AP884A

AP884A - Cooking apparatus

Info

Publication number: AP884A
Application number: APAP/P/1998/001364A
Authority: AP
Inventors: William Gwata
Original assignee: William Gwata
Priority date: 1997-10-29
Filing date: 1998-10-09
Publication date: 2000-10-25
Also published as: AP9801364A0; ZA989224B

Abstract

Cooking apparatus which includes a housing, a cooking vessel which is located inside the housing, means for heating the cooking vessel, means for feeding particuiate material into the vessel, means for mixing the particulate material with water in the vessel, and control means for controlling the operation of the feeding means, the heating means, and the mixing means.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to cooking apparatus and is particularly concerned with the preparation of maize meal porridge.

it is to be understood that the cooking apparatus of the invention although described hereinafter with reference to the preparation of maize meal porridge can be used in other applications and its use is therefore not confined to the preparation of maize meal porridge.

Maize meal porridge is variously called sadza, pap, or polenta, amongst other names, but for purposes of simplification and generalization is referred to herein as sadza.

Sadza is one of the most cumbersome staples to prepare. Problems with manual preparation include lengthy preparation time and high energy needs in terms of labour and heating requirements for thorough cooking. Cooking sadza is an arduous job with a high risk of bums to the cook. The cooking can be a messy process even when carried out by an experienced operator.

It is difficult as well, even for a skilled cook, to consistently produce high quality

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Page 3 sadza manually.

Sadza must be fresh. It is normally made by tipping a mound of ground maize meal into the centre of a pot of near-boiling water. Whilst continuing to heat the water the cook stirs the maize meal into the water until the desired consistency is achieved. The consistency may vary from thin gruel to porridge sufficiently stiff to be eaten by hand.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention is concerned, in the first instance, with a method of preparing sadza and, secondly, with cooking apparatus which can be used for carrying out the method of the invention but which is not limited in its application, in any v/ay.

The invention provides a method of preparing sadza which includes the steps of heating water in a cooking vessel, adding meal to the water, mixing the meal and the water, sensing the visoosity of the resultant mixture, and controlling the addition of further meal to the mixture in a manner which is dependent on the sensed viscosity.

The method may include the step of measuring the temperature of the water and adding the meal to the water only when the water temperature is at a

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Page 4 predetermined temperature e.g. at boiling point.

The mixing of the meal and the water may take place, at least initially, in a pulsed or intermittent or relatively gentle manner.

The method may include the steps cf mixing the meal and the water v/ithout adding further meal to the water, simmering the mixture without further mixing, thickening the mixture by adding further meal thereto while mixing, and kneading the mixture without adding further meat.

The addition of the meal may take place in any appropriate manner but preferably is effected by discharging meat from a hopper into the cooking vessel.

The meal may be conveyed within the hopper to a discharge point using a feed screw or a set of feed screws.

’

The method may include the step of agitating the meal inside the hopper to prevent the formation of a meal bridge inside the hopper.

The meal and the water may be mixed using an impeller which is located in the cooking vessel and which generates a vortex in the meal/water mixture.

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The method may include the steps of selecting a predetermined cooking interval and heating the mixture in the cooking vessel for the duration of the cooking interval.

The duration of the cooking interval may be dependent on a variety of factors 10 including the available energy for heating the water and the quantity of sadza which is to be prepared.

* The method may include the steps of storing at least one recipe for a cooking process in a memory device and using the stored recipe to control the cooking process. This removes the requirement for cooking skill on the part of an operator. The cooking process may be initiated by activating a switch.

The invention also provides a meal hopper which includes a container with a discharge point, a feed screw within the container for feeding meal to the discharge point, and means for agitating the meal inside the hopper to prevent the formation of a meal bridge inside the hopper.

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The container may have any suitable shape and preferably has a semi-circular base.

The agitating means may be located above the feed screw within the hopper.

