EP1703775B1 - Method for heating food products - Google Patents

Abstract

The method involves following of heating time interval after one without a heating power time interval. For a heating time interval of more than 30 minutes, the heating power of the heating device amounts to less than 5 % of the maximum power. The heating time interval amounts to atmost 2.5 % of maximum power.

Description

Field of application and state of the art

The invention relates to a method for heating or preparing a food to be cooked, as done for example in a cooking vessel by means of a heater. This heater may be a hotplate of a hob.

In order to heat food or a food to be cooked, especially when it has been cooled for several hours, nowadays in many cases a microwave oven is used. This largely prevents the burning or at least setting of the food in the cooking vessel. However, not every household has a microwave oven. Furthermore, a food to be cooked has often been prepared in a metallic cooking vessel such as a saucepan or pan. The expense of transferring it into a suitable vessel for a microwave oven is often considered to be annoying. In that respect, here should be a warming can be done with the same or with any cooking vessel on, for example, a hob.

In addition, there are cases in which a food has been cooked or prepared in a cooking vessel. Thereafter, however, it should still be kept warm for a take place at a later or any point in time consumption. Here, however, there is often the problem that a hotplate, with which the food has been cooked in the cooking vessel, is very hot. To use these directly for keeping warm the food from its temperature level is relatively difficult or the risk of attaching or burning the food very large.

The EP-A-1289338 shows on a cooktop a heating with 2.5% of the maximum power directly after a phase with heating with maximum power. The resulting warming process thus jumps from the maximum power directly to the low power with 2.5% of the maximum power.

The DE-A-3241968 describes a cooktop with differently designed heating points. On a strong heating station with a high heat output is a boil. On another weak heating station with low power is kept warm. To cook a food in a cooking vessel, the cooking vessel is placed on a strong heat. To keep warm, the cooking vessel is then moved from the strong heating point to a weak heating point, so moved.

The DE-A-10337326 describes how a cooking process can be interrupted and continued at a later time as before the interruption, ie with the same Garzustandskenngrößen. This means that first boiled with, for example, high power and then interrupted, with the heating power off becomes. Then it is boiled again with the same high performance as in the first phase.

Task and solution

The invention is therefore an object of the invention to provide a method for heating or preparing or keeping warm a food, with which the aforementioned disadvantages are avoided and in particular a gentle and against burning safe preparation is possible.

This object is achieved by a method having the features of claim 1. Advantageous and preferred embodiments of the invention are the subject of further claims and are explained in more detail below. The wording of the claims is incorporated herein by express reference.

The process of preparation may comprise keeping food in a cooking vessel warm, in particular after its preparation or completion. According to the invention, in the method described here, a period of time without heating power is followed by a heated period of time. During this heating period, which lasts at least about thirty minutes, the heating power of the heater is less than 5% of its maximum power or does not exceed this value. Particularly advantageously, the heating power during this heating period is not more than 2.5% of the maximum power. This ensures a relatively gentle heating. Since the heating takes place with relatively low heating power, but over the aforementioned, relatively long heating period, the total energy input is sufficient to re-penetrate even cold food and warm with about the same temperature.

In a further development of the invention, it is even possible to extend the heating period to about 60 minutes or to estimate this time until a certain desired end temperature of the heating process or holding process is reached. This can be around 70 ° C.

In the method according to the invention for keeping warm an already warm or just cooked food, the heating power of the heater is first completely switched off for a longer time. This longer time corresponds to the time period mentioned above and according to the invention without heating power. In this method, this time span can be in the range of a few minutes, for example 5 to 20 or even up to 30 minutes. This first period of time without heating power is used in this method to let the heater or a corresponding hotplate to a certain extent cool down, this cooling does not necessarily have to be complete. However, it is above all not necessary to take the cooking vessel from the cooking area.

At this first period without heating power, the heating time period connects. Within this it is possible to increase the heating power gradually up to an initially mentioned maximum power of a few percent of the total maximum power.

