WO2013110827A1

WO2013110827A1 - Predictive method for cooking foodstuffs

Info

Publication number: WO2013110827A1
Application number: PCT/ES2012/070040
Authority: WO
Inventors: Albert Torne Ficapal
Original assignee: Immobles De Segria, S.L.
Priority date: 2012-01-25
Filing date: 2012-01-25
Publication date: 2013-08-01
Also published as: ES2534258A1; ES2534258B1

Abstract

Predictive method for cooking foodstuffs, for cooking performed inside the chamber of a cooking apparatus, which comprises a first step of placing the foodstuff in the cooking chamber, followed by the heating of said chamber from ambient temperature (6) to a specific temperature T_Cámara (1.1) between 30 and 3005 C, adaptation of the temperature inside the chamber as a function of the temperature within the foodstuff T_Corazón (2) at any moment, of the final temperature required in the foodstuff T_{CorazónFinal}(3) and of the maximum cooking temperature T_SetPoint(3) or T_DeltaT (7) required for the foodstuff, equalizing the temperature inside the chamber T_Cámara (1.2) and the final temperature required within the foodstuff T_{CorazónFinal} (3), maintaining the optimum cooking temperature within the foodstuff and, lastly, removing the foodstuff from the cooking chamber in order to serve it.

Description

FOOD PREDICTIVE COOKING PROCEDURE

DESCRIPTION Technical field of the invention

The present invention corresponds to the technical field of food cooking procedures which, by precise temperature control, try to obtain the maximization of the organoleptic properties, minimization of waste and obtaining perfect textures therein.

Background of the Invention

At present there is a tendency to search for new cooking methods and technologies that improve the properties of food, both organoleptic and in terms of food quality.

For this, there are methods that try to precisely control the temperature at which the food is cooked, since each one has an optimum cooking temperature with which its best qualities and properties are obtained.

In the case of food whose cooking takes place inside the cooking chamber of a cooking appliance, there is currently an improvement that most of these appliances comprise devices with thermostat, which automatically regulate the temperature selected for the cooking of each type of food.

At the beginning of this tendency to improve the characteristics of the food through the control of the cooking temperature of the same, a first method emerged that is currently very widespread and could be described as traditional.

This method consists in keeping the chamber temperature constant at a predetermined value, waiting for the inside of the food or heart of the chamber to reach the desired cooking temperature.

In this way, the refrigerated food is introduced into the cooking chamber of the cooking apparatus, previously heated or not, so that in said chamber the temperature increases until it reaches the preset value and the food also increases in temperature until it reaches inside the desired cooking temperature, which we know by using a sensor inserted in the food, at which time the cooking appliance

With this method, although the optimum cooking temperature is obtained at the heart of the food, temperatures above the desired temperature are generated on the surface of the food, which causes a degradation of the outer layer, as well as a loss of the properties of food in it.

Likewise, despite the fact that when the heart of the food reaches the optimum temperature, the cooking appliance shuts down, due to the inertia of the system and the enormous temperature gradient between the chamber and the food, the temperature inside it It continues to rise well above the optimum cooking temperature. This forces the food to be removed from the cooking apparatus at the time when the cooking is finished, but even so, since the outer layer of the food is at the temperature of the chamber, an increase in temperature is also generated inside the food above the optimum temperature.

In order to solve these problems, a new method known as DeltaT cooking appears.

In this method, the temperature difference between the cooking chamber and the interior of the food is kept constant at a predetermined value known as DeltaT, determined by the user, until reaching the desired cooking point.

The temperature of the surface layer of the food again is higher than the optimum temperature, but in this method, the difference is limited to a maximum of DeltaT degrees, with which an improvement over traditional cooking is already achieved, although not It is a complete improvement.

At the moment when the inside of the food reaches the optimum cooking temperature, the cooking apparatus turns off and the temperature of the food starts to fall in an uncontrolled way, which generates an increase in the temperature in the heart of the food, although This increase is smaller than the one used in the traditional method.

