Foods and beverages: apparatus – Cooking – With material pressing means
Reexamination Certificate
1999-08-05
2001-06-05
Cano, Milton (Department: 1761)
Foods and beverages: apparatus
Cooking
With material pressing means
C099S353000, C099S439000, C425S127000, C426S523000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06240836
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to an apparatus and method of molding fluid foods by compression and baking them under pressure. More particularly, the invention involves an aluminum foil mold which is filled with a fluid food that is compressed and baked under pressure into an edible coherent shape.
In recent years. U.S. Pat. No. 4,693,900 to Molinari and U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,283,071 and 5,411,752 to Taylor et al have proposed the formation of coherent products composed of cooked spaghetti and a binding agent. The methods disclosed in these patents are not suited for rapid production of coherent food products in a large-scale operation. The formation of shaped food products from rice and other cereal grains is illustrated in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,711,295; 3,961,087 and 5,137,745 to Zukerman, but none of these patents suggest any aspect of this invention.
Accordingly, a principal object of the invention is to provide an apparatus and method for molding and baking fluid food under pressure into edible unified shapes.
Another important object is to provide an aluminum foil mold in which fluid food is converted into a desired shaped product, and which serves to protect the shaped food product from handling and shipping damage.
A further object is to provide apparatus that can be automated with minimum mechanical movements.
These and other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the description which follows.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with this invention, the primary mold is preformed aluminum foil, preferably having a multiplicity of needle punctures that act as vents for volatiles and steam generated during the baking of the fluid food under compression in the foil mold. A secondary or back-up mold having a recess or cavity that nests with the foil mold serves to prevent distortion of the foil mold during compression of the food therein and to facilitate the transfer of heat to the foil mold and its contained food. The back-up mold which is formed of rigid metal, preferably aluminum, is heated by gas flames beneath the mold, or by steam or hot liquid flowing through coils attached to the mold, or by electrical heaters attached to the mold. Electrical heaters are preferred because of structural simplicity and easy temperature control.
With the preformed aluminum foil mold placed in the cavity of the rigid back-up mold and nested therein, a measured quantity of the chosen fluid food that will fill the foil mold is deposited therein, and a mold top is pressed down against the back-up mold so that the foil mold and its food content are completely enclosed. Like the back-up mold, the mold top is also heated. Thus, with the mold top pressed against the back-up mold, heat is rapidly transmitted to both the top and bottom of the compressed food in the foil mold. Fluid food may be deposited in the foil mold before or after it is nested in the back-up mold.
Temperatures in the range of about 300° F. to 500° F. are usually chosen, depending on the food to be baked. At such temperatures and with direct contact of the food with hot metal surfaces, the generation of steam and volatiles is very rapid. To prevent the build-up of troublesome gas pressure, the mold top is permitted to pop up slightly for several successive instants thereby venting gases several times during the baking period. A needle-punctured foil mold coupled with a back-up mold that has holes therethrough provides continuous, gentle venting of gases during the baking period.
A basic and essential element of this invention is the preformed, aluminum foil mold that not only makes it possible to speed up the molding and baking of fluid food into a unified, shaped product but also protects the shaped product against damage from handling and shipping. Aluminum foil, as used herein, means aluminum sheet in the gauges commonly used to make pie pans found with boxed pies sold in supermarkets. Like such pie pans, the aluminum foil mold of this invention is cheap enough to be discarded when it is no longer needed. Tenneco Packaging of Lake Forest, Illinois, offers aluminum foil preforms with “quilted bottoms” and tiny perforations which are illustrative of a preferred type of foil mold used pursuant to this invention.
The foil mold is always concave, usually pan-like but its bottom need not be flat. In fact, a contoured bottom of the foil mold has been designed for producing pizza shells with a thickened rim in the upside-down position. Thus, when such a pizza shell has been baked, the foil mold is inverted so that the pizza shell falls out and the flat face of the baked shell becomes its bottom with the thickened rim of the shell pointing upward. The mold top usually has a flat face for compressing the fluid food within the foil mold, when the mold top is pressed against the back-up mold. However, the face of the mold top may be contoured concavely or convexly to form a baked food product having a decorative pattern.
In most cases, the aluminum foil mold used in this invention is formed with an outward flange which stabilizes the shape of the foil mold and which is tightly held between the back-up mold and the mold top during the baking period. The usual, crimped flange of an aluminum foil mold allows the escape of gases from the compressed food undergoing baking in the closed mold. The crimped flange has tiny, radial creases through which the gases leak out of the hot mold. The flange of the foil mold may have a “curl” edge. In such case, the back-up mold and/or the mold top will have a groove in which the “curl” fits while the mold top is pressed against the back-up mold. The back-up mold and mold top are most frequently made of aluminum because of reasonable cost and good thermal conductivity. Copper is a good alternative metal.
The term, fluid food, is used herein to embrace loose granular food particles like boxed stuffing sold in supermarkets, or pieces of cooked pasta such as linguini admixed with an aqueous binding agent, or a batter that may contain chopped nuts or whole grains, or plastic food like mashed potatoes or dough. Pieces of food introduced in the mold, such as cut linguini, preferably have a length not exceeding about 3 inches. In short, fluid food means any food ingredients that are fluent, flowable or deformable and therefore moldable under compression.
The mold top which is alternately pressed down against the back-up mold and lifted away therefrom, can be so moved by a vertically acting hydraulic or pneumatic piston, the latter being usually preferred. The deposition of a measured quantity of fluid food in the foil mold while the mold top is lifted can be performed manually or by any known metering device that mechanically moves between the raised mold top and foil mold and quickly moves away after depositing the fluid food in the foil mold. Known timing devices are available to provide automatic movement of the mold top and the metering device to fill the foil mold in a desired sequence repetitively.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3669605 (1972-06-01), Reilly
patent: 3711295 (1973-01-01), Zukerman
patent: 3961087 (1976-06-01), Zukerman
patent: 4511324 (1985-04-01), Bauer
patent: 4693900 (1987-09-01), Molinari
patent: 4973240 (1990-11-01), Reilly
patent: 5137745 (1992-08-01), Zukerman et al.
patent: 5154115 (1992-10-01), Kian
patent: 5376395 (1994-12-01), Pels
patent: 5960705 (1999-10-01), D'Alterio et al.
patent: 6026737 (2000-02-01), D'Alterio et al.
Cano Milton
Dauerman Sherry A.
Garbo Paul W.
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