GB2201070A

GB2201070A - Microwave cooking

Info

Publication number: GB2201070A
Application number: GB08700655A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Christopher John Cobham Smail
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1987-01-13
Filing date: 1987-01-13
Publication date: 1988-08-17
Also published as: GB8700655D0

Abstract

In the microwave cooking or reheating of food products which comprise items requiring different rates of heating, such as a hamburger and bun, shielding or reflecting material such as the known browning boards is selectively disposed in relation to the foodstuff items so that they are heated in a manner appropriate to their nature. This is achieved by incorporating the material (9, 10) either in a container in which the foodstuffs are placed for cooking (such as the packaging in which they are sold or served), or by incorporating the material directly in the oven cavity. <IMAGE>

Description

AIMPROVEMENTS IN OR RELATING TO THE REHEATING/COOKING OF FOODSTUFFS" The present invention relates to the reheating/cooking of foodstuffs using microwave energy more particularly but not exclusively to a container in which deep frozen hamburgers or other sandwiched/bunned products may be re-heated in a microwave oven.

Many foodstuffs are difficult to cook or reheat satisfactorily in a microwave oven. Taking the hamburger as an example, the meat has a relatively high thermal capacity and so requires much more heat and takes longer to - reheat/cook than the bun parts. This problem is aggravated both by the meat being shielded to some degree by the bread bun and by ice crystals on the bun reflecting the incident microwave energy. Thus reheating/cooking a hamburger by microwave may result in parts such as the bun, lettuce and cheese being overheated and consequently drying out by the time that the meat is reheated/cooked. To alleviate this problem, it has been proposed to microwave such items in a container specially designed for this purpose.

According to the invention there is provided a method of cooking/reheating a food product by microwave energy in which the- heating of different parts of the product is modified in a manner appropriate to cook/reheat the parts so that they are ready at the same time and are heated in a manner and to a degree appropriate to their nature.

This may be done in a variety of ways, for example by incorporating shielding or a reflector ina microwave oven so that different parts are subjected to different amounts of microwave energy. Alternatively, the desired effect may be achieved by placing the product in the oven in a container (which may be the packaging in which the product is to be served/sold) which is adapted so as to modify the rates of heating of different parts of the product within it.

Thus, the invention further provides a container for use in microwave cooking/heating of food products and which is so adapted as to modify the rate at which different parts of the foodstuff e.g. bread based items and meat are cooked or reheated.

This may be achieved by incorporating in at least one selected region of the container a material which itself becomes hot and causes localised extra heating of different parts of the foodstuff by conduction and, perhaps to a lesser extent radiant heat, and/or which causes reduced heating of other parts owing to a screening effect, - whether by reflection or sinking the incident energy in a manner which lessens the heating of the foodstuffs over the period that it is in the oven.

Suitable materials include the known "browning boards" which comprise a thin metallic coating on a board-like substrate: the coating, when subject to the microwave radiation heats up and emits heat which can be used for crisping the surface of foodstuffs.

A typical example is the bread base of a pizza which does not become toasted in a microwave oven. Placing a piece of browning board in proximity to it can enable it to be satisfactorily toasted.

The browning board further acts as a sink for the microwave flux within the oven and so may further act to reduce the rate of heating of items in the "shadow" of the board, which would benefit from a lower rate of heating than would occur in the absence of the board.

A specific embodiment of the food package and method for reheating foodstuffs according to the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which: Figure 1 is a side view of a hamburger box according to the present invention; and Figure 2 is a top view of the hamburger box of Figure 1.

The container shown in Figure 1 is for use in reheating a hamburger and at the same time warming its bun and melting a slice of cheese. It comprises a rectangular cardboard base 1, vertical side panels 2 attached at the bottom to the base 1, and lid 3 attached to the top of the side panels 2; these may be folded from a one piece blank.

The box has a size and shape such that a hamburger may be placed inside on the base 1 with the bun open; the bottom half 4 of the bun has the meat 5 resting on it, and the top half 6 of the bun with the cheese 7 and relish 8 resting on it as shown in Figure 1. Browning boards (9, 10) of the type described above are incorporated into the base 1 and lid 3 and are arranged so that each overlies a different part of the cross section of the box. A first browning board 9 is positioned in the base so that it is under the bottom half of the hamburger (4,5) only with its reflective side uppermost. A second browning board 10 is positioned in the lid 3 so that it is above the top half of the hamburger (6,7,8) only also with its reflective side uppermost, as shown in Figure 1. The browning boards may be attached to the box by any suitable means or may be fabricated as part of the box.