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The agitating means may take on any suitable form ar.d preferably indudes a shaft which is mounted for rotation about an axis which is substantially parallel to the feed screw, spokes which extend from the shaft, and a blade which is fixed to the spokes, spaced from the shaft.

The invention also provides an impeller which includes a shaft, at least one blade which is mounted to, and which extends transversally to, the shaft, and vortex-generating means on the blade.

The vortex-generating means may take on any suitable form and may be determined empirically. It has been established that studs of various heights which are fixed to upper surfaces of the blade generate appropriate vortices when the impeller rotates.

The shaft may have a plurality of blades of different sizes fixed to it.

The invention further extends to cooking apparatus which includes a housing, a cooking vessel which is located inside the housing, means for heating the cooking vessel, means for feeding particulate material into the vessel, means for mixing the particulate material with water in the vessel, and control means for controlling the operation of the feeding means, the heating means and the mixing means.

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The cooking vessel may be removably located inside the housing.

The control means may include timing means and may control the operation of the feeding means, the heating means and the mixing means in a timedependent manner.

The control means may include means for sensing the viscosity of the mixture of the material and the water and means for controlling the operation of the bk feeding means in a manner which is dependent on the sensed viscosity.

*

The feeding means may be operated in any appropriate way. Preferably the feeding means and the mixing means are driven by means of respective electric motors and the viscosity of the mixture is sensed simply by monitoring the power drawn by the motor of the mixing means. For example the current which is drawn by the motor may be monitored and correlated, through experimentation, to the viscosity of the mixture. The power which is necessary to drive an kg impeller of the mixing means through the mixture is dependent on the thickness or viscosity of the mixture and consequently, by monitoring the current which is required to drive the impeller motor, the viscosity of the mixture may be sensed in an indirect way.

The cooking vessel preferably includes a lid and the particulate material is fed

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Page 8 into the vessel from above through an opening in the lid.

The lid may be held in a closed position substantially throughout a cooking cycle.

- The mixing means may also extend through the lid into the cooking vessel.

The feeding means and the mixing means may be supported on overhead structure which is movable relatively to the cooking vessel.

The heating means may be located within the housing adjacent a base and sides of the cooking vessel.

Means may be provided for sensing the temperature of the water in the vessel. The control means may be responsive to the temperature sensing means end ’0 ' may initiate a cooking programme only when the water in the vessel is at boiling point

The control means is preferably computer based and makes use cf a programmable logic controller or a similar device.

The control means may include memory means in which is stored at least one

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Page 9 operator. Execution of a recipe, by the control means, may be initiated by operating a switch.

The feeding means may take on any suitable form but preferably includes a meal hopper of the kind described hereinbefore. Similarly the mixing means preferably includes an impeller of the kind described hereinbefore.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention is further described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which :

Figure 1 is a side view, in cross-section, of cooking apparatus according to the invention,

Figure 2 is a perspective view of an impeller used in the apparatus of Figure 1, Figure 3 is an end view of a meal hopper which is used in the apparatus of Figure 1, and

Figure 4 illustrates a controller which is used for controlling the operating of the cooking apparatus of Figure 1.

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Page 110 ' DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings illustrates cocking apparatus 10 according to the invention which includes a housing 12 which is made tram a suitable material such as stainless steel and a reactor or cooking vessel 14 which is located inside the housing.

Depending on requirement the vesse! may be removable from the housing.

*

An electrical heating element 16 is fixed inside the housing 12 and is contained 15 inside a suitable protective enclosure. Optionally the element may be immersed in a thermal oil inside the housing. The base 18 of the cooking vessel rests on or opposes the heating element 16.

A lid 20 is fixed by means of a hinge joint 22 to the cooking vessel. The cooking vessel and the lid are also made from a material such as stainless steel.

The lid has a first opening 24 and a second opening 26.

A support structure 28 adjacent the housing 12 has a transverse arm 30 to which 25 are attached a feed hopper 32 and an electrical drive 34.