After a complete shutdown of the heating power in this second method, the heating period in the range of a few minutes, for example, a maximum of 10 to 15 minutes, use again at a very low altitude. For example, such a first heating power at the beginning of the heating period may be less than 1% or even less than 0.5% of the maximum power. In this way it is possible, for example, at a hotplate of a hob or in an oven, in some ways, the existing residual heat at the hob to use for keeping warm and at the same time bring additional heating power to the food again.

From the aforementioned, very low heat output at the beginning of the heating period from a slow increase. This can either increase gradually or in stages, depending on what is more favorable on the type of heating or design of the heater. These slow increase can move in a range of 10 to 30 minutes to ultimately reach the aforementioned maximum of 5% of the maximum power towards the end.

A step-like increase can take place in steps of about 0.5% or 1%. An even finer subdivision is then in turn already considered a gradual or quasi-continuous increase.

Advantageously, the method is performed with a hob or it is possible with a hob. In this case, it is also possible to provide a kind of automatic function on the heating device of the hob. This can be designed such that for the first method after placing a cooking vessel with the food a corresponding function from an operating menu of the heater or a hob is selected and activated. This can be done, for example, in the manner in which a boiled-up meal is selected at the beginning of a cooking process. Thus, a hob or a baking oven according to the invention may be specially designed.

It may be provided in such an automatic program, after reaching the intended maximum temperature of the food in the range of 60 ° C or 70 ° C output a signal to an operator, in particular visually and / or acoustically. Achieving this maximum temperature can be done either by appropriate temperature measurement on the cooking vessel or the food. Alternatively it can be stored in the automatic program that after a certain time of the heating period, for example 30 to 60 minutes, in any case, this maximum temperature is reached.

Advantageously, it is provided that even after reaching the maximum temperature, the heating power is supplied to the same extent, so that this temperature is kept approximately. In this area of the procedure, this first method corresponds approximately to the second Method. So it is a question of keeping the food to be cooked at about the desired final temperature.

For an automatic program according to the second method, it may be provided that the automatic operation starts after the finished cooking of the food, either entered by an operator or advantageously already selected previously and then automatically selected by the automatic program. Thus, so to speak an input to the heater can be made such that the automatic program starts automatically after completion of the food. As an alternative to such automatic starting, the holding operation can be re-entered by an operator, for example, in the aforementioned manner from a menu. Again, it can be provided that the food to be cooked is kept arbitrarily long at the end temperature to be reached ultimately. For example, it is also possible to start the function of keeping warm after activating a hot display of a hob, which has the known warning function for an operator.

The term heating power or the size in percent of the maximum power is to be understood here as independent of a continuous or clocked operation of the heater, as it is made for example in radiant heaters, which are connected directly to mains voltage, is independent. In particular, it is intended here to apply a heating time averaged over a longer period of time in this area. Thus, it is quite possible to apply an instantaneous power for a short time, which is considerably higher than the desired continuous heating power during a cycle operation. In terms of time, however, results in the desired continuous performance. A necessary, relatively frequent switching the heater or clocks is considered by the operating conditions as not particularly disturbing, since the time intervals are relatively large here.

For heaters other than radiant heaters such as induction heaters, the generation of such a low heating power in continuous operation is not a great problem. The respective inverters are set to either such a low power. Nevertheless, it is also possible here to select to a certain extent a cycle operation, which then results in the long term, the average, desired heating power.

These and other features of preferred embodiments of the invention will become apparent from the claims and from the description and drawings, wherein the individual features are realized individually or in each case in the form of sub-combinations in an embodiment of the invention and in other fields and can represent advantageous and protectable versions for which protection is claimed here. The subdivision of the application into individual sections as well as subheadings does not restrict the general validity of the statements made thereunder.

Brief description of the drawings

Fig. 1

einen Verlauf von Gargut-Temperatur und Heizleistung über der Zeit gemäß einer ersten Methode, die nicht zur Erfindung gehört und

Fig. 2

ein Diagramm gemäß einer zweiten Methode, die zur Erfindung gehört.

