Patent Application
20110033582
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This device is designed to easily allow a casual and unsophisticated end-user, with access to a microwave oven, to remove the grease content of a food item by microwave cooking, for example, by converting pepperoni slices into pepperoni chips. A pepperoni chip is a novel food item created from a thin (approximately 1 mm thick) slice of pepperoni. The pepperoni slice is cooked in a microwave oven long enough to drive off the grease, leaving the meat remainder in a form that is similar in texture and form to a potato chip. The term “pepperoni” is used here for convenience, however a variety of food products can be incorporated into the invention. Just a few include the following: salami, SPAM®, pastrami, bologna, spam, mortadella, prosciutto, liverwurst, Canadian bacon, testa, pancetta, bresaola, sopressata and coppa.
Without this device, the end consumer faces three types of problems in turning pepperoni slices into pepperoni chips. First, they face the inconvenience of purchasing food items (e.g., pepperoni or salami slices) in an amount not financially efficient for producing chips, bringing those food items home, finding some type of cooking device, and finally, determining the optimal layout of food items on their chosen cooking device. Second, the food items reach temperatures too high for easy handling. Third, the grease driven off by cooking the food items can make a mess both in the microwave oven and also in the chosen cooking device. This device solves all three of these problems, with the added convenience of disposability after a single use.
The device is comprised of three different parts, two of which are used twice in each distinct device. (See attached figure.) One distinct part of the device is an absorbent layer that collects and holds the liquefied grease driven from the food items as they reach high temperatures inside the running microwave oven. The second distinct part of the device is a protective containment member that keeps the food items and the grease away from the end-user until the cooking is completed and the cooked food items are allowed to cool. The containment member may or may not be perforated to release steam during the cooking process, as may or may not be appropriate for the food item to be cooked within the device. The third part of the device is a set of pre-loaded food items such as, but not limited to, pepperoni or salami, laid out in a pattern that optimally uses the available space inside the device.
Before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.
As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
The device is comprised of three different parts, two of which are used twice in each distinct device. (See attached figures.) The configuration of the three parts is thus: a first containment member 1 is a layer of a material, possibly circular but possibly formed in other geometric shapes, that is transparent to microwave radiation, but that is inexpensive to produce (as the entire device is disposable), such as cardstock or cardboard. This first containment member 1 has a small raised lip around its perimeter so as to contain the absorbent layer and the food items to be cooked. The size of the containment member is set to fit into a common microwave oven. The next physical level of the device is a first absorbent layer 2 of a size just slightly smaller than the first containment member 1 to which it is attached, so that it fits within the lip of that containment member. The next physical level of the device is a set of optimally-arranged food items 3, preloaded during manufacture of the device and prior to sale to the end-consumer. The next physical level is a second absorbent layer 4 of the same size as the first absorbent layer 2, and sized so as to fit into a second containment member 5. The next (and final) physical level is a second containment member 5, preferably of a size identical to that of the first containment member 1, also with a raised lip around its perimeter.
The first containment member 1 is attached to the second containment member 5 in a manner that the two may be easily separated by the end-consumer, such as with a “tear-away” cardboard strip or other such process or mechanism. With this configuration, there is no “top” or “bottom” to the device; the device can be placed in a microwave oven with either side up. When cooking is complete, the end-user removes the entire device from the microwave oven, separates one combination of containment member and absorbent layer from the other combination of containment member and absorbent layer. The cooked food items with grease previously driven off are thereby exposed on whichever combination of containment member and absorbent layer is at that time, typically the side facing up. The cooked food items can then be allowed to cool to a temperature most favored by the end-consumer. Having had the cooked food items removed, the cooking device is then disposed of.
This device can also be used to safely remove the grease from any other chosen food item such as other prepared meats, as well as from other sliced food items such as fruit. There are, of course, additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
Further, the purpose of the foregoing abstract is to enable the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the public generally, and especially the scientists, engineers and practitioners in the art who are not familiar with patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from a cursory inspection the nature and essence of the technical disclosure of the application. The abstract is neither intended to define the invention of the application, which is measured by the claims, nor is it intended to be limiting as to the scope of the invention in any way.
