WO2016005713A1 - Method for cooking of foodstuffs at low pressure, and marmite-style cooking receptacle or similar for implementation thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

Method for cooking foodstuffs at low pressure, which comprises depositing the foodstuffs (A) to be cooked in a receptacle (2) of a cooking container (1), closing the receptacle (2), mechanically creating a low pressure inside the closed receptacle (2), then heating the closed receptacle (2) at a constant temperature less than or equal to 60°C, preferably 55°C, while maintaining a low pressure inside the closed receptacle (2), and cooking the foodstuffs in their own moisture. The cooking container (1) comprises a receptacle part (2) for receiving the foodstuffs (A) to be cooked, made of materials which are capable of being exposed to a heat source, and a closure means (3) of the receptacle part (2) in a sealed manner, with or without a seal (4), and further comprising means (30) for creation of a low pressure inside the receptacle part (2) which is closed in a sealed manner by the closure means (3) as well as means for detection and identification of a pressure rise (33), and means (31) for controlling the interior temperature.

Description

 Process for vacuum cooking food, and cooking vessel type cooking pot or the like for its implementation

The present invention is concerned with a vacuum cooking process food, and a cooking vessel, type of kettle or the like to implement this method.

 Many cooking processes are known, used for some in order to save time, and for others for taste purposes.

 The current trend is more focused on preserving the flavors and structure of foods, which involves low-temperature cooking without pressure, which is detrimental to speed.

 Indeed, in order to save time, it is often cooked with pressure cooker, resulting in the destructuring of foods that do not keep their shape, their color and even less their flavor diluted by liquids. The vitamins are also deteriorated, the trace elements dissonated or made unassimilable, the enzymes important for the digestion also destroyed by the too high temperature.

 The simmering, often carried out at a temperature above 80 ° C, only partially overcomes these disadvantages, by cons it is slower and. requires increased monitoring. Note that some pressure cookers can overcome the problem of monitoring but not cook at a very low temperature, because it would become too long.

 Steaming at low pressure but still at high temperature is not always satisfactory, nor does it preserve the qualities of food because of high temperatures. The tiered system does not preserve the quality and even less the taste of each food except to make very expensive separations, isolating food from each other, which often generates volume constraints.

Another technique, rather reserved for professionals, used by great cooks, and sometimes in industry, consists in packing the food under vacuum in a plastic bag, then immersing it in a moving water bath. This technique requires special equipment, very expensive and very accurate, to control and maintain a stable temperature of the water bath, such as precision thermoblongers, consisting of a high precision thermal probe, a controller of temperature, an electrical resistance and a pump to stir the water of the water bath. Indeed this technique does not support the temperature changes too easily, caused by the liquid environment.

 Also known is a vacuum cooking method, using a particular utensil, in the sense that it is in the form of a pan, provided with a thick bottom, able to store calories then restored gradually, as well as an edge and a lid of particular design, allowing the creation of a water seal.

 In practice, the pan and its contents are heated, and the energy source is stopped when the temperature reaches 60-70 ° C. The thick bottom ensures the continuity of cooking, while lowering the temperature gradually and creating a very slight depression. The vacuum can only be maintained if the lid is hermetically assembled, which is achieved through a water seal, obtained by rotating the lid on the pan so as to create a trickle of peripheral water. This method has many disadvantages, besides the difficulty of mastering the technique of creating the water seal, the filling rate of the pan must not be less than 75%, if one wants to achieve a depression even minimal, which implies having to have many pots of different sizes to cope with all the scenarios. In addition, the cooking time is lengthened by the decrease in the regular temperature that can not be maintained without loss of the depression.

Furthermore, if you have to lift the lid during cooking, to add spices for example, it is impossible to recreate the seal, except to resume the operation, that is to say put the pan to heat. This system also has the defect of a drop in temperature necessary for the creation of the depression which itself is supposed to accelerate the cooking process, these two phenomena are antagonistic, and never allow a good ratio baking, flavor, and speed of cooking, not to mention the filling constraints and a level of crunch at the end of cooking that does not correspond to all tastes, this system does not present any flexibility.

 It should be noted in this regard that the vacuum cooking process also does not allow to intervene on the composition of the dish during cooking, since the opening is impossible.

 DE 20 2011 002 595 discloses a container and a cooking process having similar characteristics, and therefore the same disadvantages.

