JP2006314356A - Rice cooker with steam cooking function - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a rice cooker with a steam cooking function selecting the content of the steam cooking in a steaming course and heating foods at an appropriate steaming temperature and amount of steam according to the cooking content. <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 cooking content selecting means capable of selecting the content of steam cooking out of a plurality of steam cookings, changes the supply condition of the superheated steam according to the steam cooking content selected thereby, applies a heating pattern suited to each menu, adjusts the supply conditions such as the cooking time and the temperature and amount of the superheated steam, and can automatically cook the respective menus with neither requiring a time and labor nor varying the good taste. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a rice cooker using steam that exceeds 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. Also, steam generating means and steam heating means for raising the steam to a temperature equal to or higher than the boiling point of water are provided, and superheated steam exceeding 100 ° C. is supplied to the entire pan from the upper surface to perform steaming cooking, the surface is not watery, In addition, there is one that promotes internal heating so that it is efficiently steamed 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, steam generation means and steam heating means for raising the steam to a temperature equal to or higher than the boiling point of water are provided, and the cooked food becomes watery by steaming cooking by supplying superheated steam exceeding 100 ° C. from the upper surface to the entire pan. It is now possible to heat efficiently in a short time, but since drying also proceeds at the same time, drying and discoloration of steamed products such as vegetables and Japanese confectionery progress, and there is a problem that there are things that are not suitable depending on the menu Had. In addition, there has been a problem that a suitable temperature differs depending on the contents of cooking, for example, in order to thaw the frozen food, it requires higher temperature energy than cooking a normal temperature food. In addition, the degree of cooking progress varies depending on the menu and ingredients, and the amount of cooking, so the user can set the cooking time, sometimes adjust the degree of heating while checking the cooking inside, In the case of steamed egg liquor such as chawanmushi or pudding, it takes time for the user to judge that cooking must be done for a while after heating.

  The present invention solves the above-described conventional problems by providing a steaming cooking content selection means and selecting a steaming cooking menu, applying a heating pattern suitable for each menu, cooking time and overheating. A rice cooker with a steaming cooking function that can adjust the input conditions such as the temperature and amount of steam, and determine the amount of cooking, so that each menu can be cooked automatically without any hassle and good quality with no variation in performance. Is intended to provide.

  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 raising steam to a temperature exceeding the boiling point of water, and the content of steaming cooking that can be selected from a plurality of steaming cooking contents A selection means is provided, and a condition for introducing steam into the pan is varied according to the steaming cooking content input from the steaming cooking content selection means.

  By setting the contents of steaming cooking using this means, cooking is performed by applying a heating pattern suitable for each menu, and each menu is automatically cooked without any hassle, good taste, no variation, and in a short time Is to be able to

  In the rice cooker of the present invention, the content of steaming cooking can be selected in the steaming course, the heating state is adjusted according to the cooking content, and the heating state is suitable for each. Because cooking is performed, every menu can be cooked with good taste without any hassle.

  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; steam heating means for raising the steam generated by the steam generating means to a temperature equal to or higher than the boiling point of water and supplying the steam as superheated steam into the pan; Steamed cooking content selection means that can select a plurality of cooking contents is provided, and the temperature in the pan is varied according to the steaming cooking contents input from the steaming cooking content selection means. Multiple steaming menus are memorized and can be selected by the user, so the steam temperature in the pan can be adjusted according to the characteristics of the ingredients in the selected menu and the required heating level. Steamed cooking Oite, it is possible to cook each of the menu in a good taste.

  2nd invention changes the quantity of the superheated steam which throws a steam into a pan according to the steaming cooking content input from the steaming cooking content selection means, According to the characteristic of the foodstuff of the selected menu By adjusting the optimum amount of steam, each menu can be cooked with good taste in a plurality of different steam cooking.

  According to the third aspect of the invention, the time and timing at which superheated steam is introduced into the pan is varied according to the content of steaming cooking input from the steaming cooking content selection means, and is optimal according to the cooking method of the selected menu. By adjusting the appropriate steam input time and timing, it is possible to cook each menu with good taste without trouble in different steam cooking.

  4th invention is provided with the cooking amount determination means which determines the quantity of the foodstuff in a pan, According to the cooking content determined by the steaming cooking content selection means and the cooking amount determined by the cooking amount determination means The steam temperature in the pan is variable, and when the amount of cooking is large, by increasing the steam temperature, the cooking speed can be increased and the cooking time can be shortened.

  5th invention is provided with the cooking amount determination means which determines the quantity of the cooking thing in a pan, According to the cooking content determined by the steaming cooking content selection means and the cooking amount determined by the cooking amount determination means The amount of steam put into the pan is variable, and if the amount of cooking is large, increasing the amount of steam can increase the speed of cooking even if the taste is inferior when the temperature is raised, Cooking time can be shortened.

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

(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. When the user selects one of a plurality of steamed cooking contents from the steaming cooking content selection means (not shown) and operates a steaming cooking start switch (not shown) on the steam cooking content selection means, the control unit 5 performs steaming cooking. The steam cooking process is performed in response to input from the content selection 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 it is detected that the steaming water in the pot 2 has boiled, the process proceeds to the next step.

