Book-shaped device for holding a cuisine-specific collection of herbs and spices and business method for providing cuisine-specific herbs and spices

Abstract

A spice-holding device includes a rectangular book-shaped container having a top, bottom, back cover, front cover, a binding end and an opening end defining an interior volume. The interior volume is partitioned into a plurality of compartments for holding predetermined quantities of preselected spices. The front cover is pivotally attached to the book-shaped container along the binding end so that the front cover is pivotable between an open position exposing the spice-holding compartments in the interior volume and a closed position covering the spices for storage and so that the spice-holding device is self-supporting when holding the spices and placed on its bottom. A method of business for distributing selected spices in a cuisine specific book shaped storage device. A method that includes selecting a specific cuisine, collecting spices useful for preparing the selected specific cuisine and making a book-shaped spice-holding device, including a plurality of compartments for holding small quantities of the selected cuisine-specific spices. The book-shaped spice-holding device is labeled with a cuisine indicator corresponding to the selected, specific cuisine for which the collected spices are useful.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A spice-holding device comprising: 
 a) a rectangular book-shaped container having a top, a bottom, a back cover, a front cover, a binding end and an opening end defining an interior volume;    b) said interior volume partitioned into a plurality of compartments holding predetermined quantities of preselected spices; and    c) said front cover pivotally attached to said book-shaped container along said binding end so that said front cover is pivotable between an open position exposing said spice-holding compartments in said interior volume for access to said spices held within said compartment and a closed position covering the spices for storage and so that said spice-holding device is self-supporting when placed on its bottom.    
     
     
         2 . A spice-holding device comprising: 
 a) a rectangular book-shaped container having a top, a bottom, a back cover, a front cover, a binding end and an opening end defining an interior volume;    b) said interior volume partitioned into a plurality of compartments for holding a predetermined quantity of preselected spices;    c) wherein said predetermined quantities of preselected spices comprise cuisine-specific spices preselected on the basis of a particular cuisine; and    d) said front cover pivotally attached to said book-shaped container along said binding end so that said front cover is pivotable between an open position exposing said spice-holding compartments in said interior volume for removable access to said spices held within said compartment and a closed position covering the spices for storage, and so that said spice-holding device is self-supporting when holding said spices within said compartments and placed on its bottom.    
     
     
         3 . A spice-holding device as in  claim 1  wherein said cover comprises a label field imprinted with a specific cuisine identifier corresponding to said cuisine of the preselected spices.  
     
     
         4 . A spice-holding device as in  claim 2  further comprising a recipe holder on the inside cover for holding cuisine-specific recipes corresponding to said cuisine of said preselected spices held in said plurality of compartments.  
     
     
         5 . A spice-holding device as in  claim 4  wherein said preselected spices are selected according to said cuisine and, further, according to said printed recipes so that said printed recipes can be prepared using said spices selected and held in said plurality of compartments.  
     
     
         6 . A plurality of cuisine-specific [special] spice-holding devices forming a set of spice-holding devices, each one of said plurality of spice-holding devices in said set comprising: 
 a) a rectangular book-shaped container having a top, bottom, back cover, front cover, binding end and opening end defining an interior volume and so that said device is self-supporting when placed on its bottom;    b) said interior volume of each spice-holding device partitioned into a plurality of compartments, said compartments holding predetermined quantities of preselected spices;    c) said cover pivotally attached to said book-shaped container along said binding end so that said front cover pivots between an open position exposing said spice-holding compartments for removable access to spices held within said compartments and a closed position covering said compartments; and    d) wherein each spice-holding device of said plurality of spice-holding devices is designated for a different, preselected cuisine and said preselected spices are selected for each separate spice-holding device according to said designated preselected cuisine.    
     
     
         7 . A plurality of cuisine-specific spice-holding devices forming a set of spice-holding devices as in  claim 6 , further comprising a recipe-holding device secured to the inside front cover of each of said plurality of spice-holding devices, and a preselected cuisine-specific printed recipe held in said recipe holding device and corresponding to said designated different cuisines for each of said plurality of spice-holding devices.  
     