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The feed hopper 32 is shown in cross-section in Figure 3. The feed hopper includes a container 36 which has vertical sidewalls 38 and a semi-circular base

40. Mounted inside the container is a spiral feed screw 42 and a disrupter or agitator 44.

The feed screw 42 is rotated by means of a drive motor 46 which is mounted externally to the container. The feed screw is located so that during operation it advances meal, not shown, inside the container towards a discharge spout 48 which directly overlies, and may extend partially into, the opening 24 in the lid.

The disrupter 44 includes a shaft 50 with radial spokes 52. A bar 54 with a knife edge is fixed to extremities of the spokes. The shaft 50 is mounted to bearing bushes in a conventional manner and is rotatably driven by means of the motor

46.

20^: The drive motor 34 has an output shaft 58 with a quick release coupling 60 which is easily connected to or disconnected from an agitator or impeller 62 which is shown in further detail in Figure 2.

The agitator has a vertically extending shaft 64 with two main transverse blades which are fixed to the shaft, namely an upper blade 66 and a lower blade S8 which, optionally, tie in the same vertical plane. The blades are braced by

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Page 12 means of struts 70. The upper blade 66, on its upper surface, has upwardly extending vortex-generating studs 72 of varying sizes, which haves been empirically determined, fixed to it. At its lower end the shaft has relatively smaller blades 74. Handles 75 at an upper end of the shaft facilitate extraction of the impeller from the thick maize meal mixture at the end of a cooking cycle.

The cooking apparatus is operated under the control of a control unit 75. The control unit 76 which is shown schematically in Figures 1 and 4 is a microprocessor-based device and, for example, is a programmable logic controller. The control unit includes a suitable program to implement a cooking regime, according to requirement. Thus the control unit includes a memory in which is stored one or a plurality of recipes each tested beforehand to give a satisfactory end product. Each of the recipes is reduced to a series of steps, in the nature of an algorithm, which can be carried out by the control unit. Provision is made for a recipe to be selected, if a number of recipes are stored.

? Execution of a selected recipe is initiated by an operator pushing a button, closing a switch, or taking a similar step. Thereafter the process is automatically carried out. This approach removes the need for culinary skills or cooking expertise on the part of the operator. Power from a main supply point 78 is applied to the contra! unit 76 which also includes a timer 80 and an input lead

82 which is connected to a temperature probe 84 which is inside the housing 12 in close contact with the contents of the cooking vessel.

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The controller 76 has three outlet terminals 06, 83 and 90 respectively connected to the impeller drive 34, the drive motor 46, and to the healer 16 respectively.

A current sensor 92 which is shown externally of the controller but which may be 10 included inside the controller is used to monitor the current drawn by the impeller motor 34 and to feed a signal which is dependent on the drawn current

5. ;ito the controller in a feedback mode.

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Initially a predetermined quantity of water is placed in the cooking vessel’and the heater 16 is energized to bring the water to boil. This is the start of the cooking cycle which is initiated by an operator pressing a button to dose a switch which commences the execution of the stored recipe. Boiling is sensed by the temperature probe 84 and, at this point, the controller initiates the timer at the beginning of a cooking interval of predetermined duration. The controller controls the operation of the impeller and the meal feeder in accordance with a predetermined program to prepare cooked sadza according to requirement

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At the commencement of the cooking cycle meal is added to the cooking vessel by energizing the drive motor so that meal inside the container is advanced to the discharge point or spout 48 from where it is discharged directly through the opening 24 into the boiling water. Initially the impeller is operated in a pulsed

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Page 14 or relatively gentle manner to avoid splashing which is possible before the mixture thickens.

Thereafter the impeller is operated continuously at full speed without meal feeding taking place so that lumps in the mixture are broken down to provide a mixture which has a smooth and even consistency.

In a third phase the mixture is simmered only and no meal addition takes place nor is the impeller operated.

In a fourth phase meal is added to thicken the mixture while the impeller is continuously operated to ensure thorough mixing.