In use, the browning boards (9,10) cause increased heating of the meat and the bottom of the bun 4 and decreased heating of the cheese and relish (7,8) and top half of the bun 6 respectively. Consequently, the meat 5 which contains more moisture and is of a higher thermal capacity and therefore requires more heat, and the bottom half of the bun 4 which is adjacent the browning board 9 and thus undergoes heating by the browning board 9, are ready to eat at the same time as is the remainder of the product, in this case the top half of the bun 6, the cheese 7 and relish 8. The cheese 7 and relish 8 are shielded by the browning board 10 in the lid 3 acting as a sink or reflector of the microwave energy, and together with the top half of the bun 6, are heated to a lesser extent.The browning board 10- is sufficiently far away from the hamburger to avoid unwanted extra heating of the relish, onion and lettuce. Each of the browning boards (9, 10) maybe made so that it absorbs microwave energy at a selected rate and thus is heated up to a certain temperature, allowing further selectivity in the rates at which individual parts of the hamburger are cooked.

The base 1 of the hamburger box is fabricated from corrugated paper so that the browning board 9, which becomes very hot, is insulated from the floor of the oven.

Incorporated into the box there is a plastic lining to help prevent any exchange of flavours between the hamburger and cardboard surround. The lid 3 of the hamburger box may have a portion 11 encompassed by perforations 12, as shown in Figure 2, so that this portion 11 may be removed from the lid 3 by tearing to reveal the two halves of the hamburger inside. Alternatively the box may have a resealable lid which can be opened and resealed by the consumer of the hamburger.

While in the above the invention has been described with reference to its application to reheatig a hamburger in a bun, it will be appreciated that it is equally applicable to a wide variety of other foodstuffs, particularly other sandwiched or enclosed food products.

The invention is also applicable to situations where, for example, it is desired to keep one part of the product cooler than the rest. An example would be a product comprising chicken nuggets and potato chips (in separate compartments) to be supplied with a sauce or dip which it is desired to keep cooler. This can be done by incorporating microwave reflecting or sinking material over a container for the sauce/dip; further the potato chips and meat product may have browning board or sinking material associated with them to achieve respective heating rates.

It should also be appreciated that other embodiments of the invention are possible which, although being different from that described above, do not depart from the scope of the invention. For example, the box may be partitioned and/or the known "browning boards" may be replaced by aluminium foil or other suitable screening material.

As mentioned above, instead of achieving the desired effect of modifying the rates at which different parts of the foodstuff cook or reheat by adaptation of the container, it is also possible to adapt the oven, for example by incorporating in it a housing which incorporates microwave screening and/or reflecting material which is so disposed as to heat different parts of a packaged food product placed in it for heating, at different rates.

Steps may be taken to ensure the correct orientation of the product and housing, eg by placing suitable alignment markings on them or by in some way polarising the shape of the food package in relation to the housing so that it can only be inserted in the housing the correct way round.

Claims

1. A method of cooking/reheating a food product by microwave energy in which the heating of different parts of the product is modified in a manner appropriate to heat the parts so that they are ready at the same time and are heated in a manner and to a degree appropriate to their nature.

2. A method according to Claim 1, wherein the product is cooked/reheated in a microwave oven and is placed in the oven in a container which is adapted so as to modify the rates of heating of different parts of the product within it.

3. A method according to Claim 2, wherein the container has incorporated in at least one selected region thereof a material which itself becomes hot and causes localised extra heating of different parts of the foodstuff by conduction or radiant heat and/or which causes reduced heating of other parts by reflection or sinking of the incident energy.

4. A method according to Claim 3, wherein the material comprises at least one browning board.

5. A method according to Claim 2, 3 or 4, wherein the container is the packaging in which the product is sold or served.

6. A method according to Claim 1, wherein the modification is achieved by using a microwave oven in which shielding or a reflector is incorporated such that different parts are subjected to different amounts of microwave energy.

7. A method according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the food product comprises a) a first item, namely a meat product and b) a second item, namely a bread product or potato chips.

8. A method according to Claim 7, wherein the meat product is a hamburger and the bread product is a hamburger bun therefor.

9. A method according to Claim 7 or 8, wherein the second item is a bread product and the modification of the heating of the food product is such as to cook the meat and to toast the bread product.

10. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the food product comprises an item which by the modification of the heating is to be kept cooler than other parts of the food product.

11. A method according to Claim 10, wherein the item to be kept cooler is a dip or relish.

12. A method according to any one of Claims 2 to 5 or any one of Claims 7 to 11 when appendant thereto wherein the container has a number of compartments in which foodstuffs are heated differently and the foodstuff items are arranged in the compartments in accordance with their heating requirements.

13. A method according to any one of Claims 2 to 5 or any one of Claims 7 to 11 when appendant thereto, wherein the foodstuffs are disposed in a predetermined manner in the container in relation to material of the container adapted to modify the heating of the parts of the foodstuffs in a manner appropriate to their nature.

14. A method according to Claim 13, wherein the food product comprises a hamburger and bun therefor, the bun being in two halves disposed in side-by-side relation, a first half of the bun having the hamburger thereon, the first half being placed on a browning board having a reflective side' uppermost, and the second half of the bun being located under a browning board.

15-. A method according to Claim 14, wherein the second half of the bun has a slice of cheese thereon.

16. A method according to Claim 14 or 15, wherein second half of the bun has a relish thereon.

17. A method according to any one of Claims 1 to 6, wherein the food product comprises a pizza product.

18. A method according to any one of Claims 1 to 6, wherein the food product comprises chicken.

19. A container for use in microwave cooking/heating of food products and which is so adapted as to modify the rate at which different parts of the food product when placed therein are cooked or reheated.

20. A container according to Claim 19, and incorporating there in a food product having parts requiring different rates of heating, the foodstuff parts being disposed in different parts of the container such that in use they are subject to rates of heating appropriate to their nature.

21. A container according to Claim 19 or 20, wherein at least one selected region of the container incorporates a material which itself becomes hot and causes localised extra heating of different parts of the food product by convection or radiant heat and/orwhich causes reduced heating of other parts by a screening effect due to reflection or sinking of incident energy.

22. A container according to Claim 21, wherein the material comprises at least one browning board.

23. A container according to Claim 22, wherein there are a number of browning boards which absorb microwave energy at a selected rate.

24. A container according to any one of Claims- 20 to 23, wherein the container is the packaging in which the product is sold or served.

25. A container according to any one of claims 20 to 24 wherein the food product comprises a) a first item, namely a meat product and b) a second item, namely a bread product or potato chips.

26. A container according to Claim 25, wherein the meat product is a hamburger and the bread product is a hamburger bun therefor.

27. A container according to Claim 25 or 26, wherein the second item is a bread product and the modification of the heating of the food product is such as to cook the meat and to toast the bread product.

28. A container according to any one of claims 20 to 27, wherein the food product comprises an item which by the modification of the heating is to be kept cooler than other parts of the food product.

29. A container according to Claim 28, wherein the item to be kept cooler is a dip or relish.

30. A container according to any one of Claims 20 to 29 wherein the container has a number of compartments in which foodstuffs are heated differently and the foodstuff items are arranged in the compartments in accordance with their heating requirements

31. A container according to any one of Claims 20 to 30, wherein the food product comprises a hamburger and bun therefor, the bun being in two halves disposed in side-byside relation, a first half of the bun having the hamburger thereon, the first half being placed on a browning board having a reflective side uppermost, and the second half of the bun being located under a browning board.

32. A container according to Claim 31, wherein the second half of the bun has a slice of cheese thereon.

33. A container according to Claim 31 or 32, wherein second half of the bun has a relish thereon.

34. A container according to any one of Claims 20 to 29, wherein the food product comprises a pizza product.

35. A container according to any one of Claims 20 to 29, wherein the food product comprises chicken.

36. A microwave oven having an oven cavity in which, in use of the oven, foodstuffs may be reheated or recooked, the cavity incorporating shielding or reflecting material effective to modify the rates at which different parts of the foodstuff cook or reheat.

37. An oven according to Claim 36, wherein the cooking cavity contains a housing which incorporates the shielding or reflective material.

38. An-oven according to claim 37, for use with foodstuffs in a container and wherein the shape-of the housing is polarised in relation to the container to ensure the container is inserted in the housing the correct way around.

39. A method of cooking/reheating a food product substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

40. A container for use in cooking/reheating a food product constructed and arranged substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

41. A microwave oven for cooking/reheating a food product constructed and arranged substantially as hereinbefore described.