JP2011015754A - Vacuum cooking apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vacuum cooking apparatus capable of cooking a foodstuff to be cooked in a short period by a relatively simple structure.SOLUTION: The vacuum cooking apparatus 1 includes: a body 10 and a lid 50 having a sealable inside cooking compartment 20, an air supply hole 32, and an exhaust hole 33, and storing an object 60 to be cooked within the cooking compartment 20; a vacuum pump 42 for reducing the internal pressure within the cooking compartment 20 to negative pressure via the exhaust hole 33; and an opening/closing solenoid valve 34 for rapidly introducing atmospheric air into the cooking compartment 20 via the air supply hole 32. The internal pressure in the cooking compartment 20 where the object 60 to be cooked is stored is reduced by the vacuum pump 42 to the negative pressure, and after that, atmospheric air is rapidly introduced by the opening/closing solenoid valve 42 to increase the internal pressure in the cooking compartment 20, so that the atmospheric pressure is made to act on the object 60 to be cooked.

Description

  The present invention relates to a vacuum cooking apparatus for cooking a cooking object under a substantially vacuum.

  Conventionally, for example, when a food such as meat is soaked in a seasoning liquid (grilled meat sauce), it takes a long time for the seasoning liquid to penetrate almost uniformly into the food, and the freshness of the food is reduced. In addition, there is a problem that it takes time and effort for maintenance during that time. In addition, since it takes a long time to infiltrate the seasoning liquid into the food, it cannot be immediately applied when you want to eat, and it may become unnecessary when the infiltration is completed. There was a demand for shortening the time.

  For this reason, various techniques for allowing the seasoning liquid to permeate the food material soaked in the seasoning liquid using a vacuum apparatus have been proposed. For example, in Patent Document 1, a pressure-resistant container in which ingredients are put, a vacuum pump as a vacuum device connected to the container, a heating device for heating the seasoning liquid, and heating by this heating device A circulation device that circulates the seasoning liquid to the container is provided, and the inside of the container is depressurized to a vacuum state to release air in the food, and the heated seasoning liquid acts on the food in the container for a short time. Discloses a technique for allowing a seasoning liquid to penetrate into a food material.

JP-A-6-46748

  However, in such a cooking device, in addition to a vacuum device such as a vacuum pump, a circulation device for circulating the seasoning liquid, a heating device for heating the seasoning liquid, and the like are required, and the entire apparatus is complicated. Therefore, there is a problem that the processing is troublesome.

  This invention is made | formed in view of such a subject, and it aims at providing the vacuum cooking apparatus which can cook the foodstuff of cooking object in a short time by a comparatively simple structure.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, a vacuum cooking apparatus according to the present invention is a vacuum cooking apparatus for cooking an object to be cooked, and has a cooking chamber that can be sealed inside, an air supply hole and an exhaust hole that open in the cooking chamber. A container member (for example, the main body 10 and the lid 50 in the embodiment) that accommodates an object to be cooked in the cooking chamber, and suction means (for example, a vacuum in the embodiment) that makes the internal pressure in the cooking chamber negative through the exhaust hole. Pump 42) and gas supply means (for example, the open / close electromagnetic valve 34 in the embodiment) that rapidly introduces gas into the cooking chamber through the air supply hole, and configured in the cooking chamber in which the cooking object is accommodated. After the internal pressure is reduced to a negative pressure by the suction means, the internal pressure in the cooking chamber is increased by rapidly introducing the gas by the gas supply means, so that the atmospheric pressure acts on the object to be cooked. To.

  In the vacuum cooking apparatus configured as described above, the gas supply means is configured to include an on-off valve (for example, the on-off electromagnetic valve 34 in the embodiment) that can open and close the air supply hole with respect to the cooking chamber. It is preferable that the air supply hole is closed and the internal pressure in the cooking chamber is reduced to a negative pressure by a suction means, and then the air supply hole is opened by an on-off valve so that the atmosphere is rapidly introduced into the cooking chamber to increase the pressure.

  Moreover, in the above-mentioned invention, it is preferable that the size of the air supply hole is larger than the size of the exhaust hole.

  Furthermore, in the above-mentioned invention, it is preferable that the cooking chamber that has been made negative by the suction means is in a high vacuum state of 400 Pascals or less.

  Moreover, in the above-mentioned invention, the internal pressure of the cooking chamber is repeatedly repeated a plurality of times alternately in a state where the internal pressure of the cooking chamber is reduced to a negative pressure by the suction means and in a state where the pressure is increased by introducing gas into the cooking chamber by the gas supply means. It is preferably configured to change.

