Electric heating – Microwave heating – Cookware
Patent
1996-05-21
1997-05-20
Leung, Philip H.
Electric heating
Microwave heating
Cookware
219735, 219754, 219763, 99DIG14, 426243, H05B 680, A47J 3634
Patent
active
056309600
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to the microwave heating or cooking of food and, in particular, to an apparatus that can be used in conjunction with a conventional microwave oven to improve the quality of food cooked therein.
BACKGROUND ART
It is a common problem that when some pre-baked foods, such as pastries, battered fish and pizzas which have a high moisture content, are heated or cooked in a microwave oven, the resulting product frequently has a soggy or soupy consistency that is generally found unpalatable.
In order to improve its palatability, the soggy product is often reheated in the same microwave oven or placed in a conventional electric heating oven to evaporate the excess moisture therefrom. Although this may remove some of the moisture from the product, it may also have the undesired affect of burning parts of the food, such as the edges of a pastry, and is wasteful of energy.
It has been found that most of the moisture in soggy microwaved foods accumulates at the bottom of the food nearest the plate upon which the food sits. This has been attributed to poor or ineffective air circulation in the region between the food and the microwave plate, which is thought to create a sink for the concentration of moisture exited during microwave energization of the water molecules in the food.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to improve the circulation of air around rood being heated or cooked in a microwave oven so as to avoid the shortcomings of the prior art.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the invention there is provided an apparatus for allowing air to circulate around food being heated in a microwave oven, said apparatus comprising a base adapted to be supported on a rotating turntable of the microwave oven, and a plurality of spaced apart support means extending upwardly from the base for supporting the food in spaced relation to the base, the arrangement being such that during microwave heating, air circulates in the space around the support means between the food and base.
In a preferred form of the invention, the base includes a plurality of slots formed therethrough that are adapted to allow air to flow from beneath the base to the space around the support means.
Preferably, the base includes air flow directional means extending downwardly from the base and adapted to be supported on the said turntable, said air flow directional means being adapted to direct air to flow from beneath the base to the space around the support means.
It is also preferred that the air flow directional means comprises a plurality of spaced apart elongated members that are arranged in such a way that they can impel and direct air to the space around the support means when the turntable is rotating in either a clockwise or anticlockwise direction.
The base is preferably circular in shape and the plurality o spaced apart food support means may have a cylindrical shape.
The present invention may also include vented lid means adapted to be supported concentrically on the base for covering the food.
Preferably, the slots in the base are distributed substantially evenly in the base.
It is further preferred that the food support means are distributed substantially evenly over the base.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In order that the invention may be more readily understood and put into practical effect, reference will be made to the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a pastry being heated on a conventional microwave oven turntable plate,
FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of an apparatus according to a first preferred embodiment of the invention used to support a pastry being heated in a microwave oven,
FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of an apparatus according to a second preferred embodiment of the invention used to support a pastry being heated in a microwave oven,
FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of an apparatus according to a third preferred embodiment of the invention used to support a pastry being heated in a m
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