JP2006314355A - Rice cooker with steam cooking function - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a rice cooker with a steam cooking function heating foods at an appropriate steaming temperature according to each menu in a single steaming course. <P>SOLUTION: This rice cooker has the steam cooking function which has a steam heating means and controls the supply of superheated steam. The rice cooker is further provided with a setting means for steam cooking time capable of arbitrarily setting a steam cooking time, changes the supply condition of the superheated steam according to the setting time, corresponds to major steaming menus in a single steaming course in the steam cooking, heats the foods at a steaming temperature appropriate to each menu, and can cook them into a favorable taste. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a rice cooker that uses steam exceeding the boiling point of water, and relates to a rice cooker to which a steam cooking function is added.

  In a general household rice cooker, rice and water in a pan are heated uniformly from above and below using a pan heating means disposed at the bottom of the pan and a lid heating means disposed within the lid. Is promoted to improve the rice cooking performance (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

By the way, as a function of a conventional general household rice cooker, in addition to the main function of cooking rice by heating rice and water in a pan as described above, glutinous rice and potatoes, egg dishes The thing which has the function which can steam etc. is known. In addition, steam generating means and steam heating means for raising the steam to a temperature exceeding the boiling point of water are provided, steaming cooking is performed by supplying superheated steam exceeding 100 ° C. from the upper surface to the entire pan, the surface is not watery, and Some have promoted internal heating and steamed efficiently in a short time (see, for example, Patent Document 2).
Japanese Patent No. 2988050 JP 2004-321378 A

  However, steaming is a cooking method for a wide range of menus and ingredients. Since this is a cooking method in which the latent heat of steam is applied to the object to be cooked, heating is performed from the surface that directly contacts the steam. When heating in boiling steam, the temperature is at most 100 ° C, and in the case of a simple steamer, it is only about 95 ° C. Therefore, a steam generating means and steam heating means for converting the steam into superheated steam having a temperature exceeding the boiling point of water are provided, and steamed cooking is performed by supplying superheated steam exceeding 100 ° C. from the upper surface to the entire pan and cooking. Can be heated efficiently in a short time, but drying also proceeds at the same time, so steaming vegetables and Japanese confectionery are drying and discoloring, which is not suitable for cooking . In addition, steamed egg liquor such as tea bowl steaming or pudding has a problem that some menus are not suitable, for example, it is easy to stand up because of rapid high-temperature heating.

  The present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional problems, and adjusts the state of superheated steam by setting the cooking time according to the menu and ingredients, corresponding to the main steaming menu in one steaming course, It is an object of the present invention to provide a rice cooker with a steaming cooking function that can cook each menu and ingredients with good taste regardless of the amount of cooking.

  In order to achieve the above object, the rice cooker of the present invention is provided with steam generating means and steam heating means for making steam into superheated steam exceeding the boiling point of water, and steaming cooking time in which steam cooking time can be arbitrarily set Setting means is provided, and when the steaming cooking time input from the steaming cooking time setting means is longer than a predetermined time, superheated steam is introduced into the pan.

  By using this method, the cooking time is set according to the menu and ingredients, and heating is performed at a steam temperature suitable for each. The main steaming menu is supported in one steaming course, and all menus and ingredients are delicious. It is intended to be able to cook.

  The rice cooker of the present invention can set the cooking time according to the menu and ingredients in the steaming course, and changes the charging conditions of the superheated steam according to the set time, with a steam temperature suitable for each. Because it is heated, one steaming course corresponds to the main steaming menu, and any menu and ingredients can be cooked with good taste.

  1st invention is a rice cooker provided with the lid | cover which covers the upper surface opening part of the pan which puts a cooking pot, the pan heating means which heats the said pan, the pan temperature detection means which detects the temperature of the said pan, and the said pan A steam generating means for generating steam to be supplied into the pan, and steam heating means for supplying the steam generated by the steam generating means as superheated steam having a boiling point higher than the boiling point of water into the pan; Steaming cooking time setting means that can be set to be provided, and when the steaming cooking time input from the steaming cooking time setting means is longer than a predetermined time, superheated steam is introduced into the pan. For cooking menus with a long setting time, such as yakushi mochi, superheated steam can be added to improve the fire path of the cooked food, and it can be steamed vividly while preventing wateriness. In addition, for vegetables such as green vegetables with a short set time, Japanese sweets, steamed egg liquid such as tea bowl steaming and pudding, do not put superheated steam, moisten without drying and moisten again and so on. By setting the corresponding cooking time, the state of superheated steam can be adjusted, the main steaming menu can be handled in one steaming course, and any menu can be cooked with good taste.

  The second invention is such that superheated steam is introduced into the pan at the timing before the end of the set time of the steaming cooking time input from the steaming cooking time setting means. In this case, it can be cooked with good taste by preventing overheating and excessive drying from the beginning of cooking.