We see that the inconveniences of the traditional method are reduced and softened, but without completely solving them. Likewise, there is the disadvantage that if it were decided to keep the food inside the chamber until its service, which in this method could be, by detecting the cooking apparatus that the temperature inside the food begins to decrease, generates a increase of the temperature in the chamber until DeltaT degrees, generating a new thermal shock in the outermost layer of the food and with it the degradation of the same.

Thus, although as already indicated, the inconveniences of traditional cooking are reduced, this method does not solve them, since the optimum cooking temperature in the heart of the food continues to be exceeded and it is impossible to maintain the food without degrading the layer external of it.

Description of the invention

The predictive cooking procedure for food, for those cooking carried out inside the chamber of a cooking appliance, presented here, comprises a series of phases.

In the first one, the food is introduced into the cooking chamber of the cooking apparatus. A temperature probe is inserted into the food by means of which the cooking apparatus measures the temperature in the heart T _Co ratio of the food.

The cooking chamber of the cooking appliance is then heated from room temperature to a finishing temperature between 30 and 300 ⁵ C.

The next phase consists of adapting the temperature inside the chamber, T _C amara, depending on the temperature inside the food, T _Co ratio, at each moment, as well as the maximum cooking temperature T _Se t _P o ¡t o differential temperature T _De i _t aT and the temperature T _Co ratio F¡nai desired inside the food.

In this way, the temperature inside the chamber is not constant but variable and, its variation, is not constant, but will depend on the evolution of the two factors mentioned.

The next step is the equalization of the temperature of the chamber T _C amara and the desired final temperature inside the food, T _Co ratio F¡nai - At that time, the cooking stops, because the optimum cooking point inside the food has been reached. This is achieved by matching the temperature inside the chamber with that of the heart.

Next, maintenance of the optimum cooking temperature is achieved inside the food, thanks to the fact that there is no temperature gradient with respect to the temperature of the chamber.

Likewise, a greater uniformity in the cooking temperature reached throughout the food has been obtained, with a lower thermal gradient between the inside of the food and its outer layer. This also favors the maintenance of the optimum temperature inside the food after the end of cooking.

The next step is the extraction of food from the cooking chamber, at the time the cook is going to perform his service.

With the procedure of predictive cooking of food proposed here, an important improvement is obtained with respect to the procedures existing in the state of the art.

This is so because with this new procedure a control of the cooking point inside the food is carried out, or what is the same, the temperature that is reached therein at each moment, generating, depending on this, the variation of the temperature at which the cooking chamber is. Therefore, the temperature in the chamber is not kept constant nor is a constant variation of it, but the variation of its temperature will be dependent at all times on the temperature inside the food and its temporal evolution .

With this, it is achieved that when the optimum temperature inside the food is reached, this temperature is the same as that existing in the cooking chamber, thus achieving that the temperature inside the food does not continue to rise above the point optimal and that when the cooking is finished, it is possible to keep it hot inside the chamber without generating an increase in the internal temperature of the food.

This is so thanks to the identical temperature between the inside of the food and the cooking chamber, which by not generating a thermal gradient, favors the maintenance of the internal temperature of the food.

Likewise, with this procedure, a greater homogeneity is achieved at the cooking point of the whole piece of food, which also avoid temperature gradients between the inside of the piece and the outer layer, again ensuring the maintenance of the optimum temperature inside the food.

This also favors that the superficial part of the food is in perfect conditions, not causing degradation in it.

Likewise, the food losses obtained with the use of this procedure are very small.

There is therefore a cooking procedure that will provide a high quality food whose organoleptic properties as well as its nutritional and organoleptic characteristics are maximized.

Brief description of the drawings

In order to help a better understanding of the features of the invention, according to a preferred example of practical implementation thereof, an integral part of said description is provided, a series of drawings where, for illustrative and non-limiting purposes, represented the following:

Figure 1 .- Shows a graph representing the evolution of the temperature of the chamber and the heart of the food, for a first mode of predictive cooking procedure.