  According to the vacuum cooking apparatus which concerns on this invention, the foodstuffs of cooking object can be cooked in a short time with a comparatively simple structure. For example, the seasoning liquid can be permeated into the food material to be cooked in a short time and seasoned. As a result, it is possible to obtain a cooked product having a freshness and an excellent flavor, and cooking can be performed immediately before the meal time.

The vacuum cooking apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention is shown, (A) is a top view, (B) is a front view. It is principal part sectional drawing along arrow AA of FIG. 1 of the said vacuum cooking apparatus, The state which evacuates the cooking chamber is shown. It is principal part sectional drawing along the arrow AA of FIG. 1 of the said vacuum cooking apparatus, The state which has open | released air | atmosphere in a cooking chamber is shown. It is a block diagram of the said vacuum cooking apparatus.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a plan view and a front view of a vacuum cooking apparatus according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the main part along the arrow AA in FIG. 3 shows a state, FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the main part of the vacuum cooking device along the arrow AA in FIG. 1 and shows a state in which the atmosphere is released, and FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the vacuum cooking device.

  The vacuum cooking apparatus 1 includes a main body 10 for placing a cooking object 60 in the upper opening 11, and an openable / closable lid 50 for putting the cooking object 60 in and out of the upper opening 11 of the main body 10. It is comprised. In the vacuum cooking apparatus 1, the lid 50 is closed so as to cover the upper opening 11 of the main body 10, so that the upper opening 11 of the main body 10 and the lower opening 51 of the lid 50 are sealed. The cooking chamber 20 is partitioned.

  The lid 50 is formed using, for example, high-density urethane (transparent body), and the inside of the cooking chamber 20 can be seen through from the outside even when the lid 50 is closed. The lid 50 is attached by a pair of hinge mechanisms 12 and 12 having a base end provided at one end of the main body, and is rotatable in a cantilever state. For this reason, the cooking object 60 can be taken in and out of the cooking chamber 20 by rotating the lid 50 by the hinge mechanisms 12 and 12 to open the cooking chamber 20. A concave handle 52 is provided on the outer side of the lid 50 on the open side so that the user can manually open and close the lid 50.

  The main body 10 is formed using, for example, a resin material. As shown in FIG. 2, a partition portion 30 that partitions and forms a part (lower region) of the cooking chamber 20 and an upper end (opening) by the partition portion 30. And a container-shaped casing portion 40 covered with a container.

  The partition unit 30 includes a tray unit 31 for placing and holding the cooking object 60 in the cooking chamber 20, an air supply hole 32 for supplying air to the cooking chamber 20, and air remaining in the cooking chamber 20. And an exhaust hole 33 for discharging. The air supply hole 32 is formed so as to penetrate in the vertical direction, and one port of the open / close electromagnetic valve 34 is connected to the lower end portion thereof. The diameter of the air supply hole 32 is formed to be larger than the diameter of the exhaust hole 33, and is set to about 4 to 5 times the diameter of the exhaust hole 33, for example. The exhaust hole 33 is formed so as to penetrate in the vertical direction, and one port of the vacuum solenoid valve 35 is connected to the lower end of the exhaust hole 33.

  Moreover, the cooking chamber 20 is partitioned and formed by a space region enclosed between the upper surface side of the partition portion 30 and the lower surface side of the lid body 50, and the upper surface peripheral portion 36 of the partition portion 30 and the lower surface peripheral portion of the lid body 50. The airtightness in the cooking chamber 20 is maintained by the close contact with 52. Further, a seal member 37 for improving the airtightness in the cooking chamber 20 is provided on the upper peripheral edge portion 36 of the partition portion 30.

  The housing part 40 includes an electrical equipment chamber 41 that is surrounded by an inner wall of the housing part 40 and a lower surface of the partition part 30 and in which various electrical components are disposed. In the electrical chamber 41, a vacuum pump 42 for making the cooking chamber 20 in a vacuum state, a control device 45 (see FIG. 4), and the like are disposed. The vacuum pump 42 is connected to the other port of the vacuum solenoid valve 35 by an intake pipe 43 having one end connected to the suction port of the vacuum pump 42. For this reason, the vacuum pump 42 and the cooking chamber 20 are connected via the exhaust hole 33, the vacuum electromagnetic valve 35, and the intake pipe 43. When the vacuum solenoid valve 35 is opened in response to the electromagnetic valve actuation signal from the control device 45, the exhaust hole 33 and the intake pipe 43 are connected to each other, and the vacuum pump 42 is actuated so that the air in the cooking chamber 20 or cooking is performed. Air, moisture, etc. contained in the food 61 of the object 60 are discharged, and the cooking chamber 20 is depressurized to a pressure close to a vacuum state.

