a famous scientist named R. C. Punnett had an ancestor who grew strawberries. This ancestor is said to have invented the wooden basket known as a "punnet."

How Punnets Have Changed Over Time

Strawberry seller carrying pottles, 1688, reworked and published after c.1750 Etching

Before Punnets: The "Pottle"

In the late 1700s, strawberries and other soft fruits were sold in containers called "pottles." These were cone-shaped baskets made of wood chips. The narrow shape was thought to protect the fruit at the bottom from damage. Pottles used in England and Scotland held about one Scottish pint of fruit.

People would stack many pottles into large square baskets for transport. These baskets were often carried on women's heads or in light carriages. In 1834, The Saturday Magazine reported that women and children made pottle baskets at home. They would soak wood, split it into strips, and then weave the baskets. Children often wove the sides using flexible strips of fir or willow.

The Rise of the Punnet

Pottles were replaced by the more practical, rectangular punnet in the mid-1800s. People often used the words "pottle" and "punnet" to mean the same thing for a while. By 1879, The Gentleman's Magazine noted that the cone-shaped pottle was mostly gone. Punnets were mainly made in Brentford from deal wood or the more popular willow. Hundreds of women and children worked to make them.

Why Punnets Are So Useful

A publication from 1852 shows that punnets were used for selling other produce in British markets. This included sea kale, mushrooms, small salads, and tomatoes.

Punnets are used for picking berries as well as selling them. This helps reduce how much the delicate fruits are handled. Less handling means less damage. A poem from 1948 by New Zealand author Mabel Christmas-Harvey describes this process:

Punnets in North America

Commercial strawberry farming began in North America around 1820. The fruits were packed in a similar way to how English gardeners did it. In 1821, it was suggested that Massachusetts strawberry growers use "pottles" to carry berries to the Boston markets. The English punnet, used in New York City for strawberries between 1815 and 1850, was a round, shallow basket without handles.

A punnet with a handle became more popular in New York. Charles W. Idell, who managed a produce market in New York, shared this history:

The first strawberries marketed in New York were wild ones from Bergen County, N. J. The negroes there the first to pick this fruit for the New York market and invented those quaint oId fashioned splint baskets with handles. The baskets were strung on poles and thus peddled through the city.

How Punnets Are Made

A 1903 book describes how punnets were built. They were made from thin strips of wood that were soaked in water first. The bottom and upright parts were made of six pieces of wood, about 1/16 of an inch thick. These could be made of ash wood. The lacing strips, which were thinner and wider, could be made of pine.

By 1969, punnets in the United Kingdom were made from thin poplar wood using machines. Factory workers still had to weave the wood strips together. However, metal staples were used to hold the strips in place.

Modern Punnets

Today, punnets are usually made from clear, lightweight PET plastic. They come in many sizes and often have lids that lock. They also have vents to keep the fruit fresh. Their clear design lets customers see the fruit without touching it, which helps keep the produce clean and undamaged.

Cardboard punnets with wire handles were used as early as 1911. Now, materials like moulded pulp and corrugated fiberboard are also used. These materials are seen as more environmentally friendly. You might also see decorative punnets made of felt in flower or craft displays.