Patent Application
20120258224
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cooking assembly, and more particularly, to a cooking assembly with an improved configuration for healthy food preparation.
2. Background
Preparation of food in various ways stems far back into human pre-history. People have used heat to prepare foods since the advent of controlled fire. Various forms of cookware and methods of heating food are conventionally used and well known.
Some methods of food preparation include grilling food, or exposing food to flame. Other methods include using cookware which is heated directly. However, it has become well-known that burning or browning food, as results from more direct heating, can introduce carcinogens. Thus, such methods are not ideal, and may be harmful to health.
Another known method of preparing certain foods is steaming. Conventional steaming cookware involves a bottom pot which holds and heats water, and a top pot having holes in its bottom surface which contains the food items intended to be cooked. Steam rising up through the holes heats the food items. However, grease and fat from various food items runs down through these holes, and is then recycled back upward toward the food.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,389,721, issued to Wanat, for example, discloses such a system in which heated water is boiled and steam rises through holes in a pot which holds food. The fats and greases in various food items is allowed to spill into the water, and in turn is recycled into the water. Furthermore, important nutrients in various food items seeps out of the food items and is lost into the water through the holes.
While this, and various other processes may be known, currently, there is no optimal manner in which to prepare food in cookware. Thus, there continues to be a need for an improved cookware assembly for healthy and optimal food preparation.
The present invention is a cookware assembly and method. The cookware assembly of the present invention allows for improved food preparation which is both healthy and more optimal.
The improvements of the present invention include at least the following. Food items are not placed directly on a directly heated surface. Instead, food items are placed on a surface which is not directly heated. Water is heated in a base pan underneath the surface on which the food is placed. The water is boiled and steam then rises through a side gap and evenly heats the food items without burning or browning. Nutrients in food items are not lost because the surface on which they are placed does not include holes. Steam is condensed back to water upon the interior surface of the lid of the assembly, and is allowed to run down toward the outer edges and is recycled back down to the water being heated in the bottom pan.
The cookware assembly, thus, includes a bottom base pan. Water is placed in the base pan. A support member is placed on the bottom surface of this base pan. The support member may be a heat transfer coil. The support member ideally is shaped to allow water to pass below, above, or through it. The support member supports an inner pan which is placed upon it. This inner pan is heated by the water below it and the support member, however, it is not directly exposed the heat source.
Ideally, water heated in the base pan can pass freely through, above, or below the support member. Boiled water in the form of steam rises through the gap between the inner and base pans. The food items in the inner pan are heated evenly without burning or browning, and without substantial loss of nutrients.
In various embodiments, the cookware assembly includes a lid with a concave interior surface. Either a lid having a vertical extension member, or a stand-alone vertical wall allows for more space for larger food items. A grill can be placed in the inner pan. Alternatively, poaching pans can be placed in the inner pan.
Furthermore, in various embodiments, the inner pan may have a handle which helps to lock it into place with respect to the base pan. For example, a notch in the edge of the base pan may hold the handle into place to prevent it from rotating, and a projection from the inner pan handle downward may lock into place with a receiving opening within the handle of the base pan, which can be used to prevent radial movement of the inner pan with respect to the base pan.
Still other objects and advantages of the present invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description, wherein it is shown and described only the preferred embodiments of the invention, simply by way of illustration of the best mode contemplated of carrying out the invention. As will be realized, the invention is capable of other and different embodiments and its several details are capable of modifications in various obvious respects, without departing from the invention. Accordingly, the drawings, wherein like reference numerals represent like features, and description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature and not as restrictive.
While this invention is susceptible of embodiments in many different forms, there are shown in the drawings and will herein be described in detail, preferred embodiments of the invention with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the broad aspect of the invention to the embodiments illustrated.
The present invention is a cooking assembly 10 for improved preparation of food. The assembly 10 includes a base pan 20 having an interior surface 30. The pan is ideally a metal pan, of any suitable material. A support member 40 holds the inner pan 50 in spaced relation above the base pan 20. Any number of support member configurations are possible to hold the inner pan 50 above the interior surface of the base pan 20. In certain embodiments, the support member 40 may be adapted to be placed upon the interior surface 30 of said base pan 20.
The support member 40 may be any suitable configuration which will support an inner pan 50 above the base pan 20. In certain ideal embodiments, the support member 40 may be a heat coil which can transfer heat from the bottom of the base pan 20 to water in the pan 20, and to some extent also to inner pan 50. Optionally, the support member 40 may be configured to allow water to pass above, below, or through it.
The inner pan 50 is placed upon the support member 40 and held separated from the base plan 20. Ideally, inner pan 50 has a solid continuous bottom surface free of holes. A gap surrounding the inner pan 50 allows steam to rise between the pans 20 and 50. Optionally, a notch 60 in the edge rim of base pan 20 allows the handle of the inner pan 50 to be held into place. This prevents inner pan 50 from rotating with respect to base pan 20. A projection 70 from the inner pan handle optionally fits into a receiving opening 80 in the base pan handle to prevent radial movement of the inner pan 50 with respect to the base pan 20.
A lid 90 is placed atop the base pan 20, in various embodiments. The lid 90 ideally has a concave interior surface, an optionally may have a handle or knob for handling. Thus, steam can condense on the concave interior surface, and condensed water streaks down toward the outer edges of the lid to fall back down into the base pan 20. In certain embodiments, the lid may include a vertical peripheral extension 100 extending from an upper portion of a perimeter of the lid downward. The vertical peripheral extension 100 is adapted to interface with the base pan 20 along its perimeter. Thus, steam accumulating on said concave interior surface condenses and streaks down to the edge of the lid. This extension 100 may be integral with lid 90.
In other alternate embodiments, a stand-alone peripheral extender 110 may be placed atop the edge of the rim of the base pan 20, and the lid 90 placed on top of the extender 110. In this manner, larger food items may be placed within the assembly 10. The peripheral extender 110 optionally may include handles for ease of handling.
In certain other embodiments, a grill 120 may be disposed above the inner pan 50. This allows for a variety of food items to be placed atop the grill and cooked evenly, allowing grease or fat to drip into the inner pan 50. Ideally, the grill is elevated above the inner pan 50.
In other embodiments, poaching pans 130 may be placed within the inner pan 50. Thus, items such as eggs may be cooked within them.
The method of cooking food items using the present invention includes disposing food items to be cooked within the inner pan 50. The inner pan 50 is suspended or elevated above the interior surface of the base pan 20 using a support member 40. The base pan 20 is covered with the lid 90, and water is heated in the base pan 20.
In certain embodiments, the method includes allowing water to flow over, under, or through the support member 40. Water is boiled in the base pan 20 and steam is allowed to rise around the inner pan 50, and condenses on the lid 90.
In this manner, a large variety of food items may be cooked by evenly heating them without browning or burning portions of the food items. The cookware assembly 10 can be configured to any of its preferred embodiments to optimize it for the desired food item. I healthier result is obtained.
While specific embodiments have been illustrated and described, numerous modifications come to mind without significantly departing from the spirit of the invention and the scope of protection is limited by the scope of the accompanying claims.
