Punnet

The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, parenthetically in its entry for geneticist R. C. Punnett (1875–1967), credits "a strawberry growing ancestor [who] devised the wooden basket known as a 'punnet.

They were stacked, fifty or sixty together, into square hampers for transport to the market, placed upon a woman's head on a small cushion and over longer distances in a light carriage of frame work hung on springs.

As reported in an 1879 issue of The Gentleman's Magazine, the conical pottle had given way to the punnet, being mainly manufactured in Brentford of deal, or the more preferred willow, by hundreds of women and children.

[4] A 1852 publication lists other produce being sold in punnets in British markets, including sea kale, mushrooms, small salad and tomatoes.

The process is recorded in a 1948 poem by New Zealand author Mabel Christmas-Harvey;[6] Knees are aching, backs are breaking Ladies fair who eat our spoils Have you ever 'midst enjoyment Realised our painful toils?

[10] Contemporary punnets are generally made in a variety of dimensions of semi-rigid, transparent, lightweight PET plastic with lockable lids, or of clamshell design, and with vents.

The design of a punnet allows for easy handling, transportation, and display of produce, protecting delicate items from damage while keeping them visible to consumers.