FR2743284A1 - Plate with cover to cook or heat food - Google Patents

Abstract

The plate (1) is made in semi-rigid material and is covered with a deformable hermetic material (2). This fits round the food (5) on the plate and is fixed to the rim of the plate by bonding. The cover is closed by a cord (6) round its upper opening. The plate is made of cardboard and the cover is made of aluminium foil or greaseproof paper. A tube (7), with a valve, in top of the cover allows a needle to be inserted into the food during cooking.

Description

 The present invention relates to a papillote plate intended for cooking, heating or for the presentation of food products, such as vegetables, meats, poultry, fish, cheeses or fruits.

 It will find its application in the field of catering, hotels or in supermarkets for individuals.

 There are many methods of cooking food, and one can cite in particular baking in the oven (such as roast) or steaming (for example, fish or vegetables).

 It has been known for many years to use papillotes for baking in an oven.

 The foil is a buttered or oiled paper wrapping the food to be cooked. In practice, a sheet of parchment paper or aluminum, more or less large depending on the size of the product to be cooked, is used. We place the fish or the meat with spices and then fold the sheet in order to completely surround the product. We also tighten the sides to form an interior volume and trap the product.

 The product is roughly wrapped and you cannot properly control the volume of air between the foil and the surface of the product to be cooked; it is therefore difficult to determine the cooking time and for identical foods cooked at the same time in an oven, there may be significant differences in cooking time depending on whether the product is more or less tightly packed in the foil more or less less airtight.

 In addition, if the foil is not tightly sealed, the product loses its vapor, therefore its taste and risks drying out. The quality of the preparation is less good and the cooking takes longer.

 If you want to check the cooking condition, you must open the foil. If the product is not sufficiently cooked, it is very difficult to close the foil correctly because the sheet of paper is often torn. You also lose time to continue cooking because all the steam that had accumulated in the foil escapes when you open the sheet and if you want to continue cooking, you have to heat it longer.

 Taking into account that the thickness of the paper is not very important, the cooking of the product is more delicate, even sometimes irregular. Indeed, the underside, in contact with the oven plate, may burn while the top is not sufficiently cooked.

 When the product is cooked, it must be removed from the foil to present it on a plate before consuming it. If the product is a little overcooked, it will be very delicate to pass it on a plate without damaging it, which will prevent a correct presentation of the meat or fish. If the product is left in the foil, its consumption will be less pleasant and less practical with the risk of paper scraps in the preparation, during its cutting.

 The present invention aims to remedy these drawbacks and one of the first objects of the papillote plate according to the present invention is to allow regular and controllable cooking by the steam given off by the product itself, which makes it possible to keep the qualities natural product.

 Another object of the papillote plate according to the invention is to offer reliable cooking because the air volume of the papillote is controlled and determined in advance.

 Another advantage of the papillote plate according to the invention is that the cooking is more regular and repetitive and it can be reduced because the cooking volume is reduced without risking pressing the sheet on the product.

 Another advantage of the foil dish according to the invention is to provide a semi-rigid base on which the cooked product will be consumed directly, thus allowing a pleasant presentation of the product and saving time.

 Another object of the foil plate according to the invention is to provide for use in a traditional oven, in a microwave oven or even on a barbecue.

 Other objects and advantages of the present invention will appear during the description which follows which is however given only for information and which is not intended to limit it.

To this end, the invention relates to a papillote plate intended for cooking, heating or for the presentation of food products, such as vegetables, meats, poultry, fish, cheeses, fruits, characterized in that it comprises - a bottom in a semi-rigid material constituting
the plate, - a deformable hermetic material, capable of marrying the
food product and cover the bottom to delineate
a cooking volume, - a closure of the hermetic material which allows
control the cooking volume and which authorizes the
reopening and closing the foil during the
cooking, to achieve regular and controllable cooking.

The invention will be better understood on reading the following description, accompanied by the appended drawings among which
FIG. 1 is a sectional view of the foil dish according to the invention, before its use,
FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the foil dish according to the invention, during its use,
Figure 3 is a perspective view of the foil dish according to the invention in use.

 The subject of the present invention is a papillote plate intended for cooking, heating or for the presentation of food products, such as vegetables, meats, poultry, fish, cheeses or fruits. It will find its application in the field of catering, hotels or in supermarkets for individuals.

Figure 1 illustrates the foil plate according to the invention, which is characterized by the combination of the following elements - a base (1) in a semi-rigid material constituting a
plate, - a deformable hermetic material (2), - a closure (3) of the hermetic material (2).