  Further, the electrical component room 41 and the cooking chamber 20 are communicated with each other via the air supply hole 32 and the opening / closing electromagnetic valve 34. Then, when the open / close solenoid valve 34 is opened in response to the electromagnetic valve operation signal from the control device 45, the air supply hole 32 and the interior of the electrical equipment chamber 41 are connected, and the atmosphere for vacuum breaking is generated from the electrical equipment chamber 41 to the cooking chamber 20. Supplied. In addition, a plurality of flow holes (not shown) are formed in the wall portion of the housing portion 40 so that the interior of the electrical equipment chamber 41 communicates with external air outside the housing portion 40. Thereby, external air can be taken into the electrical equipment room 41 and supplied into the cooking room 20.

  Moreover, as shown in FIG. 1, the operation panel 13 which a user operates in order to perform desired vacuum cooking is provided in the side surface located in the opening part of the cooking chamber 20 in the housing | casing part 40. As shown in FIG. The operation panel 13 includes, for example, a power on / off button for power on / off operation of the vacuum cooking apparatus 1, a cooking start button for automatically starting vacuum cooking, and a cooking stop for temporarily stopping the started vacuum cooking. A button, a plurality of selection buttons for setting the level of vacuum cooking, and the like are provided.

  With a plurality of selection buttons for selecting the level of vacuum cooking, for example, it is possible to select from four levels of weak mode, medium mode (normal mode), strong mode, and strong × 2 mode. First, in the weak mode, only a predetermined preliminary defoaming operation is performed. Here, the preliminary defoaming means that when the cooking chamber 20 is depressurized from the atmospheric state to the vacuum state with the start of cooking, the boiling point is lowered and the seasoning liquid 62 is boiled and evaporated (bubbles are generated). This is performed in order to prevent the seasoning liquid 62 and the like from spilling out of the cup container 63 (removing bubbles). Specifically, after the inside of the cooking chamber 20 is evacuated for 65 seconds using the vacuum pump 42, the atmosphere is released from the air supply holes 32 in a short time, and then the evacuation is further performed for 35 seconds. The process of releasing the atmosphere is repeated several times.

  In the middle mode (normal mode), the details will be described later. After the preliminary defoaming, the vacuum pump 42 is driven for a predetermined time T1 (for example, 4 minutes) to evacuate the cooking chamber 20. After the pressure is reduced to near, a process of rapidly sending (increasing pressure) the vacuum breaking atmosphere from the suction hole 32 into the cooking chamber 20 for a predetermined time T2 (for example, 0.3 seconds) is performed. In the strong mode, after the preliminary defoaming is performed, the process of the normal mode (decompression and pressure increase) is repeated twice. In the strong x2 mode, after the preliminary defoaming, the process of the normal mode (decompression and pressure increase) is repeated four times. It is preferable that the user selects an appropriate cooking level in accordance with the food to be cooked. Further, the predetermined time T1 is the time (for example, 4 minutes) required for the inside of the cooking chamber 20 to reach a predetermined degree of vacuum (for example, 120 Pascals) by the vacuum pump 42, and the capacity of the mounted vacuum pump 42 It will vary depending on the situation. In addition, the predetermined time T2 is a time required to apply the increased pressure to the cooking object 60 at once, and can sufficiently act on the cooking object 60 in a very short time with respect to the predetermined time T1. is there. Further, the preliminary defoaming is always performed before the operation of each of the medium, strong, and strong × 2 modes is performed, so that the seasoning liquid 62 and the like are spilled from the cup container 63 in the cooking chamber 20 and desired cooking is performed. Can be prevented.

  Also, as shown in FIG. 4, an operation signal output by operating the operation panel 13 is input to a control device 45 provided in the electrical equipment room 41. The control device 45 outputs each operation signal to the vacuum pump 42, the opening / closing electromagnetic valve 34, the vacuum electromagnetic valve 35, etc. Various controls such as opening / closing control of the valve 35 are performed, and a predetermined operation for vacuum cooking is performed.