Embodiments of the invention are shown schematically in the drawings and will be explained in more detail below. In the drawings shows:

Fig. 1

a course of cooking temperature and heating power over time according to a first method that does not belong to the invention and

Fig. 2

a diagram according to a second method that belongs to the invention.

Detailed description of the drawings

In Fig. 1 both the heating power P and the temperature T are shown in a diagram over time. The scaling for the heating power P in% of the maximum power is scaled. By contrast, the temperature T is rather schematic and approximated by its course. The heating power P is shown in solid lines, while the temperature T is shown in phantom.

It is in Fig. 1 to recognize how at time t = 0, the heating power P starts with fixed and constant value of 2.5% of the maximum power. As a result, the temperature T rises slowly from an initial value, which is in particular at room temperature or even may be a refrigerator temperature when the food has been stored in the refrigerator until then.

It can be seen how after about 60 minutes, the intended or desired maximum or final temperature of 70 ° C for the food is almost reached. When continuing the heating operation with this heating power of 2.5% of the maximum power, the temperature of the food will remain at about this level.

In Fig. 2 a similar diagram according to the aforementioned second method is shown. Here it is assumed that until the time t = 0, the food has been prepared or the corresponding heating device has been operated with high performance. In this respect, the food temperature T is already in a range of high temperatures, as shown.

At the time t = 0, the heating power is first turned off for a first certain period of time, which is then considered unheated. It can be in the range of about 10 to 15 minutes. Thereafter, the heating power is first increased gradually to 0.5% for a similar period of time and thereafter to 1%, 2% and 2.5%. It follows, however, first a certain decrease in the temperature T of the food, as can be seen. After a certain time, however, the temperature rises again and approaches the desired final temperature of about 70 ° C. Thus, in the region near t, the course is equal to 60 minutes Fig. 1 similar to Fig. 2 , Both times, the heating power P is about 2.5% of the maximum power and the temperature of the product T is approximately 70 ° C.

Claims (11)

1. A method of preparing a foodstuff in a cooking vessel by means of one heating device for warming up or keeping warm one and the same cooking area for a relatively long period of heating by means of one heating device, characterised in that a period without heating power is followed by a heated period, with the heating power of the heating device amounting to less than 5% of maximum power for a heating period of more than 30 minutes, with the heating device being completely switched off during keeping warm or warming up of an already warm or already prepared foodstuff or cooking vessel for the period without heating power and thereafter the heating power being increased very gradually to at most 5% of maximum power for heating periods in the range of a few minutes.
2. A method according to claim 1, characterised in that during the heating period the heating power amounts to at most 2.5% of maximum power.
3. A method according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterised in that during the heated period the heating power is applied for a heating period of at least 60 minutes, preferably without interruption for an indefinite period.
4. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterised in that the heating power is automatically firstly switched off and then switched on again and increased.
5. A method according to claim 4, characterised in that the heating device is switched off completely for 5 to 15 minutes for the first period without heating power.
6. A method according to claim 4 or claim 5, characterised in that the heating device is operated after complete switch-off for a heating period of 1 to 10 minutes, preferably 1 to 5 minutes, at a heating power of less than 0.5% of its maximum power.
7. A method according to any one of claims 4 to 6, characterised in that operation at less than 0.5% of maximum power is then followed by a slow increase in heating power up to the level of the sustainedly maintained heating power at less than 5% of maximum power.
8. A method according to any one of claims 4 to 7, characterised in that the increase proceeds in stages after periods of between 1 and 10 minutes, in particular between 1 and 5 minutes, preferably as increases of in each case 0.5% or 1 %.
9. A method according to any one of claims 4 to 8, characterised in that, in automatic operation, an operator may preselect that, once the foodstuff is ready, the heating device changes over automatically from warming up operation to keeping warm operation, this preferably being selectable right at the start of operation of the heating device.
10. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that it is carried out with a hob, in particular with a radiant heating device.
11. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterised in that it is carried out with a hob with an induction heating device.

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