 Using the foil dish according to the invention is very easy. The food product to be cooked or heated is placed on the bottom (1), flavorings, condiments, lemon or the like are added to it according to taste and the product to be cooked.

 I1 must then cover the product to be cooked with the airtight material (2). This consists of either aluminum foil or parchment paper for use in a traditional oven, or parchment paper for use in a microwave oven. This hermetic material (2) is secured to the bottom (1) by gluing or folding, but other means within the reach of ordinary skill in the art could also be envisaged.

 The hermetic material (2) is easily crumpled in order to cover the food product. It is folded in order to create a reduced volume of air around the product to be cooked, as shown in Figure 2.

 The material (2) is a flexible and crumpled material which makes it possible to delimit the volume of air V between the bottom (1) and the material (2).

 This volume V is occupied by the product itself (5) and by a volume (4) located between the product (5) and the material (2). This volume (4) is occupied by air in which the vapors and aromas of the cooking can be concentrated to improve the quality of the product and achieve more natural cooking.

 The control of this air volume (4) will be well achieved by bringing the material (2) closer to the product (5), for example by low pressures of the hand or of another tool.

 This volume (4) is also controlled by action on the closure (3) which will bring the material (2) closer to the bottom (1).

 This volume of air (4) around the food product (5) is reduced, while ensuring that the hermetic material (2) is not in contact with the product (5). Indeed, the volume allows a more regular and faster cooking and therefore a better culinary preparation.

 This material is practically sealed or airtight, it allows to contain around the product (5) steam heated during cooking and released by the product itself. This steam ensures cooking in a natural atmosphere with aromatics.

 To close the foil, use a closure provided at the upper end of the airtight material. Advantageously, this closure may consist of a chimney (3) in which a cord (6) is engaged, but other equivalent means may be used without departing from the scope of the present invention.

 By tightening the chimney (3) by the cord (6), the air volume (4) is formed and controlled according to the product to be cooked. Given that this volume (4) is known, it is possible to determine the cooking time; it will thus be possible to draw up a table of cooking times as a function of the product to be cooked (fish, meat, poultry, vegetable, cheese or fruit) and as a function of the weight of this product.

 It is therefore seen that the use of the foil plate according to the present invention is easy because one can pull on the cord to crumple the airtight paper which thus takes a good position for cooking.

 To obtain a reduced air volume (4), different dimensions of the foil plate will be provided depending on the food product and the height h of the airtight material (2) will be adapted to the product (5).

 It will thus be possible to use several kinds of foils whose dimensions will be different both by the height of the hermetic material (2) and by the shape and size of the bottom (1). For hot starters (tomatoes, ...), cheeses (goat cheese, maroille, ...) or desserts (apple papillote with brown sugar, ...), the height h of the material (2) will be reduced to a few centimeters.

 In the case of use for fish, poultry or meat, the height h may be a few tens of centimeters. We could even provide even larger dimensions if the foil is intended to cook large pieces, such as a large fish such as a tuna for example. This very large papillote plate will remain rather intended for catering professionals because the cooking is long.

 The bottom (1) constituting the plate may have different dimensions and shapes; we can cite for example a round shape, a rectangular shape or an oval shape. This last oval shape will however have priority because it more often corresponds to the shape of the food to be cooked; in the case of smaller papillotes, it will be easier to choose the round shape. The combination of the heights of the airtight paper (2) and the shapes of the bottom (1) is however not limited to what has just been described.

 According to the present invention, there is provided at the closure system of the foil, a straw (7), as shown in Figure 1. This straw (7) allows the introduction of a needle (8) during cooking, as shown in Figure 2.

 Advantageously, the straw (7) has an internal valve, which opens when the needle is inserted but which remains closed during cooking, to avoid loss of steam.

 This needle or thermal probe is used to check the progress of cooking without having to open the foil as was the case with known foils. This avoids the escape of all the steam, which saves time if the cooking is not finished since it would then be necessary to continue cooking for a longer period until the complete volume of steam is obtained.

 If, however, it is desired to fully open the foil while the cooking is not finished, the hermetic material (2) will not be torn since it will be opened via the cord (6) and it will thus be possible to close it properly to continue cooking.

 When the product (5) is cooked, the foil is opened easily and sufficiently to allow a presentation of the product. It is also possible to provide a tongue system (9) which will make it possible to separate the hermetic material (2) from the bottom (1). We will thus put on the table only the bottom (1) on which will be presented fish, meat, poultry or other.