  3rd invention is equipped with the cooking amount determination means which determines the quantity of the foodstuff in a pan, and changes the amount of superheated steam thrown in in a pan according to the cooking amount determined by the cooking amount determination means. Yes, it can be cooked with good taste regardless of the amount of cooking.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that. The present invention is not limited by this embodiment.

(Embodiment 1)
The rice cooker in Embodiment 1 of this invention is demonstrated based on FIG. 1, FIG.

  In the figure, the rice cooker body 1 has a bottomed cylindrical pot storage portion 1a, and stores the pot 2 in a detachable manner. A bottom induction coil 3 serving as a pot heating means is provided at the bottom of the pot storage portion 1a. Reference numeral 4 denotes a bottom sensor configured to come into contact with the bottom surface 2 a of the pan 2. The control unit 5 controls the operation of the rice cooker.

  The upper part of the rice cooker body 1 is covered with an openable and closable lid 8 comprising an outer lid 8a and an outer lid cover 8b, which is pivotally supported by a hinge shaft 7 provided on the hinge 6 at the rear of the rice cooker body 1. Yes.

  The lid 8 is provided with a heating plate 9 facing the opening of the pan 2. On the surface of the heating plate 9 facing the pan 2, a lid induction coil 10 that is a lid heating means is provided. The heating plate 9 has a heating plate steam port 9a, and the lid top surface 8c is provided with a lid steam port 8d communicating with the heating plate steam port 9a. The steam port packing 11 is sandwiched between the heating plate 9 and the lid 8, and the pan packing 12 is sandwiched between the heating plate 9 and the pan flange portion 2 b on the upper edge outer peripheral portion of the pan 2 when the lid is closed. .

  The steam heating means 13 comprising a heating pipe is disposed inside the lid 8, one end communicating with the steam generating means 15 via the steam path 14, and the other end serving as a high temperature steam port 13 a. It faces the inside. Moreover, the steam generation means 15 is provided in the outer side of the rice cooker main body 1, and has the water supply port 15a and the steam generation means 15b.

  Next, the operation in the above configuration will be described.

  Put an appropriate amount of steaming water in the pan 2, lay a steaming plate on it, put the food to be cooked on the steaming plate, and equip it in the rice cooker body 1. Further, it is confirmed whether or not there is a predetermined amount or more of water in the steam generating means 15, and if not, water is supplied to the steam generating means 15 b from the water supply port 15 a of the steam generating means 15. And if a user sets cooking time according to a menu from a steaming cooking time setting means (not shown) and operates a steaming cooking start switch (not shown) on it, the control part 5 will set steaming cooking time. The steam cooking process is performed in response to the input from the means and the steam cooking switch. The bottom sensor 4 detects the temperature of the bottom surface 2 a of the pan 2 and sends a signal to the control unit 5. In response to the signal from the bottom sensor 4, the controller 5 performs a predetermined time or a temperature at which the food to be cooked in the pot 2 is set as an appropriate value in each of the cooking processes roughly divided into the temperature rising and steaming processes. So that the energization amount of the bottom induction coil 3, the lid induction coil 10, the steam generation means 15 and the steam heating means 13 is controlled as an output.

  Next, operation | movement of the rice cooker in each process is demonstrated based on FIG. First, in the temperature raising step, the bottom induction coil 3 is energized to heat the pan 2 so that the steaming water in the pan boils. In the temperature raising step, it is necessary to raise the temperature of the pan 2 and the internal space to the target temperature in a short time and uniformly, but in the present embodiment, from both sides of the bottom surface 2a of the pan 2 and the internal space 2c of the pan 2. Since it heats, the temperature of the whole pot 2 can be raised in a short time rather than heating only the bottom induction coil 3. FIG. When the steaming water in the pot 2 has boiled, the process proceeds to the next step.

  The countdown of the cooking time set by the user is started from the time when the next steaming process is started, and steaming cooking is performed. Cooking ends when the remaining set time has expired. In this steaming step, the bottom induction coil 3 is heated to such an extent that the steaming water in the pan 2 can always maintain boiling, and the temperature of the entire pan 2 is increased uniformly. In the steaming process, it is important to heat with the steam according to the temperature of the food and the moisture. Steamed foods that can be cooked in a relatively short period of time within 20 minutes, such as vegetables, Japanese sweets, steamed rice bowls, and puddings, have a moderate moist feeling when steaming at 100 ° C or less, and the quality of the steamed rice is not good. In the case of heating for about 30 minutes, when superheated steam at 105 ° C. was added, the stickiness and sweetness increased, the skin color became vivid and the taste was improved. This is because superheated steam exceeding 100 ° C. has energy necessary to promote heating to the inside of the object to be cooked. In this embodiment, when the user sets a cooking time of 29 minutes or less by the steaming cooking time setting means, it is determined that it is more appropriate to heat the cooked food at 100 ° C. or less, and superheated steam is input. Without steaming cooking for a set time. Further, when the user sets the steaming cooking time setting means to 30 minutes or more, the heating plate 9 is heated by the lid induction coil 10 during the steaming process, and in addition, the steam generating means 15 and the steam heating means 13 are energized. Then, superheated steam is fed into the internal space 2c of the pan 2, and cooking is performed in a state where the inside of the pan 2 is heated above 100 ° C. Here, 105 ° C. superheated steam is introduced. Thereby, about the main steaming menu, the injection | throwing-in state of superheated steam can be adjusted, it can respond to a different steaming menu in one steaming course, and each can be cooked with good taste.