 DE 2 116 140 and GB 2 080 143 are also known; steam and vacuum cooking processes in which, after introducing water into the cooking vessel, the latter is closed by means of a lid. A vacuum pump then creates a vacuum within the cooking vessel before it is heated. According to this document, the vapor pressure can be set by action on the vacuum pump or by adjusting the temperature, so that steaming of the food can be carried out at a given temperature, selected between 60 ° C and 100 ° C. Obviously, the addition of water and the temperatures recommended, involve a release of steam, and therefore a rise in pressure prohibiting a vacuum cooking.

 The present invention aims to overcome the aforementioned various disadvantages, by proposing a method of cooking food in depression, which allows them to retain their taste, their colors, their structure and their organoleptic qualities.

The vacuum cooking method of food according to the invention is essentially characterized in that it consists in depositing the food to be cooked in a cooking vessel of the cooking pot or similar type, in closing said cooking vessel, in creating mechanically depression within said closed cooking vessel, and then placing said closed cooking vessel to be heated at a constant temperature not exceeding 80 ° C, while maintaining a depression within said cooking vessel, and to cook them feeds in their own moisture.

 Depression improves cooking speed and temperature exchange through the juices of foods, while preserving all the juices of foods that will cook in their own moisture. Depression allows, in the event of energy cut, to better preserve the temperature and increases the cooking speed in the same way as the pressure while preserving the texture, the molecular architecture, the minerals, the trace elements, and the majority vitamins especially since the food remains safe from the air, so as to reduce oxidation, and the phenomena of digestive leucocytosis. In addition, the depression decreases, or even eliminates, water losses during cooking, thus preserving the initial moisture content without any desiccation and increases the digestibility of the food.

 Note that in the case of dry products, such as not limited to rice and pasta, it is difficult to cook food in their own moisture. Also, it is planned, in these particular cases, to be able to humidify these products.

 According to an additional feature of the process according to the invention, heating is carried out at a temperature lower than or equal to 60 ° 0, preferably 55 ° C.

 Note that it is of course possible to cook according to the invention at higher temperatures, up to 80 ° C, in order to save cooking time, which may however require monitoring the level of the depression, and possibly maintain it to counterbalance any gas releases.

This cooking process makes it possible to preserve as much as possible the nutritional, digestive and organoleptic values of the raw material. It improves the speed of cooking and its quality, since the food cooked in its own juice. This vacuum cooking process also has the advantage of being economical cooking because it requires very little energy because of the low temperature required, and also because of the created depression, considerably limiting gas exchanges with the outside, and eliminating any evaporation.

 It should also be noted that it is not excluded to allow the cooking temperature to decrease according to the calorie requirements imposed at the end of the cycle or according to the structure of the food.

 The present invention also relates to a cooking vessel, cooking pot or the like, for carrying out the method, this cooking vessel comprises on the one hand a receptacle portion for receiving the food to be cooked, made of a few materials that are able to be exposed to a heat source, and secondly, a sealing means sealingly, with or without a seal, said receptacle portion, and it is characterized in that it further comprises means for creating a depression inside said receptacle portion sealingly closed by said closure means, as well as means for detecting and identifying a rise in pressure, and means for controlling the indoor temperature.

 According to an additional feature of the cooking vessel type cooking pot or the like according to the invention, the means for creating a depression consist of mechanical means of the air pump type.

 According to another additional characteristic of the apparatus according to the invention, the means for creating a depression consist of mechanical means operating manually or electrically.

 According to another additional feature of the cooking vessel type cooking pot or the like according to the invention, the means for creating a vacuum are incorporated in the sealing means of the receptacle portion.

 According to another additional characteristic of the cooking vessel according to the invention, the means for detecting a rise in pressure consist of a pressure switch.

According to a particular embodiment of the cooking vessel of the cooking pot type or the like according to the invention, it comprises a flexible cover adapted, after closure, to be deformed by pressure to expel part of the air contained.

 It will be noted that in the case of a flexible cover, the means for detecting and identifying a rise in pressure consist of the cover itself, since its deformation with respect to an initial shape reflects a variation of the pressure.

 Advantageously, the pot-type cooking vessel or the like according to the invention comprises a vacuum valve, capable of being activated to allow the opening of said apparatus. Similarly, it also comprises a means for controlling the cooking temperature, which consists of a sensor means.

 The cooking vessel according to the invention can be declined in different presentations, such as a pot, simple pots, pressure cookers, whether for domestic or professional use.

 The cooking vessel according to the invention can be provided in different versions, adapted to different cooking modes, whether, without limitation, by microwave, induction, halogen etc.