Figure 2.- Shows a graph that represents the evolution of the temperature of the chamber and that of the heart of the food, for a second mode of predictive cooking procedure.

Figure 3.- Shows a graph of temperature profiles obtained in a food whose cooking has been done with the second mode of predictive cooking procedure, for a first T _De i _t aT-

Figure 4.- Shows a graph of temperature profiles obtained in a food whose cooking has been done with the second mode of predictive cooking procedure, for a second T _From i, _to T

Detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention In view of the figures provided, it can be seen that in a first preferred embodiment of the invention, the method of predictive cooking of food, for those cooking carried out inside the chamber of a cooking apparatus, which here It is proposed, it comprises a series of phases.

The first phase involves the introduction of food into the cooking chamber, which is at an ambient temperature (6)

The next phase is the heating of the cooking chamber of the cooking apparatus to a certain temperature T _C chamber (1 -1).

This temperature T _C chamber (1 .1), in this first preferred embodiment of the process of the invention is in a temperature range between 0 and 300 ⁵ C.

As can be seen in Figure 1, at the moment when the food is introduced into the cooking chamber of the cooking apparatus, which is at a temperature T _C amara (1 -1), the third phase of adaptation of the temperature inside the chamber at the temperature that reaches the inside or heart of the food at any time, depending on the maximum cooking temperature (1 .3) desired for the inside of the food.

Figure 1 shows how the temperature of the heart T _Co ratio (2) of the food increases. The temperature inside the chamber (1 .1, 1 .2, 1 .3) increases, is maintained or decreased so that at the end of the cooking process the temperature of the chamber and the desired final temperature in the heart of the food (3) are identical. This adaptation in this first preferred embodiment of the process of the invention responds to the formula:

Camera [¡] = MI N (Tc ₀ ratio Fnal + i (Tsetpoint ^" Tc ₀ ratio [¡-k]) + Ko, Tsetpoint)

Where:

chamber (1 -1, 1 -2, 1 .3) is the temperature in the cooking chamber,

heart (2) is the instantaneous temperature in the heart of the food, heartRnai (3) is the desired final temperature in the heart of the food, setpoint (3) is the maximum temperature desired by the user,

Ki is a differential constant,

K ₀ a Temperature constant and, k the delay.

Therefore, the temperature of the chamber (1 .1, 1 .2, 1 .3) is not a constant value nor is it a variable with a constant variation but rather is a variable that depends on a first factor that is the temperature reached at each moment inside or at the heart of the food, T _Co ratio (2), which is a variable in itself, the desired final temperature of the heart of the food T _Co ratioF¡nai (3), which is constant, and, the maximum cooking temperature, T _Se t _P o¡nt (1 .3), which is also constant.

On the other hand, in this first preferred embodiment of the process of the invention, the constant has a value between 0 and 100, the temperature constant K ₀ , a value between 0 and 300 ⁵ C, and the delay k, being This is the time interval that takes the temperature of the chamber to access the heart of the food, in a value between 0 and 600 samples.

During the continuous adaptation of the temperature of the chamber (1 .2) to that of the interior of the food (2) and the maximum cooking temperature (1 .3) as observed in the same Figure 1, at a certain moment the temperature of the chamber (1 .2) reaches a maximum temperature T _Se t _P o¡nt (1 -3) set for it, which reproduces a horizontal line in a section of the graph of Figure 1. The temperature in the heart (2) of the food while it continues to increase until, due to the adaptation of temperatures between the two, the temperature of the cooking chamber (1 .2) will begin to decrease until the equalization of said temperature T occurs. _C amara (1 2) with the final cooking temperature corazónFinai (3) into the food after a certain time (4).

Once the optimum temperature (3) has been reached inside the food, the next phase consists of entering the food maintenance phase of the cooking appliance.