  From the time of moving to the next steaming step, superheated steam at a temperature suitable for the steaming cooking content selected by the user is introduced. In this steaming process, 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 heating plate 9 is heated by the lid induction coil 10 so as to wrap the entire pan 2. In addition, the steam generator 15 and the steam heating device 13 are energized, high temperature superheated steam is sent into the internal space 2c of the pan 2, and the temperature of the entire pan 2 can be increased uniformly. The temperature of the internal space 2c of the pan 2 is maintained at the set temperature by being controlled by the control unit 5 using the energization amount of the steam generating means 15 and the steam heating means 13 as an output.

  In the steaming process, it is important to heat at a temperature according to the food. In the case of steamed egg liquor such as chawanmushi and pudding, cooking at a low temperature of about 85 ° C produces a smooth finish. In the steamed green vegetables, the inside of the pan is set to 95 ° C. and placed in a damp state lower than 100 ° C., so that a moderate moist feeling can be maintained and the vegetable blue can be made vivid. In the case of Chinese buns, when heated with steam at 100 ° C., the skin is not watery and steams, and the flavor is good. In the case of heating for 40 minutes or more like steamed rice (red rice), if superheated steam at 110 ° C. is added before the end of the steaming process, the stickiness and transparency of the rice will increase, and the taste will improve, for example, the red beans will be brightly colored. In the case of Koshikushi, the same heat treatment improved softness, sweetness and skin coloration. Further, in the case of heating frozen food, when superheated steam exceeding 100 ° C. was added, it was not sticky, and evenly heated to the inside and finished well. In particular, in the case of warming frozen rice, heating at a high temperature of 120 ° C. can reduce the difference in the degree of overall heating and can achieve a uniform state.

  In the present embodiment, when the user sets “tea bowl steaming” and “pudding” from a plurality of cooking contents by the steaming cooking content selection means, the steam is introduced so that the temperature in the pan becomes 85 ° C. Adjust the conditions. When “green vegetables” is selected, the temperature in the pan is set to 95 ° C. Further, when “Chinese bun” is selected, the temperature in the pan is adjusted to 100 ° C. Similarly, when “thaw cooking” is selected, the temperature in the pan is adjusted to 120 ° C. In this way, the steaming cooking content selection means stores a plurality of steaming cooking menus, and the user arbitrarily selects this to adjust the temperature in the pan to the optimum state according to the selected menu, The menu can be cooked with good taste, taking advantage of the characteristics of the ingredients.

  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. Furthermore, the plurality of cooking menus stored in the steamed cooking content selection means is an example, and can be selected and added as necessary. Moreover, the preset temperature in a pot of each cooking menu is an example in the case of cooking an appropriate amount according to the pot of a rice cooker, and can be adjusted according to the state of the food.

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

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

  The temperature in the pan during the steaming process is adjusted according to the steamed cooking content input from the steaming cooking content selection means, but the speed at which heat is transferred, that is, the amount of steam, is also the finish of the cooked food to spread the heat to the cooked food. Affects. When the cooked product is “green vegetables”, heating is performed by increasing the amount of steam generated in order to quickly spread the heat to the gaps between the overlapping leaves. Here, steam obtained by evaporating 7 ml of water per minute is added. In the case of “Chinese buns”, if the amount of steam is large, the skin becomes sticky and the physical properties are inferior, so that the amount of steam generated is 4 ml of water evaporated per minute, and in a slightly dry temperature state, Heat with a small amount of steam so that it does not become sticky, and heat it so that the outside of the skin is firm and the inside is plump. In this way, the steaming cooking content selection means stores a plurality of steaming cooking menus, and the user arbitrarily selects them so that the amount of steam to be put into the pan according to the selected menu is optimized. You can make adjustments and make each menu take advantage of the characteristics of the ingredients and cook with good taste.

  Here, the amount of steam generated per unit time is an example in the present embodiment, and can be adjusted according to the state of the cooked food, the configuration of the main body, and the like.

