Patent Application
20050045045
1. Technical Field
The invention relates generally to an apparatus for and method of cooking food and, more specifically, to a device for transferring words or symbols onto food products while cooking.
2. Description of the Related Art
Every day, in homes or restaurants, food is cooked and served to the world's population. One popular form of cooking is grilling, which uses a cooking grate placed over a heat source such as a fire. The fire is ignited and the food to be cooked is typically placed on the cooking grate, which is then positioned over the fire. The heat from the fire cooks the food and, in the process, often leaves a darkened pattern consisting of a series of parallel lines corresponding to wire components of the grate.
Recently, manufacturers have been marketing indoor electric grills in which the grate is composed of a cooking surface that has a series of parallel ridges alternating with troughs and a non-stick surface. Examples of this type of grill are the George Foreman Grill® and similar products produced by Black and Decker®, Sunbeam®, General Electric® and others. In these types of grills, the parallel ridges on the cooking surface leave a darkened pattern on food cooked upon them.
Consumers can purchase “branding irons” that imprint a design upon foodstuffs (usually grilled). However, marking food with a branding iron is both awkward and inconvenient. To use a branding iron, the iron must first be heated by placing the iron on a heat source such as a fire. Grills and other food preparation appliances typically do not include a convenient location for the heating a of branding iron. Additionally, irons may be expensive and are an added cost, rather than being included in the cost of a cooking appliance.
Cake pans are available that include a reverse design so that, when a cooked cake is removed from the pan, the design is displayed on the top of the cake. These cake pans create the design by forming the food into the shape of the design rather than creating the design by changing the color of, or darkening, areas of the food.
Provided is a cooking surface that incorporates a reverse image of a decorative design element such as, but not limited to, a logo, so that when a foodstuff such as a steak or hamburger is prepared on the cooking surface, the design is transferred to the foodstuff. For example, a reverse image of a business logo is incorporated into a grill grate, so that when the foodstuff is removed from the grate after cooking, the logo is imprinted upon the food and appears in forward view. Although applicable to a wide variety of foodstuffs, for the sake of convenience, the following examples will refer to the cooking of hamburgers.
Typically, to cook a hamburger, a patty of ground beef is placed upon a cooking surface, which can be, but is not limited to, a solid piece of material or a wire grate made of a number of parallel metal rods fastened together. A heat source such as electricity, gas or charcoal is ignited below the cooking surface and the heat source cooks the hamburger. In the case of the wire grate, the energy of the heat source is transferred to the hamburger more efficiently through the parallel metal rods than through the heat source itself. Thus, the hamburger, when cooked, is darken in the places where it has rested upon the parallel metal rods. Using this principle, the present invention provides a reverse-image design element either flush with the parallel rods or slightly raised from the cooking surface such that the foodstuff rests upon the pattern while cooking and, when the hamburger or other food stuff is finished cooking, an image of the design element is displayed upon the hamburger.
By means of the present invention, a restaurant can print a logo or message upon a steak, hamburger or other food product. For example, a Chinese restaurant can place a fortune cookie-like saying upon an eggplant or egg roll and a consumer can place a family crest upon a grilled cheese sandwich. The present invention enables, among other things, a business owner to display a trademark on a food product for promotional purposes, a parent to place a cartoon character on a child's meal to encourage the child to eat the meal, and a stadium concessionaire can place a local sport team's logo on a hamburger or hot dog. Particular types of food may even have warning labels imprinted, e.g. “This hamburger may contain more than the Food and Drug Administration recommended daily allowance of fat.”
The invention can be better understood with reference to the following figures. The components in the figures are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention. Moreover, in the figures, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the different views.
Turning now to the figures,
Incorporated into inner rim 109 is an exemplary commercial symbol 107, in this case, the phrase “EAT AT JOE'S.” It should be noted that symbol 107 is a reverse image so that markings it creates on food stuffs can be easily read. Symbol 107 is made of the same or similar type of material as wires 105, 107, 111 and 113 and rims 101 and 109. Symbol 107 is welded or otherwise affixed to any wires 111 which extend through inner rim 109. In addition, symbol 107 is either at the same level as wires 105, 107, 111 and 113 or slightly raised so that the foodstuff, when placed upon the grate 100, rests upon symbol 107.
Of course, symbol 107 may be made of any suitable material appropriate for a cooking surface, as can wires 105, 107, 111 and 113. In addition, a wide variety of words, symbols, logos, and designs can be incorporated in place of “EAT AT JOE'S” symbol 107. For example, a sport team's logo, a cartoon character or a trademark can be used in the claimed subject matter. Inner rim 109 could also be eliminated and a symbol such as symbol 107 can be simply incorporated into a standard cooking grate, which should be familiar to those with experience with outdoor-type grills. It is also not necessary for cooking grate 100 to be oval or circular or for grate 100 to be for an outdoor-type grill, for example, the claimed subject matter can be incorporated into a standard rectangular grate found on a kitchen stove top or a kitchen oven.
When a foodstuff is placed upon grate 100, positioned over symbol 107 and a heating source is applied to grate 100 and the food stuff, an image of symbol 107 is created on the foodstuff. For example, a steak (not shown) prepared on grate 100 in the proper position, i.e. on top of symbol 107, would, when cooked, display the phrase “EAT AT JOE'S.”
In this example, a cook can position four hamburgers (not shown) on grate 200, each over one of design elements 207 and, when the burgers are cooked, each would have a design of a light bulb imprinted upon their surface.
When a foodstuff (not shown) such as a hamburger or steak is placed upon cooking surface 300, the foodstuff rests upon ridges 303 and 305 and design element 309. A heat source (not shown) then cooks the foodstuff and, in the process, causes a reverse image of design element 309 to be imprinted upon the foodstuff.
While various embodiments of the application have been described, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that many more embodiments and implementations are possible that are within the scope of this invention. Accordingly, the invention is not to be restricted except in light of the attached claims and their equivalents.