  The procedure in the case of cooking using the vacuum cooking apparatus 1 having such a configuration will be described. First, the food 61 and the seasoning liquid 62 for seasoning it are put in the cup container 63. Then, the lid 50 of the vacuum cooking apparatus 1 is opened upward to open the cooking chamber 20, and the cup container 63 containing the ingredients 61 and the seasoning liquid 62 is placed on the tray unit 31 in the cooking chamber 20. . Next, the inside of the cooking chamber 20 is sealed by covering the lid 50 so that the lower peripheral edge 52 of the lid 50 is in close contact with the upper peripheral edge 36 (seal member 37) of the partition 30.

  Next, after selecting and pressing a selection button for a desired cooking level on the operation panel 13, a cooking start button is pressed to start vacuum cooking at the selected cooking level. At this time, it is preferable that the user selects an appropriate cooking level according to the food to be cooked, and in the following description, it is assumed that the medium mode (normal mode) is selected.

  First, before the operation in the middle mode (normal mode) is performed with the start of cooking, the preliminary defoaming operation as described above starts. By performing the preliminary defoaming, it is possible to prevent the seasoning liquid or the like from spilling out of the container in the cooking chamber 20 and preventing desired cooking.

  Then, after the preliminary defoaming is performed, the operation in the middle mode (normal mode) is started. First, the vacuum electromagnetic valve 35 is opened by the control device 45 to cook through the exhaust hole 33 and the intake pipe 43. The chamber 20 and the vacuum pump 42 are connected to each other, and the open / close electromagnetic valve 34 is closed to close the air flow to the cooking chamber 20 to make the cooking chamber 20 airtight. In accordance with this, the vacuum pump 42 is driven to start evacuation, so that the air staying in the cooking chamber 20, the air in the food 61, moisture, and the like are discharged from the exhaust holes 33 and as shown in FIG. 2. The air is discharged through the intake pipe 43, and the pressure in the cooking chamber 20 is reduced to near vacuum. In addition, when the pressure in the cooking chamber 20 is reduced, the seal member 37 of the partition 30 is more closely attached to the lower peripheral edge portion 52 of the lid 50, so that the airtight state in the cooking chamber 20 is sufficiently maintained. Then, when the time T1 for reaching the vicinity of the predetermined degree of vacuum elapses, the driving of the vacuum pump 42 is stopped.

  Next, as the evacuation is stopped, the vacuum solenoid valve 35 is closed and the open / close solenoid valve 34 is opened. As a result, as shown in FIG. 3, the vacuum breaking atmosphere is rapidly sent from the air supply holes 32 into the cooking chamber 20 that has been brought to a negative pressure due to the suction of the vacuum pump 42, so that the pressure in the cooking chamber 20 is increased. The (atmospheric pressure) rises rapidly and returns to near atmospheric pressure, and this atmospheric pressure acts on the food 61 and the seasoning liquid 62 at a stretch, so that the seasoning liquid 62 penetrates into the food 61. Thereby, the seasoning liquid 62 can be uniformly penetrated (seasoned) in a short time into the inside of the food 61 that is the object to be cooked.

  When cooking is completed, the lid 50 is opened upward to open the cooking chamber 20, and the cup container 63 containing the ingredients 61 is taken out of the cooking chamber 20 to be vacuum-cooked (seasoned). The food 61 can be obtained.

  As an example of the cooking object 60 cooked by the present vacuum cooking apparatus 1, the meat such as beef and pork is used as a cooking ingredient, the sauce of grilled meat as a seasoning liquid, and the seasoning of vegetables such as cucumber and eggplant as cooking ingredients. A pickle solution or the like is applied as the solution.

  In addition, when the cooking chamber 20 is depressurized to a vacuum state by the vacuum pump 42 during vacuum cooking, the boiling point of moisture and the like existing in the cooking chamber 20 is lowered and evaporated, and the cooking chamber 20 is evaporated by the evaporation of the moisture. In order to take in the heat inside, the temperature in the cooking chamber 20 including the cooking object 60 is lowered. Therefore, since the cooking object 60 as illustrated above is cooked while the inside of the cooking chamber 20 is at a low temperature, the flavor is kept good without damaging the fresh ingredients.

  Moreover, in the vacuum cooking apparatus 1 of this embodiment, since the hole diameter of the air supply hole 32 for supplying air | atmosphere to the cooking chamber 20 is formed larger than the hole diameter of the exhaust hole 33 for evacuating, it is in a vacuum state When the atmosphere for vacuum breaking is sent into the cooking chamber 20 that has been depressurized to near, a large amount of air is sent into the cooking chamber 20 at a stretch, so that the pressure in the cooking chamber 20 is rapidly increased and the seasoning liquid 62 is discharged. The penetration action to the foodstuff 61 can be promoted.