In this phase the optimum cooking temperature (3) is maintained inside the food from the end of cooking until the cook decides to perform the service. This is possible thanks to the fact that the temperature of the chamber (1 .2) and that of the interior of the food (2) coincide, there is no thermal gradient that generates the continuation of the temperature rise inside the food. Likewise, as a greater uniformity in the cooking temperature obtained in all parts of the food has been achieved, the possible thermal gradient is reduced between the inner part of the food and the most superficial part of it, also preventing the temperature inside the food from continuing to rise above the optimum cooking temperature.

Finally, when the cook is going to serve the food, it is extracted from the inside of the cooking chamber.

A second preferred embodiment of the predictive cooking procedure is also presented, for cooking food carried out inside the chamber of a cooking appliance, which is proposed here.

Said second embodiment, whose temperature evolution is shown in Figure 2, also consists of a series of phases, the first of which is the introduction of food into the cooking chamber at room temperature.

Then the heating of the cooking chamber takes place from a room temperature (6) to a specific temperature T _C chamber (1 -1), which in this second preferred embodiment corresponds to a certain value of temperature T _De i, _at T (7) set by the user, which corresponds to the maximum temperature difference between the chamber and the heart of the food.

Said value of T _From i, _to T (7) is in a temperature range between 0 and 100 ⁵ C.

As can be seen in Figure 2, at the moment when the food is introduced into the chamber, the third phase of adaptation of the internal temperature (1 .2) of the chamber to the temperature existing in the heart (2) begins of the food and also depending on the maximum temperature difference between said heart of the food and the chamber, this maximum difference being T _from i _{t to T} (7). This figure also shows the curve that represents the variation of said difference between temperatures T _De i _t aT (7).

Figure 2 shows how the temperature of the heart (2) of the food increases. The temperature inside the chamber (1 .2) increases or decreases so that at the end of the cooking process the temperature of the chamber (2) and the desired temperature in the heart of the food (3) are identical. The relationship between both temperatures is given in this second preferred embodiment of the process of the invention, by the following formula: Tcámara [¡] = Final Heart + MIN (K- | (T _De | _taT - T _Co ratio [Í]) + Krj, T _De | _taT )

Where:

chamber (1 -1, 1 .2) is the temperature in the cooking chamber,

Heart (2) is the instantaneous temperature in the heart of the food, heartRnai (3) is the desired final temperature in the heart of the food, DeitaT (7) is the maximum temperature difference between the heart of the food and the chamber, desired by the user

Ki is a differential constant and,

K ₀ is a temperature constant.

It is thus observed that the temperature of the chamber (1 .2) is not a constant value or with a constant variation, but varies depending on the temperature in the heart (2) of the food and the difference between said temperature and the existing one in the camera.

In this formula that controls the adaptation of the chamber temperature, the constant has a value between 0 and 100 and the temperature constant K ₀ , a value between 0 and 100 ⁵ C.

As the adaptation of the temperature of the chamber (1 .2) to that existing in the heart of the food is carried out, as seen in Figure 2, with this second preferred embodiment of the process of the invention, both lines that in the graph represents these temperatures, they rise, but in the case of which it reflects the temperature of the chamber (1 .2), it is shown that the temperature of the chamber does not rise as high as to reach the maximum temperature (1 .3 ) set for the cooking chamber, so no horizontal section is shown.

There comes a time when the temperature of the cooking chamber (1 .2) begins to fall until it is equal to the temperature of the heart T _Co ratio (2) of the food, the temperature of both at that time being equal to the optimum temperature (3) in said heart.

The next phase is maintenance, since the desired temperature inside the food has already been reached. The maintenance phase of the optimum cooking temperature inside the food, from the end of cooking until the service is done, as in the first Proposed embodiment, the temperature of the chamber and of the interior of the food are identical, whereby there is no thermal gradient that generates an increase in the temperature of the food once the cooking has stopped.

