UPDATED NOVEMBER 12, 2013 After all the talk on food, time to take a break! One thing I think is so smart is Swedish design. Not only are they masters of furniture design, but also practical things you never really think of. As I was unclogging our sink for the 1000th time using thick-ass gloves to remove the gooey food leftovers, I was cursing it for being so poorly designed and so damn unsanitary. After reading somewhere that sinks are as dirty and as NASTY as a toilet (sometimes even worse, gag!), I have been dreaming and wishing for a Swedish flat sink. Yes, you heard right. A. Flat. Sink. It’s easier to show you a picture of one.
Notice the flat sink drain where water can pass through, but food stays on top of the drain hole.
When we were living in Sweden in the 90s, this type of sink was prevalent everywhere. When we returned recently, we noticed that they are not as common and most sinks are starting to look like the North American ones with their crappy sink drains. It was so nice and easy to clean up the food by using this nifty “skrapa” or food scraper, scooping the food up and out, and then dumping the food crap in an organic waste bucket. Food particles don’t get stuck anywhere, which causes a bacteria party. You never needed to touch the food and you can throw the food scraper in the dish washer for everyday sanitization! Voila! It is just so smart and so clean.
UPDATE! My husband and I stumbled upon a nifty drain cover that works almost as good as the flat sink. You can order it in the U.S. through Amazon, and it works okay with the Food Scraper. Here’s a little photo of it below.
I have an eye for this stuff since I love industrial/product design, having been in that business before. Along with the Swedish toilet design, this is definitely another thing the Swedes do better!
the swede life in toronto 
Great observation! Sink baskets require finnicky cleaning, both sides, plus the area beneath.
This sink seems so rationally and thoughtfully designed.