 The bottom (1) is semi-rigid to allow a good presentation of the product (5) and it will be strong enough to authorize the use of the knife and the fork. It could for example be made of heat resistant cardboard paper.

 With the papillote plate according to the present invention, it is therefore very easy to go from the oven to the table with a saving of time, which avoids the culinary preparation from cooling and having the certainty that the cooked product will be well presented since there is no need to pass it from the foil on a plate before putting it on the table.

 The papillote plate according to the present invention can also be used for the sale of prepared or cooked fresh or frozen meals. In this case, the consumer, who will have bought his dish prepared in a large area, can add to his taste spices, condiments, lemon, etc., before cooking or simply reheat according to the instructions . He will use the traditional oven or the microwave oven according to the instructions. In this case of parchment paper, perforations will have been provided on the paper because the excess steam released by cooking must be able to escape to avoid the phenomenon of bursting.

 Another possibility for cooking food is the barbecue, which is very attractive, especially in good weather.

In this case, the papillote plate is in more direct contact with the heat. Indeed, the grid on which the foil rests is very close to the embers used for cooking. For such use, the bottom (1) of the foil plate according to the invention must be made of a more resistant material than cardboard paper and it can be provided in metal.

 Another possibility of cooking is the use of steam bases. In this case, the bottom (1) of the foil must have perforations to allow the introduction directly inside the volume V of the vapor emitted by the base.

 To prevent steam from escaping, these perforations must be fitted with a non-return valve.

 The use of such a heating system saves time for cooking since a steam jet is injected into the foil, which eliminates the time for obtaining steam. Cooking is therefore practically immediate, which will be especially interesting in catering to allow customers to be served very quickly.

 Naturally, other implementations of the present invention, within the reach of those skilled in the art, could also be envisaged without departing from the scope thereof.

Claims (10)

 1. Papillote plate intended for cooking, heating or for the presentation of food products, such as vegetables, meats, poultry, fish, cheeses, fruits, characterized in that it comprises - a base (1) in a material semi-rigid constituent  the plate, - a deformable hermetic material (2), susceptible  to marry the food product (5) and cover the  bottom (1) to define a cooking volume (4), - a closure (3) of the hermetic material (2) which allows  control the cooking volume (4) and which authorizes the  reopening and closing the foil during the  cooking, to achieve regular and controllable cooking.  2. Papillote plate intended for cooking, heating and presentation of food products, such as vegetables, meats, poultry, fish, cheeses, fruits, according to claim 1, characterized in that the covering of the bottom (1) by the hermetic material (2) is made by folding.  3. Papillote plate for cooking, heating and presentation of food products, such as vegetables, meat, poultry, fish, cheese, fruit, according to claim 1, characterized in that the covering of the bottom (1) by the hermetic material (2) is done by gluing.  4. Papillote plate intended for cooking, heating and presentation of food products, such as vegetables, meats, poultry, fish, cheeses, fruits, according to claim 1, characterized in that the bottom (1) constituting l 'plate is made of cardboard paper.  5. Papillote plate intended for cooking, heating and presentation of food products, such as vegetables, meat, poultry, fish, cheese, fruit, according to claim 1, characterized in that the hermetic material (2) is made of aluminum foil for use in traditional ovens.  6. Papillote plate intended for cooking, heating and presentation of food products, such as vegetables, meats, poultry, fish, cheese, fruits, according to claim 1, characterized in that the hermetic material (2) is consisting of perforated parchment paper for use in microwave ovens.  7. Papillote plate intended for cooking, heating and presentation of food products, such as vegetables, meats, poultry, fish, cheeses, fruits, according to claim 1, characterized in that the closure of the hermetic material (2 ) is produced by a chimney (3) in which a cord (6) is engaged.  8. Papillote plate intended for cooking, heating and presentation of food products, such as vegetables, meats, poultry, fish, cheeses, fruits, according to claim 1, characterized in that the closure of the hermetic material (2 ) allows the passage of a cooking control needle (7).  9. Papillote plate intended for cooking, heating and presentation of food products, such as vegetables, meats, poultry, fish, cheeses, fruits, according to claim 1, characterized in that the height h of the hermetic material ( 2) is adapted to the product (5).  10. Papillote plate intended for cooking, heating and presentation of food products, such as vegetables, meats, poultry, fish, cheeses, fruits, according to claim 1, characterized in that the bottom constituting the plate is made of metal for use on barbecue.