Likewise, the greater uniformity of cooking temperature throughout the food avoids possible thermal gradients between the interior and the outermost zone.

The last phase consists in the extraction of food from the chamber, at the moment in which its service will be performed.

As an example of this second preferred embodiment of this process of invention, the specific case of cooking a food is presented, the potato having been chosen for it.

First, therefore, the potato is introduced and the cooking chamber is heated to a temperature T _of i, _aT .

In order to analyze the results obtained, the procedure is carried out with two different values of T _From i, _aT .

In the first case a T _of i, _aT = 25 ⁵ C is considered and in the second, a T _of i, _aT

= 70 ⁵ C, in both cases the Tc _ora zónF¡nai = 75 ⁵ C.

In both cases, the temperature of the chamber will begin to vary depending on the instantaneous temperature in the heart of the potato and the maximum difference between said heart and the chamber.

At the moment when the temperatures are equalized, the cooking is stopped and said potato is kept inside the chamber until the moment of its service.

In Figure 3, in which the horizontal axis is shown, temperature intervals (8) of 30 minutes, with an initial stretch (1 1) of 10 minutes, the graph of temperature profiles obtained in the potato is shown for _from _ta a T i T = 25 ⁵ C and in Figure 4 for the case of T _De i _ta T = 70 ⁵ C.

It represents a first line corresponding to the temperature of the chamber T _Cam ara (1 -2), a second line corresponding to the temperature in the heart Tc _ora zón (2) of the potato, another line corresponding to the temperature in the most superficial layer (9) thereof, and a last temperature line at an intermediate point (10) between the surface layer and the heart of the potato.

In Figure 3 it can be seen that for a T _of i, _aT = 25 ⁵ C a total of 69 minutes (13) must pass, so that the temperature in the heart (2) of the potato reaches the temperature value desired (3) of 75 ⁵ C. Likewise, the maximum temperature reached in the heart is T _Co ratio, max = 75 ⁵ C and in the surface layer of the potato, Ib-C also, so as seen, there is no temperature gradient in different points of the potato, having made a uniform cooking throughout it.

The maximum temperature gradient from the outside of the food to the inside reached during the process is 1 5 ⁵ C.

With this procedure, a potato with excellent quality results as well as cooking homogeneity is obtained, with the only aspect to be highlighted for longer cooking times.

In Figure 4, which shows on the horizontal axis, intervals (8) of 30-minute temperature, it is shown that with a

C and therefore, higher than in the previous case, in a time of 39 minutes (1 2), the heart of the potato reaches the desired temperature (3) of Ib-C.

In this figure, a first line corresponding to the temperature of the chamber T _C amara (1 -2), a second line corresponding to the temperature in the heart T _Co ratio (2) of the same are represented as in the previous case the potato, another line corresponding to the temperature in the most superficial layer (9) thereof, and a final temperature line at an intermediate point (10) between the surface layer and the heart of the potato.

In this case, in addition, the maximum temperature reached in the heart is maximum, max = 75 ⁵ C, which coincides with the desired temperature in the heart, while in the most superficial layer a maximum temperature of 78 ⁵ C is reached, which exceeds the optimum cooking temperature by 3 ⁵ C, generating a loss of properties in this area, which will not be completely optimal.

The maximum temperature gradient from the outside of the food to the inside reached during the process is 35 ⁵ C.

It is therefore demonstrated that the cooking time can be reduced at the cost of decreasing to some extent the optimum characteristics obtained with a longer time.

With the procedure of predictive cooking of food presented here, it is possible to significantly improve the existing procedures in the state of the art.

This is because with this procedure a greater uniformity of the cooking point in the whole food is obtained, which in addition to favoring the final characteristics of the same, eliminates the possible thermal gradients between parts of the food that generate temperature variation once the cooking is finished.

This, together with that there is also no thermal gradient between the heart of the food and the cooking chamber at the end of cooking, since both are at the same temperature, allows the maintenance of the optimum temperature of the food until the moment of its service .

