GB2444908A

GB2444908A - Separating immiscible liquids

Info

Publication number: GB2444908A
Application number: GB0625509A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Iian Zadik Samson
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2006-12-21
Filing date: 2006-12-21
Publication date: 2008-06-25
Anticipated expiration: 2026-12-21
Also published as: GB2444908B; GB0625509D0

Abstract

A method of removing an immiscible liquid having a given density from another liquid having a different density, such as removing fat floating on hot soup. A flat thermally conducting plate 14 is cooled to a temperature below that at which the fat solidifies and is lowered onto the floating fat to cause it to congeal and adhere to the under surface of the plate. The plate 14 may be the base of a vessel 10 cooled by placing a solid, having a freezing point similar to the soup, within the vessel. Preferably the solid is ice formed into cubes. Also disclosed is a separate invention to an apparatus comprising a vessel characterised by a an outside less thermally conducting than the base or the vessel comprising a base with an edge that does not flare out on its way up.

Description

COOKING ACCESSORY ND METHOD

Field of the invention

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for removing fat floating on hot soup or gravy.

Background of the invention

When boiling pieces of meat or chicken, to make a soup, gravy, or a consommé, fat from the animal floats to the surface. For health and culinary reasons, this fat needs to be skimmed of f. Removing the fat by means of a spoon or ladle is difficult and inefficient, resulting in some fat remaining in the soup and much of the soup being wasted.

Special fat-separating jugs exist, but these involve a messy transfer of the liquids from the cooking vessel into the j ug.

Summary of the invention

With a view to mitigating these problems, there is provided in accordance with a first aspect of the present invention a method of removing fat floating on hot soup which comprises providing a flat thermally conducting plate, cooling the plate to a temperature below that at which the flat solidifies, lowering plate onto the floating fat to cause the fat to congeal and adhere to the under surface of the plate and raising the plate to remove the adhering fat from the soup.

While intended primarily for its application in cooking, it will be appreciated that the invention can be used to separate any two immiscible liquids of which one has a lower density than the other and freezes or solidifies at a higher temperature than the other. The terms "fat" and "soup", which will continue to be used in the specification, should according be viewed broadly to include any materials having the appropriate physical properties to enable them to be separated in this manner. Furthermore, the term "hot" includes any temperature under which the floating material, i.e. the fat, solidifies.

Preferably, the plate is formed by the base of a vessel and the cooling of the plate is effected by placing ice within the vessel. Here the term "ice", should be taken to include any solid having a freezing point similar to that of the soup.

Following its removal from the soup, the layer of congealed fat adhering to the under surface of the plate can be removed by wiping or by dragging the under surface over a sharp edge to scrape away the adhering fat. The process may then be repeated until substantially all the fat is removed without wasting any of the soup.

It would be possible to cool the plate by placing it in a freezer prior to use but this is not preferred for two reasons. First, the soup may freeze as well as the fat but more seriously the low thermal capacity of the plate and its low specific heat would result in its heating up and rapidly becoming ineffective. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the sustained ability to cool and solidify the fat derives from the latent heat of melting of the ice, which can readily be replenished as necessary.

In a second aspect of the invention, there is provided an apparatus for removing fat floating on hot soup, comprising a vessel capable of containing ice and having a flat thermally conducting base and a stand for the vessel, the stand including an upwardly facing edge over which the under surface of the vessel can be scraped to remove any congealed fat adhering to the under surface and a receptacle for collecting fat removed from the under surface.

The vessel may have a thermally insulated handle but it is preferred to form the sides of the vessels from an insulating material.

Conveniently, the sides of the vessel are formed of a plastics material that is secured to a metal plate constituting the base, the plate preferably being formed of aluminium.

The sides may be formed of one part, or two separately formed parts that are assembled to one another and on to the base plate and suitably sealed relative to each other and the base plate. Alternatively, in situ moulding may be used to mould the metal base plate and the plastics sidewalls of the vessel in one piece.

To allow the cooled base of the vessel to reach to the edge of the pan containing the soup, it is preferred that along at least part of the periphery of the vessel the base should project at least as far as and preferably beyond the sidewalls of the vessel. It is also preferable for the base to remain flat all the way to its edge and for the edge not to flare out on its way up.

It is advantageous for the periphery of the base to be curved and non-circular so as to present edges with different radii of curvature. This allows the base to reach close to the walls of a variety of soup containers so most of the floating fat may be successfully removed.