  In addition, although the induction coil was used as a pan heating means and a lid | heater heating means, it is not restricted to this, Other heating means, such as a sheathed heater, may be sufficient. The steam heating means 13 and the steam generation means 15 actually have heating coils, respectively, and are heated by the heating coils when energized. Moreover, the setting cooking time used as the boundary of superheated steam injection | pouring and the temperature of superheated steam are examples, and can be changed according to the implementation condition.

(Embodiment 2)
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

  Since the configuration in the present embodiment is the same as that in the first embodiment, description thereof is omitted.

  A typical menu for heating for a long time is steaming, and heating is performed for about 40 minutes in the steaming process. In the case of steaming, the heating energy of superheated steam exceeding 100 ° C. is very large, and when heated for a long time, the rice grains become sticky and collapse into a paste. However, if 110 ° C superheated steam is added for a short time before the steaming process is finished, the stickiness and transparency of the rice will increase, especially in the case of red rice, and the taste will improve, such as when the red beans are brightly colored. It has been found that sweetness increases without crushing. From this, in this Embodiment, when the steaming cooking time input from the steaming cooking time setting means is 40 minutes or more, the lid induction coil for 2 to 10 minutes at the timing before the end of the setting cooking time. 10, the heating plate 9 is heated, and the steam generating means 15 and the steam heating means 13 are energized, and 110 ° C. superheated steam is put into the internal space 2 c of the pan 2. Thereby, in the case of the menu which throws in superheated steam, the demerit called the overheating from the early stage of cooking can be prevented, and a foodstuff can be cooked with good taste.

(Embodiment 3)
Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

  Since the configuration in the present embodiment is the same as that in the first embodiment, description thereof is omitted.

  In the temperature raising step, the bottom induction coil 3 is energized to heat the pan 2 so that the steaming water in the pan boils. In the case of steaming cooking, since the amount of steaming water put into the pan 2 is constant, the amount of cooked food in the pan 2 can be determined by measuring the time required for the heating process by the cooking amount determination means. it can. When the amount of cooked food determined here is large, the steam generation means 15 is controlled to increase the steam generation amount per unit time. In other words, the heating output of the steam generating means 15 during large-scale cooking is set to be stronger than the heating output during small-scale cooking. The amount of steam generated per unit time and the depth of steam penetration into the cooked food in the pan are roughly proportional, so when the amount of cooked rice is large, increasing the amount of steam generated per unit time is the same as when it is small. Superheated steam can be quickly and completely distributed in the pan. Thereby, it can cook stably with good taste irrespective of the amount of cooking.

  As described above, according to the rice cooker of the present invention, the steaming cooking time can be arbitrarily set according to the menu, heating is performed at a steam temperature suitable for each, and each menu has a good taste regardless of the cooking amount. Since cooking becomes possible, it can be applied to fields such as commercial rice cookers and general cooking equipment.

Sectional drawing of the rice cooker in Embodiment 1 of this invention. Cross section of the main part of the rice cooker The graph which shows the temperature, time, and heating output in Embodiment 1 of this invention The graph which shows the temperature, time, and heating output in Embodiment 2 of this invention The graph which shows the temperature, time, and heating output in Embodiment 3 of this invention

Explanation of symbols

1 Rice cooker body 2 Pan 3 Bottom induction coil (pan heating means)
4 Bottom sensor (pan temperature detection means)
8 Lid 13 Steam heating means 15 Steam generating means

Claims (3)

In a rice cooker provided with a pan to be cooked, a pan heating means for heating the pan, a pan temperature detecting means for detecting the temperature of the pan, and a lid covering the top opening of the pan, Steam generating means for generating steam to be supplied to the steam, steam heating means for introducing the steam generated by the steam generating means into superheated steam having a boiling point higher than the boiling point of water and putting it in the pan, and steaming cooking time can be arbitrarily set A rice cooker with a steaming cooking function that provides time setting means and, when the steaming cooking time input from the steaming cooking time setting means is longer than a predetermined time, throws superheated steam into the pan. The rice cooker with a steaming cooking function according to claim 1, wherein superheated steam is introduced into the pan at a timing before the end of the steaming cooking time setting time input from the steaming cooking time setting means. The amount of superheated steam thrown into the said pan is varied according to the cooking amount determined by the said cooking amount determination means provided with the cooking amount determination means which determines the quantity of the foodstuff in the said pan. Rice cooker with steam cooking function.