On the other hand, the uniformity in the cooking point in the whole food causes that the superficial part of the same does not suffer degradation and is in perfect condition.

In addition, food losses or weight loss after cooking, with this procedure are very small.

Claims

one . - Predictive cooking procedure for food, for those cooking carried out inside the chamber of a cooking appliance, characterized in that it comprises the following phases

- introduction of food into the cooking chamber of the cooking apparatus;

- heating the cooking chamber of the cooking appliance from room temperature (6) to a certain temperature T _C amara (1 .1) between 30 and 300 ⁵ C;

- adaptation of the temperature inside the chamber, depending on the temperature inside the food T _Co ratio (2) at each time, the desired final temperature at the heart of the food T _Co ratioF¡nai (3) and of the maximum cooking temperature T _Se t _P o¡nt (3) or T _From i, _to T (7) desired for it;

- equalization of the internal temperature of the chamber T _C amara (1 -1) and the desired final temperature inside the food T _Co ratio F¡nai (3);

- maintenance of the optimum cooking temperature inside the food, and;

- extraction of food from the cooking chamber for service.

2. - Method of predictive cooking of food according to claim 1, characterized in that the adaptation of the temperature inside the chamber T _C amara (1 .1, 1 .2, 1 .3) responds to the formula T _C chamber [¡] = MIN (T _Co reason F¡nai + Ki (T _Se tpo¡nt - T _Co reason [¡-k]) + K ₀ , T _Se t _P o¡nt), where T _C amara (1. 1, 1 .2, 1 .3) is the temperature in the cooking chamber, T _Co ratio (2) corresponds to the instantaneous temperature in the heart of the food, T _Co ratioF¡nai (3) is the desired final temperature At the heart of the food, which is constant, T _Se t _P o¡nt (3) is the maximum cooking temperature desired by the user, which is constant and is a differential constant, K ₀ a temperature constant and k the delay.

3. - Predictive cooking method of food according to claim 2, characterized in that the heating temperature of the chamber, T _C amara (1 .1) prior to the introduction of the food into the chamber, is between 0 and 300 ⁵ C.

4. - Predictive cooking method of food according to claim 1, characterized in that the adaptation of the internal temperature of the chamber (1 .1, 1 .2) responds to the formula T _C amara [¡] = T _Co ratio F¡nai + MI N (Ki (T _De itaT - Tcorazón [¡]) + K ₀ , T _Detta ), where T _cam (1 .1, 1 .2) is the temperature in the cooking chamber, T _Co reason (2) the instantaneous temperature in the heart of the food, heartFinai (3) is the desired final temperature in the heart of the food, which is constant, T _Of i _t aT (7) the maximum temperature difference between the heart of the food and the camera and K-¡a Differential Factor and K ₀ a Temperature Constant.

5. - Predictive cooking method of food, according to claim 4, characterized in that the heating temperature of the chamber, Támara (1 .1) at the introduction of the food into it, corresponds to an initial temperature T _Of i , _at T set.

6. - Predictive cooking method of food according to claim 5, characterized in that the initial heating temperature of the chamber with respect to that of the food T _De i, _at set T, is a temperature between 0 and 100 ^Q C.

7. - Predictive cooking method of food according to claim 3, characterized in that the differential constant has a value between 0 and 100.

8. - Predictive cooking method of food according to any of claims 3, 6 and 7, characterized in that the temperature constant K ₀ has a value between 0 and 300 ⁵ C.

9. - Method of predictive cooking of food according to any of claims 3 and 6 to 8, characterized in that the delay k has a value between 0 and 600 samples.

10. - Predictive cooking method of food according to claim 5, characterized in that the differential constant K-¡has a value between 0 and 100. Predictive cooking method of food according to any of claims 5 and 10, characterized in that the temperature constant K ₀ has a value between 0 and 100 ⁵ C.