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

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

  According to the steaming cooking content input from the steaming cooking content selection means, the lid induction coil 10 causes the heating plate 9 to generate heat, in addition, the steam generating means 15 and the steam heating means 13 are energized, and the superheated steam exceeding 100 ° C. Although the temperature in the pan during the steaming process is adjusted by putting it into the internal space 2c of the pan 2, superheated steam exceeding 100 ° C is necessary to promote the heating of the food to be cooked depending on the ingredients. Have more energy. When a menu such as “Steamed rice (red rice)” or “Fukashi mochi” is selected by the steaming cooking content selection means, the cooking time of the ingredients requires 30 to 40 minutes, but 100 ° C. throughout this heating. The heating energy of the superheated steam exceeding 1 is very large, and when it is heated for a long time, the rice grains become sticky and crumble into a paste or change into a tactile sensation of candy. Therefore, in the present invention, at the timing before the end of the set time, by supplying superheated steam of 110 ° C. into the pan for 2 to 5 minutes, the steaming cooking content selection means “steamed rice (red rice)”. If selected, the stickiness and transparency of the rice will increase, and the red beans will be finished in a vivid color. If “Fushikushi” is selected, the softness, sweetness and skin color will improve. In addition, in the case of steamed egg liquor such as “chawanmushi” and “pudding”, the temperature in the pan is heated at 85 ° C., but after heating for 10 to 15 minutes, the heating is stopped and steamed for about 10 minutes to make it more uniform and smooth. Finished. Therefore, after the heating is finished, the heating is stopped and steamed for 10 minutes, and then the cooking is finished, so that it is possible to automatically finish the food with good taste without taking the trouble of the user. In this way, the steaming cooking content selection means stores a plurality of steaming cooking menus, and the user arbitrarily selects them, so that the time and timing for introducing superheated steam into the pan according to the selected menu are optimized. It can be adjusted to a suitable state, and the effect of improving the taste by high-temperature heating can be obtained, and disadvantages such as overheating from the initial stage of cooking and excessive drying can be prevented, and further, it can be cooked with good taste without trouble.

(Embodiment 4)
Next, a fourth 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 there is much quantity of the cooking determined here, the temperature in a pan is changed according to the steaming cooking content input from the said steaming cooking content selection means. That is, the temperature in the pan is raised at the time of large amount cooking than at the time of small amount cooking. For example, when selecting “thaw cooking” to warm frozen rice, using high-temperature dry steam makes it possible to quickly thaw and heat, and since the heating time is short, the quality change is small and good. In this case, heating is performed at a pot internal temperature of 120 ° C., but when it is determined that the cooking amount is larger than this, heating is performed stepwise up to 130 ° C. Thereby, when there is much cooking amount, cooking time is shortened and it can cook in a substantially fixed time irrespective of a cooking amount. Since the cooking time, that is, the heating time is substantially constant, the state of the food to be cooked is also uniform, so that the food can be always cooked stably with good taste. Thus, by changing the temperature in the pan in accordance with the selected steamed cooking content and the cooking amount determined by the cooking amount determination means, it is possible to stably cook with good taste regardless of the cooking amount. Even when the amount of cooking is large, cooking can be performed in the same time as when the amount is small.

(Embodiment 5)
Next, a fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  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 unit 15 is controlled to increase the steam generation amount per unit time at the steam temperature corresponding to the menu selected by the steaming cooking content selection unit. 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. If it is determined that the amount of food is large, the cooking time can be shortened by raising the temperature in the pan, but depending on the ingredients, the cooking finish may change if the heating temperature is changed. is there. For example, when “Fukashi-don” is selected, the cooking time is shortened when the temperature is raised, but the texture changes to a tactile sensation with a crunchy texture. In such a case, the steam temperature in the pan cannot be raised. However, the amount of steam generated per unit time and the depth of steam penetration into the food in the pan are approximately proportional, so if the amount of cooking is large, the amount of cooking can be increased by increasing the amount of steam generated per unit time. As with a small amount, superheated steam can be quickly and completely distributed in the pan and cooked in a short time. Thus, by changing the steam amount to be put into the pan according to the selected steam cooking content and the cooking amount determined by the cooking amount determination means, the food is stably cooked with good taste regardless of the cooking amount. Even when the amount of cooking is large, cooking can be performed in the same time as when the amount is small.

  As described above, according to the rice cooker of the present invention, it is possible to arbitrarily set the steam cooking temperature, the steam amount and the superheated steam charging time according to the menu and the cooking amount, and heating in an optimal state for each, Since any menu can be cooked with good taste, 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 change and the timing of a heating in Embodiment 1 of this invention The graph which shows the temperature change and the timing of a heating in Embodiment 4 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)
5 Control unit 8 Lid 13 Steam heating means 15 Steam generating means

Claims (5)

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 converting the steam generated by the steam generating means into superheated steam having a boiling point equal to or higher than the boiling point of water, and putting it in the pan, A rice cooker with a steaming cooking function that includes a content selection means and varies the temperature in the pan in accordance with the steaming cooking content input from the steaming cooking content selection means. The rice cooker with a steaming cooking function of Claim 1 which changes the quantity which throws in superheated steam in the said pan according to the steaming cooking content input from the said steaming cooking content selection means. The rice cooker with a steaming cooking function according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the time and timing of adding superheated steam into the pan are varied according to the steaming cooking content input from the steaming cooking content selection means. A cooking amount determination means for determining the amount of the cooked food in the pan is provided, and depending on the steaming cooking content input from the steaming cooking content selection means and the cooking amount determined by the cooking amount determination means, The rice cooker with a steaming cooking function of any one of Claim 1 to 3 which varies the temperature of this. A cooking amount determination means for determining the amount of the cooked food in the pan is provided, and depending on the steaming cooking content input from the steaming cooking content selection means and the cooking amount determined by the cooking amount determination means, The rice cooker with a steaming cooking function of any one of Claim 1 to 4 which changes the vapor | steam amount which throws a vapor | steam into.