     
         8 . A set of spice-holding devices as in  claim 7  wherein said different cuisines by which each of said plurality of spice-holding devices is designated, are selected from among American, American North, American Southern, Basic, Cajun, Children's cuisine, French, German, Indian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mediterranean, Mexican, Thai, and Vietnamese.  
     
     
         9 . A device for holding a preselected collection of small quantities of different spices comprising: 
 a) a container having a predetermined, regular geometric-shaped back cover and front cover, a plurality of perimeter panels capable of vertically supporting the container, including a binding end and an opening end, said back cover permanently affixed to said plurality of perimeter panels and said front cover pivotally attached along said binding end panel, said front cover having a closed position substantially parallel to said back cover and an open position pivoted away from said plurality of perimeter panels other than said binding end panel to which it is pivotally attached, each said perimeter panel interconnected at corners to others of said panels, thereby defining a threedimensional, regular geometric-shaped interior volume and further comprising a multiplicity of interconnected partitions within said volume arranged to define a plurality of compartments, each compartment holding a predetermined small packaged quantity of one of a plurality of preselected spices;    b) each one of said plurality of preselected spices, preselected on the basis of a predetermined, specific cuisine for which said spices are appropriate ingredients; and    c) an area of printed symbols on said front cover of said spice-holding device identifying said predetermined specific cuisine.    
     
     
         10 . A method of business for distributing selected spices for convenient storage and use with cuisine-specific recipes comprising the steps of: 
 a) selecting a specific cuisine;    b) collecting spices useful for preparing said selected specific cuisine;    c) making a book-shaped spice-holding device, including a plurality of compartments for holding small quantities of said selected cuisine-specific spices;    d) labeling the book-shaped spice-holding device with a cuisine indicator word, phrase or symbol corresponding to said selected, specific cuisine for which said collected spices are useful;    e) packaging quantities of said selected and collected spices and placing said packaged spices in said plurality of compartments of said labeled book-shaped spice-holding device; and    f) distributing said cuisine-specific, selected and collected spices placed in said labeled, book-shaped, spice-holding device.    
     
     
         11 . A method as in  claim 10  further comprising the steps of: 
 a) collecting a plurality of written, cuisine-specific recipes corresponding to the type of cuisine labeled on the spice-holding device;  
 b) placing said written cuisine-specific recipes in said spice-holding device for subsequent access and use to prepare said specific cuisine using said spices provided in the spice-holding device.  
 
     
     
         12 . A method of distributing spices as in  claim 10 , further comprising the steps of: 
 a) packaging additional quantities of cuisine-specific spices periodically after said specific spices are distributed in said book-shaped, spice-holding device, said packages sized for fitting into said compartments within said spice-holding device; and    b) providing said packages of spices for replacement of used, depleted, stale or old spices so that said spice-holding device can be used repeatedly and additional cuisine-specific spices are thereby distributed.    
     
     
         13 . A spice-holding device comprising: 
 a) a rectangular book-shaped container having a top, a bottom, a back cover, a front cover, a binding end and an opening end defining an interior volume;    b) said interior volume partitioned into a plurality of compartments for holding predetermined quantities of preselected spices, wherein said compartments are individually labeled to identify the particular spice to be held in each of said compartments; and    c) said front cover pivotally attached to said book-shaped container along said binding end so that said front cover is pivotable between an open position exposing said spice-holding compartments in said interior volume for access to said spices when held within said compartment and a closed position covering the spices for storage and constructed so that said spice-holding device is self-supporting when holding spices in said compartments and placed on its bottom.    
     
     
         14 . A spice-holding device as in  claim 13  wherein said predetermined quantities of preselected spices comprise cuisine-specific spices preselected on the basis of a particular cuisine.  
     
     
         15 . A spice-holding device as in  claim 14  wherein said cover comprises a label field imprinted with a specific cuisine identifier corresponding to said cuisine of the preselected spices.  
     
     
         16 . A spice-holding device as in  claim 15  further comprising a recipe holder secured to the inside cover for holding cuisine-specific recipes corresponding to said cuisine of said preselected spices held in said plurality of compartments.  
     
     
         17 . A spice-holding device as in  claim 16  wherein said preselected spices are selected according to said cuisine and said printed recipes so that said printed recipes can be prepared using said spices selected and held in said plurality of compartments.