In a fifth phase of the cooking cycle the impeller is operated without feeding meal to the vessel. This corresponds to a first kneading phase of the cooking cycle. Thereafter meal is added, if required, to achieve a desired consistency in the cooked mixture. As has been pointed out the impeller is driven by the motor 34 and the current sensor 92 is used to monitor the current which is drawn by the motor. This current is dependent on the power which is required by the motor in order to urge the impeller through the mixture. Consequently the current is a measure of the viscosity of the mixture. By using a calibration relationship which is recorded in the controller and which is established through

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Page 15 experimentation the current measurement is used to control the addition of further meal to the cooking vessel in a series of steps, if required, until a desired consistency or viscosity is achieved.

In the last phase of the cooking cycle kneading takes place with the impeller being operated and without further meal being added to the mixture.

The different phases of the cooking cycle are set out in the table which is annexed hereto. It is to be noted that the duration of the cooking period exactly encompasses the various phases. The duration of the cooking interval is in fact determined by the power output of the heater element and by the volume of sadza which is being prepared. In this example the cooking cycle is completed within 60 minutes.

The table has three columns headed heater status, impeller status and meal 20 feeder status respectively. It is to be observed that the heater is on for the entire cooking cycle, although the heat level may be lowered during the simmering stage, and that the impeller and meai feeders are turned on or off as required.

In the first phase it is evident as well that the impeller is operated in a pulsed mode.

The feed screw 42 provides precisely metered quantities of meai to the cooking

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Page 16 vessel. To ensure that the feed screw is fully enclosed in meal and to prevent a meal bridge from occurring above the feed screw use is made of the disrupter 44 which is rotated whenever the feed screw is rotated. The knife edge on the bar 54 cuts through any meal bridge which may be formed above the feed screw. This meal is thus dislodged and falls down on to the feed screw.

3¾ The signal from the current sensor 92 completes a feedback loop which automatically controls the additional meal to achieve any desired viscosity $

setting. The viscosity may in fact be set in accordance with one or more predetermined programs which are incorporated in the controller. As the operation of the cooking apparatus is under the control of the controller the preparation of sadza is reduced to a push-button process which ensures that sadza of a repeatable consistency and quality is produced each time the apparatus is used.

The impeller which is shown in Figure 2 is preferably operated at relatively high speed. The vortex generating studs 72 are designed to draw the meal from the surface into the body of the mixture to ensure thorough mixing of the meal with the water, a process which helps to ensure homogeneity of the final product.

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COOKING CYCLE

Control Process Schedule for 200 litres with 18 KW Heat Supply (This schedule may be scaled down cr up if volume or power supply changes)

POSITION AS INDICATED CN CONTROL PANEL (MINUTES)	HEATER STATUS	IMPELLER STATUS	MEAL FEEDER STATUS	REMARKS TEMPERATURE PROSE PREVENTS PROCESS STARTING UNTIL WATER REACHES BOILING POINT
60 I	ON 1	PULSE 1	ON 1	THIN PORRIDGE GENERATION
4 53	4 ON	4 PULSE	4 ON	1
54	ON	' PULSE	OFF	THIN PORRIDGE GENERATION
S3 I	ON 1	ON I	OFF I	SMASHING LUMPS
4 45	Ι- ΟΝ	4 ON	4 OFF	1
44 I	ON 1	OFF 1	OFF I	FIRST SIMMERING o
4 25	4 ON	4 OFF	4 OFF	1
25 I	ON I	ON I	ON I	FINAL THICKENING
4 20	Ι- ΟΝ	4 ON	-* ON
19	ON	ON	OFF	FIRST KNEADING
1 13	: ON	ON	I OFF	i
12	ON	ON	ON	-CONDITIONAL FEEDING OF MEAL IF VISCOSITY IS BELOW THRESHOLD SETTING*
11	ON	ON	OFF
10	ON	ON	OFF	I
9	ON	ON	ON
3 7	ON ON	ON ON	OFF OFF
5	ON	ON	ON
5 I	ON 1	OH I	OFF I	FINAL KNEADING I
4 1	4 ON	4 on	4 OFF	4
0	OFF	OFF	OFF	FINAL SIMMERING

AP/P/ 98 / 0 1 3 6 4 ^RESISTANCE TO IMPELLER ROTATION IS AUTOMATICALLY INTERPRETED/CONVERTED INTO VISCOSITY READINGS.