Brief description of the drawings

The invention will now be described further, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of a hand held vessel for removing fat floating on hot soup, and Figure 2 is a section showing the vessel of Figure 1 resting on its stand.

Detailed description of the preferred embodiment

Figure 1 shows a vessel 10 having a shaped sidewall 12 made of a plastics material and an aluminium base 14 of which the periphery extends beyond the sidewall 12. The top of the vessel is designed and dimensioned so that it can be held between the fingers and thumb of one hand and so that it can be rotated by movement of the thumb as well as by rotation of the wrist. The base 14 has a curved non-circular periphery so that it can pushed close to the wall of any pan, regardless of radius of curvature.

In use, some ice 16 e.g. cubes is placed inside the vessel 10, as shown in Figure 2, and lowered onto the fat floating on hot soup in a pan. On contact with the base 14, the fat cools, congeals and sticks to the underside of the base 14. The heat of the fat melts some of the ice, but the molten ice 18 is still at the same temperature as the solid ice 16 and continues to cool any fat with which the base comes into contact. The heat given off by the fat acts as the latent heat of melting of the ice so that the base 14 remains cools for a reasonable time. Should the base 14 cease to be effective in picking up fat, it is only necessary to replenish the ice in the vessel.

Once the fat has adhered to the base 14, raising the vessel 10 will remove the fat without removing any of the soup. The underside of the base can be scraped over a straight edge to remove the fat and the process repeated until most of the fat is removed from the soup.

Once the vessel 10 has been used to pick up fat from soup, it will soil a work surface if set down on it. The vessel cannot be placed on its side, as the liquid and ice within it would spill out. It is therefore provided with a stand 20 as shown in Figure 2. The stand has at least one but preferably two upstanding edges 22 on which the vessel can rest and over which its underside can be wiped. Fat s scraped off the base 14 of the vessel 10 collects in a container 24 forming part of the stand. The edges 22 could be made of an elastomer whose top line would conform to the shape of the underside of base 14.

The drawings do not show the manner in which the sidewall 12 is secured to the base but the manner in which the vessel is constructed is not of primary significance to the present invention. For example, the sidewall may be formed in one piece and glued in place or staked or snapped on to a receiving feature on the plate, or it may be formed in two pieces that are secured to one another and to the base. A further possibility is to mould the sidewalls in situ onto the base.

It is furthermore possible for the sidewall 10 and the base 14 to be formed in one piece of the same material but then an insulating grip should be used to make the vessel

comfortable to grip.

Filling a vessel with ice is a convenient and inexpensive way of absorbing large amounts of heat from the floating fat to cause it to congeal but the invention is not restricted to this way of cooling the plate. One could for example resort to an electrically powered Peltier effect device to cool the fat.

Claims

1. A method of removing fat floating on hot soup which comprises providing a flat thermally conducting plate, cooling the plate to a temperature below that at which the flat solidifies, lowering plate onto the floating fat to cause the fat to congeal and adhere to the under surface of the plate and raising the plate to remove the adhering fat from the soup.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plate is formed by the base of a vessel and the cooling of the plate is effected by placing ice within the vessel.

3. A method as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein, following its removal from the soup, the layer of congealed fat adhering to the under surface of the plate is removed by wiping or by dragging the under surface over an edge to scrape away the adhering fat.

4. An apparatus for removing fat floating on hot soup, comprising a vessel capable of containing ice and having a flat thermally conducting base where at least part of the outside of the vessel is less thermally conducting than the base.

5. An apparatus for removing fat floating on hot soup, comprising a vessel capable of containing ice and having a flat thermally conducting base where the base is flat all the way to its edge and the edge does not flare out on its way up.

6. An apparatus as claimed in claim 4 or claim 5, with a stand for the vessel the stand including an upwardly facing edge over which the under surface of the vessel can be scraped to remove any congealed fat adhering to the under surface and a receptacle for collecting fat removed from the under surface.

7. An apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 4 to s 6, wherein the sides of the vessel are formed of a plastics material that is secured to a metal plate constituting the base.

8. An apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 4 to 7, wherein the plate is formed of aluminium.

9. An apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 4 to 8, wherein, along at least part of the periphery of the vessel, the base projects beyond the sidewalls of the vessel.

10. An apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 4 to 9, wherein the periphery of the base is curved and non-circular so as to present edges with different radii of curvature.

11. An apparatus for removing fat floating on hot soup substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.