Patent Application
20060150831
N/A
N/A
A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material that is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or patent disclosure as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyrights rights whatsoever.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to food preparation, and more particularly to an automatic marinating apparatus for marinating food products to induce flavoring agents into food products.
2. Description of Related Art
It is well known in the culinary art to marinate certain foods as a means to enhance flavor and to tenderize certain cuts of meats. Conventional marinating techniques involve placing the food, typically meat, poultry, or fish, in a flavorful marinating liquid for an extended period of time so that the food absorbs the marinade. While the marinating process is old and well known the process usually requires a substantial amount of time so as to allow the food to sufficiently absorb the marinating liquid. For instance, certain marinating processes involve marinating the food for as long as forty-eight hours prior to cooking.
Very often, however, time does not permit such thorough marinating and the quality and flavor is typically less than what it would have been with proper preparation. As time does not always permit such thorough marinating, the quality of the cooked food is often less than what it would have been with proper preparation. Accordingly, there exists a need for an automated device that increases the efficiency of the marinating process by decreasing the time required to marinate foods. The apparatus and process disclosed herein is directed to overcoming the disadvantages in the art to allow for complete marinating of foodstuffs in far less time than heretofore required for the process.
The present invention provides an electric food marinating apparatus capable of automatically marinating foods quicker and more effectively than traditional prior art methods by circulating chilled marinade in a closed loop circuit. An automatic food marinating apparatus according to the present invention provides a removable marinating vessel for holding the food and adapted for continuous rotation about a vertical axis. The marinating vessel defines a generally open top and a bottom defining a strainer outlet in communication a marinade reservoir connected thereto for receiving marinade in a closed loop flow path. An electric motor has an output shaft connected to the marinade reservoir to rotate the marinating vessel. A peristaltic pump housed within the base is configured with an inlet in fluid communication with the marinade reservoir and a spray outlet disposed proximal the top of the rotating marinating vessel. A thermoelectric cooler is provided for cooling the marinade. The marinade spray outlet discharges a generally uniform spray of cooled marinade into a removable cup adapted for holding marinade ingredients such as lemons, spices, and the like. The cup includes a bottom defining an array of apertures for allowing the marinade to flow into the marinating vessel containing the food product.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for automatically marinating foods.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for automatically marinating foods using a closed loop marinade circulating circuit.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for automatically marinating foods using a closed loop marinade circuit having a peristaltic pump.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide such an apparatus wherein the marinade is cooled using a thermo-electric cooler.
In accordance with these and other objects, which will become apparent hereinafter, the instant invention will now be described with particular reference to the accompanying drawings.
With reference now to the drawings,
A marinating vessel 20 is removably disposed between base 12 and top 16 as best depicted in
Apparatus base 12 includes a substantially flat bottom for stable placement of apparatus 10 on a flat counter top. Base 12 and vertically projecting body 14 define generally hollow housings for containing mechanical and electrical components to facilitate automatic marinating of food contained within vessel 20. Accordingly, base 12 includes an electric motor 30 having a vertically upward projecting shaft 32 connected to an open topped, generally cylindrical, marinade reservoir 34 rotatably mounted within base 12 and adapted to receive the bottom 24 of marinating vessel 20 therein. Marinade reservoir 34 further includes an outlet 36 for allowing liquid marinade to flow therefrom. An electric power cord 28 provides electric power for motor 30 and the other electrical components discussed herein.
Base 12 further includes a peristaltic pump 40 having an inlet tube 42 in fluid communication with marinade reservoir outlet 36 for drawing liquid marinade from reservoir 34. A peristaltic pump is a type of positive displacement pump used for pumping a variety of specialized fluids. The fluid is contained in a flexible hose fitted inside a circular pump casing. A rotor with a number of cams attached to the external circumference compresses the flexible tube. As the rotor turns, the part of tube under compression rotates thus forcing the fluid to be pumped to move through the tube. A significant advantage is realized by the use of a peristaltic pump. Specifically, the since the only part of the pump in contact with the fluid being pumped is the interior of the tube, the marinade is not subject to contamination and it is easy to sterilize and clean the inside surfaces of the pump between uses by circulating water and a mild detergent through the pump.
Another significant aspect of the present invention includes the use of a thermo-electric cooler, referenced as 50, housed within body 16 to chill the liquid marinade. As best depicted in
Tube 44 exits the thermo-electric cooler proximal top 16 and terminates in a spray outlet nozzle 46 as seen in
As should now be apparent, apparatus 10 provides an automatic marinating device that may be used by (1) filling vessel 20 with a food product for marinating; (2) attaching vessel 20 to marinade reservoir 34 on base 12; (3) adding a sufficient quantity of liquid marinade to vessel 20; (4) adding additional marinade ingredients to cup 62 and attaching same to top 16 of apparatus 10 (optional); (5) closing top 16; and (6) supplying power to the apparatus. Whereby, the electrical power is supplied to motor 30, pump 40, and thermo-electric cooler 50, thus causing rotation of vessel 20, and pumping of marinade through a closed circuit that includes a flow of marinade through vessel 20 and thermo-electric cooler 50.
Finally, in a contemplated embodiment illustrated in
The instant invention has been shown and described herein in what is considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiment. It is recognized, however, that departures may be made therefrom within the scope of the invention and that obvious modifications will occur to a person skilled in the art.