Claims

1. A method and cooking apparatus for preparing sadza which includes a viscosity sensing system having the steps of heating water in a cooking vessel, adding meal to the water, mixing the meal and the water, sensing the viscosity of the resultant mixture, and controlling the addition of supplementary meal to the mixture in an amount which is dependent on the sensed viscosity.

2. A method according to claim 1 which includes the steps of measuring the temperature of the water and adding meal to the water only when the water temperature is at a predetermined temperature.

3 . A method according to claim 2 wherein the predetermined temperature is the boiling point of the water.

4 . A method according to any one of the claims 1 to 3 wherein the mixing of the meal and the water takes place, at least initially, in a pulsed or intermittent or relatively gentle manner.

5. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 4 which includes the steps of mixing the meal and the water without adding further meal to the water, simmering the mixture without further mixing, thickening the mixture by adding further meal thereto while mixing, and kneading the mixture without adding further' meal.

6. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 5 wherein the addition of the meal takes place by discharging meal from a hopper into the cooking vessel.

7 . A method according to any one of the claims 1 to 6 which includes the step of conveying the meal within the hopper to a discharge point using at least one feed screw.

8. A method according to claim 6 or 7 which includes the step of agitating the meal inside the hopper to prevent the formation of a meal bridge inside the hopper.

9. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 8 which includes the step of mixing the meal and the water using an impeller, located in the cooking vessel, which generates a vortex in the mixture.

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A method includes cooking cooking interval according to the steps interval and vessel for any one of claims 1 to 9 which of selecting a predetermined mixture in the of the cooking heating the the duration

11. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 10 which includes the steps of storing at least one recipe for a cooking process in a memory device and using the stored recipe to control the cooking process.

12. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 11 wherein execution of a cooking process is initiated by activating a switch.

13. A meal hopper which includes a container with a discharge point, a feed screw within the container for feeding meal to the discharge point, and means for agitating the meal inside the hopper to prevent the formation of a meal bridge inside the hopper.

14. A meal hopper according to claim 13 wherein the container has a semicircular base.

15. A meal hopper according to claim 13 or 14 wherein the agitating means is located above the feed screw within the hopper.

16. A meal hopper according to claim 13, 14 or 15 wherein the agitating means includes a shaft which is mounted for rotation above an axis which is substantially parallel to the feed screw, spokes which extend from the shaft, and a blade which is fixed to the spokes, spaced from the shaft.

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17. An impeller which includes a shaft, at least one blade which is mounted to, and which extends transversely to, the shaft, and vortex generating means on the blade .

18. Cooking apparatus which includes a housing, a cooking vessel which is located inside the housing, means for heating the cooking vessel, means for feeding particulate material into vessel, means for mixing the particulate material with water in the vessel, and control means for controlling the operation of the feeding means, the heating means, and the mixing means .

19. Cooking apparatus according to claim 18 wherein the control means includes timing means and controls the operation of the feeding means, the heating means, and the mixing means, in a time dependent manner.

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20. Cooking apparatus according to claim 18 or 19 wherein the control means includes means for sensing the viscosity of the mixture of the material and the water and controls the operation of the feeding means in a manner which is dependent on the sensed viscosity.

21. Cooking apparatus according to claim 20 wherein in the feeding means is electrically operated and the viscosity sensing means monitors the power drawn by the mixingmeans to obtain a measure of the viscosity of the mixture.

22. Cooking apparatus according to any one of claims 18 to 21 which includes a lid for the cooking vessel and the particulate -material is fed into the vessel through an opening in the lid.