  Furthermore, in the vacuum cooking apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, the pressure in the cooking chamber 20 is reduced by the vacuum pump 42 to a high vacuum state of about 120 Pascals (400 Pascals or less is referred to as “high vacuum state”). When the inside of the cooking chamber 20 is opened at once by the pores 32 (when the atmosphere is fed), the pressure in the cooking chamber 20 is further increased, and the penetration of the seasoning liquid 62 into the food 61 can be further promoted.

  Further, for the food 61 or the like in which the seasoning liquid 62 is difficult to penetrate, it is preferable to select the strong mode or the strong × 2 mode with the selection button of the operation panel 13. According to this, after the pressure in the cooking chamber 20 is reduced by the vacuum pump 42 for a predetermined time T1, the vacuum breaking atmosphere is rapidly sent for a predetermined time T2 to increase the pressure in the cooking chamber 20. By repeating the (normal mode process) several times, the inside of the cooking chamber 20 can easily reach a predetermined degree of vacuum, and the degree of vacuum in the cooking room 20 is improved, and this is shortened (with a predetermined time T2). Opening at a stretch (feeding in the atmosphere) can further promote the penetration of the seasoning liquid 62 into the food 61 due to the increased pressure in the cooking chamber 20.

  Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described so far, the scope of the present invention is not limited to those shown in the above-described embodiments. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the internal pressure is increased by rapidly introducing the atmosphere into the cooking chamber 20 that has been decompressed to a negative pressure by opening the air supply hole 32 by the electromagnetic opening / closing valve 34, but is not limited thereto. Instead of this, a compressor for rapidly introducing high-pressure air into the cooking chamber 20 may be provided.

  In the above-described embodiment, the predetermined process is repeatedly executed by selecting the vacuum cooking level with the selection button. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the target target vacuum is set according to the cooking level. You may change degree and cooking time.

  Furthermore, the vacuum cooking apparatus according to the present invention is applied to cooking of any cooking object.

  As described above, according to the vacuum cooking apparatus according to the present embodiment, the seasoning liquid can be uniformly permeated into the ingredients in a short time and seasoned with a relatively simple configuration, and the freshness and flavor are fresh. You can get excellent cooking. Therefore, it is possible to perform cooking (dipping) immediately before the meal time without requiring a long penetration time for soaking the food in the seasoning liquid.

1 Vacuum cooking device 10 Main body (container member)
20 Cooking chamber 32 Air supply hole 33 Exhaust hole 34 Open / close solenoid valve (gas supply means, open / close valve)
42 Vacuum pump (suction means)
50 Lid (container member)
60 Cooking object 61 Food (cooking object)
62 Seasoning liquid (cooking object)

Claims (5)

A vacuum cooking device for cooking a cooking object,
A cooking chamber that can be sealed inside, a supply hole and an exhaust hole that open in the cooking chamber, and a container member that houses the cooking object in the cooking chamber;
Suction means for making the internal pressure in the cooking chamber negative through the exhaust hole;
Gas supply means for rapidly introducing gas into the cooking chamber through the air supply hole,
By reducing the internal pressure in the cooking chamber in which the cooking object is accommodated to negative pressure by the suction means, and then increasing the internal pressure in the cooking chamber by rapidly introducing gas by the gas supply means, A vacuum cooking apparatus, wherein an atmospheric pressure is applied to the cooking object. The gas supply means is configured to have an on-off valve that allows the air supply hole to be opened and closed with respect to the cooking chamber,
After closing the air supply hole with the on-off valve and reducing the internal pressure in the cooking chamber to a negative pressure by the suction means, the air is released from the air supply hole into the cooking chamber by opening the air supply hole with the on-off valve. 2. The vacuum cooking apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the pressure is increased by rapid introduction.   The vacuum cooking apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a size of the air supply hole is formed larger than a size of the exhaust hole.   The vacuum cooking apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the cooking chamber that has been made negative by the suction means is in a high vacuum state of 400 Pascals or less.   The internal pressure of the cooking chamber is alternately and repeatedly changed a plurality of times between a state where the pressure is reduced to a negative pressure by the suction means and a state where the pressure is increased by introducing gas into the cooking chamber by the gas supply means. The vacuum cooking apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

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