None.
The presently disclosed subject matter is directed to an insert and more specifically to a steamer insert.
Tamales are a delicious food with a long history steeped in tradition. While these corn dough and meat delights wrapped in a corn husk are often ordered in a restaurant—it is not uncommon for the tamales to be made at home. Given the nature of how a tamale is made however sometimes makes them a difficult food to keep warm without over cooking. Being traditionally steamed cooked—the tamales may prove difficult for many home chefs who may add too much water to the steaming process resulting in lengthy cook times and soaked tamales.
The steamer insert overcomes this problem by permitting a user to keep the tamales out of and above a given water source while in a steamer. The steamer insert also permits a user to add additional water to the steamer without needlessly soaking the tamales. As a result, the steamer insert provides a solution to over steamed/watered tamales in a manner that is quick, easy and cost effective.
The principles of the present invention provide for a steamer insert which comprises a support surface having a flat surface with an outer ridge around the perimeter of the support surface, and a top. The steamer insert also comprises a center cylinder having a base coupled to the support surface, a cylinder ridge, a cylinder rim, and a hole. The center cylinder is a partial cone having tapered edges that narrow as the center cylinder extends orthogonally away from the support surface. The steamer insert also comprises a plurality of elevator legs which have at least three extension pieces of metal to elevate the support surface above a plurality of heated water in a container.
The steamer insert may also comprise three rings of apertures which concentrically surround the center cylinder. The three rings of apertures may include a ring of outer steam apertures, a ring of middle steam apertures, and a ring of inner steam apertures. The support surface may be circular and may be made of metal. The cylinder ridge may surround the outer surface of the cylinder rim and may act as a support for receiving an optional graduated cylinder extension piece. The center cylinder may have a generally cylindrical protrusion. The hole may receive one or more refills of water therein and may allow the one or more refills of water to funnel through the center cylinder beneath the steamer insert device. The center cylinder may be hollow to serve as a reverse funnel for guiding a plurality of poured fluids from the hole beneath the steamer insert device. Food items may be stacked upright and are inwardly facing against the center cylinder. The elevator legs may allow steam from the heated water to rise up through the apertures in the outer steam apertures, in the middle steam apertures, and in the inner steam apertures to heat and cook a food item resting on the support surface.
The center cylinder may have a base two inches in width and four inches in height. The elevator legs may be spaced out in an equidistant manner on a bottom portion of the support surface. The elevator legs may be made of a tubular wire or a metal. The elevator legs may include a flattened inner edge. The elevator legs may have at least three extension pieces of generally “V”-shaped metal. The steamer insert device may have a base eleven inches in length.
The advantages and features of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following more detailed description and claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like elements are identified with like symbols, and in which:
The best mode for carrying out the invention is presented in terms of its preferred embodiment, herein depicted within
The terms “a” and “an” herein do not denote a limitation of quantity, but rather denote the presence of at least one (1) of the referenced items.
Referring now to
Referring next to
Referring now to
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Referring next to
The preferred embodiment of the present invention can be utilized by the common user in a simple and effortless manner with little or no training. It is envisioned that the steamer insert device 100 would be constructed in general accordance with
After procurement and prior to utilization, the steamer insert device 100 would be placed within a cooking pot. The cooking pot may then be filled with water for producing steam beneath and through the device 100. Food items such as tamales or other steamable items may then be stacked upright and inwardly facing against the center cylinder 120. Heat may be applied to the pot to produce boiling water below the steamer insert device 100. Periodically, a user may need to inspect the food items and then add additional water within the hole 124 of the center cylinder 120 of the device 100. The process may then be repeated as necessary or until the food items have been cooked to specification.
The foregoing descriptions of specific embodiments of the present invention have been presented for purposes of illustration and description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed, and obviously many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical application, to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.
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5575198 | Lowery | Nov 1996 | A |
5816139 | Scorta Paci | Oct 1998 | A |
6167799 | Macias | Jan 2001 | B1 |
9445685 | Diaz | Sep 2016 | B1 |
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20060254431 | Mariano et al. | Nov 2006 | A1 |
20120067902 | Maffei | Mar 2012 | A1 |
20120282385 | Levy et al. | Nov 2012 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
201977541 | Sep 2011 | CN |
106691209 | Jun 2017 | CN |
107198457 | Sep 2017 | CN |
107692851 | Feb 2018 | CN |
109549497 | Apr 2019 | CN |
200436173 | Jun 2007 | KR |
20110009712 | Oct 2011 | KR |
101142320 | May 2012 | KR |
Entry |
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Machine translation of CN 107198457 A performed on Jun. 27, 2022, Yang (Year: 2017). |
Machine translation of KR 20110009712 U performed on Jun. 27, 2022, Lee (Year: 2011). |
Machine translation of CN 106691209 A performed on Jun. 27, 2022, Yang et al. (Year: 2017). |
Machine translation of CN 201977541 U performed on Jun. 28, 2022, Yuan (Year: 2011). |
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Machine translation of KR 200436173 Y1 performed on Oct. 12, 2022, Park (Year: 2007). |
Machine translation of CN 107692851 A performed on Oct. 13, 2022, Chen et al. (Year: 2018). |
Machine translation of KR 101142320 B1 performed on Oct. 13, 2022, Song (Year: 2012). |
Machine translation of CN 109549497 A performed on May 31, 2023, Yan (Year: 2019). |
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