23. Cooking apparatus according to claim 22 wherein the mixing means extends through the lid into the cooking vessel. _o ’

24. Cooking apparatus according to any one of claims 18 to 23 wherein the feeding means and the mixing means are supported on overhead structure.

25. Cooking apparatus according to claim 24 wherein the overhead structure is movable relatively to the cooking vessel.

26. Cooking apparatus according to any one of claims 18 to

25 wherein the heating means is located within the housing adjacent a base and sides of the cooking vessel.

27. Cooking apparatus according to any one of claims 18 to

26 which includes means for sensing the temperature of the contents in the vessel.

28. Cooking apparatus according to any one of claims 18 to

27 wherein the feeding means includes a meal hopper according to any one of claims 13 to 16.

29. Cooking apparatus according to any one of claims 18 to

28 wherein the mixing means includes an impeller according to claim 17.

30. Cooking apparatus according to any one of claims 18 to

29 wherein the control means includes memory means in which is stored at least one recipe for a cooking process thereby obviating the need for cooking skills in an operator.

31. Cooking apparatus according to .claim 30 wherein the execution of a recipe, by the control means, is initiated by operating a switch.

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5 means includes a shaft which is mounted for rotation above an axis which is substantially parallel to the feed screw, spokes which extend from the shaft, and a blade which is fixed to the spokes, spaced from the shaft,

13. An impeller which includes a shaft, at least one blade which is mounted 10 to, and which extends transversely to, the shaft, and vortex generating means on the blade.

19. Cooking apparatus which includes a housing, a cooking vessel which is located inside the housing, means for heating the cooking vessel, means

15 for feeding particulate material into the vessel, means for mixing the particulate material with water in the vessel, and control means for controlling the operation of the feeding means, the heating means, and the mixing means.

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20:^. 20. Cooking apparatus according to claim 19 wherein the control means includes timing means and controls the operation of the feeding means, the heating means, and the mixing means, in a time dependent manner.

21. Cooking apparatus according to claim 19 or 20 wherein the control means 25 includes means for sensing the viscosity of the mixture of the material and the water and controls the operation of the feeding means in a mariner

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5 which is dependent on the sensed viscosity.

22. Cooking apparatus according to claim 21 wherein the feeding means is electrically operated and the viscosity sensing means monitors the power drawn by the mixing means to obtain a measure of the viscosity of the

0 mixture.

23. Cooking apparatus according to any one of claims 19 to 22 which includes a lid for the cooking vessel and the particulate material is fed into the vessel through an opening in the lid.

'5

24. Cooking apparatus according to claim 23 wherein the lid remains substantially closed throughout a cooking cycle.

25. Cooking apparatus according to claim 23 or 24 wherein the mixing means

20 extends through the lid into the cooking vessel.

26. Cooking apparatus according to any one of claims 19 to 25 wherein the feeding means and the mixing means are supported on overhead structure.

27. Cooking apparatus according to claim 26 wherein the overhead structure

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5 is movable relatively to the cooking vessel.

28. Cooking apparatus according to any one of claims 19 to 27 wherein the heating means is located within the housing adjacent a base and sides of the cooking vessel.

29. Cooking apparatus according to any one of claims 19 to 28 which includes means for sensing the temperature of the contents in the vessel.

*

30. Cooking apparatus according to any one of claims 19 to 29 wherein the

15 feeding means includes a meal hopper according to any one of claims 14 to 17.

31. Cooking apparatus according to any one of claims 19 to 30 wherein the mixing means includes an impeller according to claim 18.

2(|j

32. A meal hopper substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to any one of the accompanying drawings.

33. An impeller substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to any

25 one of the accompanying drawings.

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34. Cooking apparatus substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to any one of the accompanying drawings.

35. Cooking apparatus according to any one of claims 19 to 31 wherein the control means includes memory means in which is stored at least one recipe for a cooking process thereby obviating the need for cooking: skills in an operator.

36. Cooking apparatus according to claim 35 wherein the execution of a recipe, by the control means, is initiated by operating a switch.