 A significant advantage of the cooking vessel according to the invention is that because of the low temperature setting, it is low energy consumption, which allows to consider that it operates autonomously battery.

 Thus, in a particular version, the cooking vessel according to the invention further comprises means for producing heat for cooking, powered by rechargeable batteries.

 The advantages and characteristics of the cooking vessel according to the invention will emerge more clearly from the description which follows and which refers to the appended drawing, which represents a non-limiting embodiment thereof.

In the accompanying drawing the single figure shows a schematic sectional view of an embodiment of a cooking vessel according to the invention. With reference to this figure, one can see a particular embodiment of a cooking vessel according to the invention, which in this case consists of a pot 1.

 This kettle 1 comprises two parts, a receptacle portion 2 and a lid 3. The lid 3 is intended to be secured to the receptacle portion 2 sealingly, the seal being made through a seal 4, integral with the part receptacle 2 or lid 3.

 In this embodiment the lid 3 is equipped with a pump 30, a thermometer 31, a valve 32 and an internal pressure control means such as a pressure switch 33.

 The pump 30 is intended, after introduction of the food to be cooked in the receptacle portion 2 and the positioning, in a sealed manner, the cover 3 on the receptacle portion 2, the creation of a vacuum in the interior space E of the pot 1, while the thermometer 31 controls the cooking temperature so that it is optimal, and that the valve 32 allows air to enter the pot to separate the lid 3 of the part receptacle 2.

 It will be noted that the various accessories, namely, pump 30, thermometer 31, valve 32 and / or pressure switch 33 may firstly be designed according to very varied embodiments, and secondly be positioned in different locations, whether on the lid 3 or on the receptacle part 2.

 The temperature can thus be measured through infrared means for example,

 In the case not shown of a pressure cooker for example, these different accessories can operate or be controlled electrically and / or electronically.

 Note that in more elaborate versions, it may be provided auxiliary heating means, such as resistors, to complete the cooking after the implementation of the method according to the invention, for the purpose of browning or browning food for example.

In the simplified version where the lid is flexible, a support on it makes it possible to deform it and to expel air, while a recovery, even partial, of the shape of the lid before deformation can identify and thus detect an increase in pressure, which can be remedied by exerting a new support on the lid.

Claims

1) Process for cooking in a depression of foods, consisting in depositing the food (A) to be cooked in a cooking vessel (1) of the cooking pot type or the like, in closing said cooking vessel (1), in mechanically creating a depression inside said closed cooking vessel (1), then putting said closed cooking vessel (1) to be heated to a constant temperature not exceeding 80 ° C, while maintaining a depression within said cooking vessel; cooking (1) closed, and to cook food in their own moisture.  2) A method of cooking according to claim 1, characterized in that it is heated to a temperature of less than or equal to 60 ° C, preferably 55 ° C.  3) Cooking vessel (1) type cooking pot or the like to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 or 2, comprising on the one hand a receptacle portion (2) for receiving food (A) to cook, made of any material that is capable of being exposed to a source of heat, and secondly means (3) sealingly closed, with or without seal (4), of said receptacle portion (2 ), characterized in that it further comprises means (30) for creating a depression inside said receptacle portion (2) sealingly closed by said closure means (3), as well as means detecting and identifying a pressure rise (33), and means (31) for controlling the indoor temperature.  4) Cooking vessel (15 type cooking pot or the like according to claim 3, characterized in that the means (3) for creating a depression consist of mechanical means pump type. 5) Cooking vessel (1) cooking pot or the like according to claim 4, characterized in that the means (3) of creating a depression consist of mechanical means operating manually or electrically.  6) Cooking vessel (1) type cooking pot or the like according to any one of claims 3 to 5, characterized in that the means (30) for creating a vacuum are incorporated in the means (3) for closing sealing of the receptacle portion (2).  7) Cooking vessel (1) of the pot or similar type according to any one of claims 3 to 6, characterized in that it comprises at least one vacuum valve (32).  8) Cooking vessel (1) type cooking pot or the like according to any one of claims 3 to 7, characterized in that the means for controlling the inner temperature consist of a sensor means.  9) Cooking vessel (1) of the cooking pot type or the like according to any one of claims 3 to 8, characterized in that it comprises a flexible cover adapted, after closure, to be deformed to expel part of the air content.  10) Cooking vessel (1) type cooking pot or the like according to any one of claims 3 to 9, characterized in that it further comprises means for producing heat for the realization of cooking, powered by rechargeable batteries .