Temperature controlled fluid bath food holding device and method

• US 20110195167A1
• Filed: 04/15/2011
• Published: 08/11/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 04/28/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Gerald A. Sus, Glenn Schackmuth, Henry T. Ewald, John J. Mazurkiewicz, Paul G. Simmons, William J. Reimann
• Original Assignee: Gerald A. Sus, Glenn Schackmuth, Henry T. Ewald, John J. Mazurkiewicz, Paul G. Simmons, William J. Reimann
• Inventors: Reimann, William J., Mazurkiewicz, John J., Schackmuth, Glenn, Simmons, Paul G., Ewald, Henry T., Sus, Gerald A.
• Granted Patent: US 8,268,376 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 426/418
• CPC Class Codes: A47J 27/18 heated by water-bath , e.g. pasta-cookers
• CPC Class Codes: A47J 36/24 Warming devices
• CPC Class Codes: A47J 43/18 Holding or clamping devices for supporting fowl, venison, or other meat, or vegetables, during cooking or during subsequent cutting

Abstract

A method is provided for storing a cooked food in a flexible-walled container having an opening. The method includes placing a quantity of food in a flexible-walled container and submerging at least a portion of the container in a liquid with the opening being located so that liquid does not enter the opening. At least the lower portion of the container is maintained in the liquid and the food is maintained in the container below the surface of the liquid. The liquid collapses the container to seal the container. The temperature of the liquid may be maintained at a non-ambient temperature to heat or cool the food as it is stored. The method may also include storing the food adjacent a work surface, or at a remote main vat and transporting the rack to the work surface at which a serving that includes the food is prepared.

Claims

1. A method of storing cooked food in a liquid impervious, flexible-walled container having at least two generally opposed flexible sidewalls, a closed bottom portion, an interior, and an opening in an upper portion suitable for providing access into the interior of the container for placing the cooked food into the interior of the container and for removing the cooked food from the interior of the container, the generally opposed sidewalls extending adjacent the opening, comprising:

mounting the container to a rack to place and maintain the opposed sidewalls adjacent the opening spaced apart to provide access through the opening into the interior of the container;

placing a quantity of the cooked food to be stored through the opening of the container into the interior of the liquid impervious, flexible-walled container while the rack maintains the opposed sidewalls adjacent the opening spaced apart to provide the access to the interior of the container;

submerging at least a portion of the flexible-walled container mounted on the rack in a liquid with the opening being located so that the liquid does not enter the opening;

maintaining at least a lower portion of the container within the liquid;

maintaining the stored food in the container below the surface of the liquid;

permitting the liquid to collapse the opposed sidewalls of the container against each other in a location above the quantity of stored food to form a separable seal caused by the hydrostatic forces of the liquid that at least substantially seals the portion of the container containing the stored food from the external atmosphere, the at least substantially sealed portion being readily unsealed by accessing the seal through the opening for separating the opposed sidewalls at the location of the seal;

thereafter

maintaining the opposed sidewalls in the upper portion of the container above the separable seal spaced apart by the rack to thereby provide the access through the opening to the separable seal while the container is in the liquid;

accessing the separable seal through the opening while the container is in the liquid and separating the flexible sidewalls to unseal the container while the container is in the liquid and while maintaining the opposed sidewalls adjacent the opening spaced apart by the rack to allow access for separating the separable seal and to allow access for the removal of the stored food through the opening of the container while the container is in the liquid; and

thereafter

removing through the opening at least a portion of the stored food from the interior of the container while the container remains in the liquid.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising maintaining the liquid at elevated temperature above ambient temperature.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising maintaining the liquid at reduced temperature below ambient temperature.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising maintaining the flexible-walled container in a position that permits the collapsing and sealing of the container by preventing the container from floating upwardly.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising maintaining the flexible-walled container in a position that permits the collapsing and sealing of the container by preventing the container from floating upwardly to the surface of the liquid.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the container has a top end, a first side edge, and a second side edge, and the opening at the top end extends along the top end and is located between the first and second side edges and further comprising:

permitting the liquid to collapse the opposed sidewalls together along a junction, the junction having a top edge extending substantially from the first side edge to the second side edge to form the separable seal;

maintaining the upper portion of the opposed sidewalls spaced apart by the rack for the portion of the container that extends from between the top of the junction of the separable seal to the opening at the top end of the container to thereby provide an access through the opening for facilitating separating the separable seal and to facilitate removal of food from the interior of the container in the liquid;

after said removing, again permitting the liquid to recollapse the opposed sidewalls of the container in a location above the remaining quantity of stored food to again form a separable seal caused by the hydrostatic forces of the liquid that at least substantially seals the portion of the container containing the remaining stored food from the external atmosphere, the at least substantially sealed portion being readily unsealed by separating the opposed sidewalls at the location of the seal;

thereafter

continuing to maintain the opposed sidewalls of the container in the collapsed sealed position and continuing to store the remaining food in the sealed portion of the container while maintaining at least the lower portion of the container in the liquid; and

thereafter unsealing and opening the container while at least the lower portion of the container is maintained in the liquid to remove at least a portion of the remaining stored food from the container.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein:

the rack includes a bottom portion and a top portion, the top portion having a first mounting surface and second mounting surface spaced from the first mounting surface, the first and second mounting surfaces for mounting the sidewalls of the container adjacent the opening in a spaced apart relationship;

the at least two generally opposed flexible sidewalls include a first sidewall, a second sidewall generally opposed to the first sidewall, and each of the first and second sidewalls includes a first side edge and second side edge, the first and second sidewalls extending between their respective first and second side edges;

the container is secured to the rack to limit movement of the bottom portion of the container in an upward direction;

the opposed sidewalls of the container are movable inwardly to contact each other for forming the separable seal at a position between the opening and bottom portion of the container while the container is secured to the frame to seal the interior of the container between the opening of the container and the bottom of the container and above the food that is placed in the container; and

the method further comprises;

attaching the first sidewall adjacent the opening to the first mounting surface on the rack, and attaching the second sidewall adjacent the opening to the second mounting surface to thereby space the first sidewall from the second sidewall along substantially the entire distance between the first side edges and the second side edges of the first and second sidewalls; and

manually separating the collapsed opposed sidewalls of the container by accessing the collapsed opposed sidewalls through the opening and removing a portion of the food stored in the container while at least the lower portion of the container remains submerged in the liquid.

8. The method of claim 6 further comprising using a utensil to separate the collapsed opposed sidewalls and to grasp the food to remove the food from the container.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the opposed sidewalls include a first sidewall and a second sidewall opposed to the first sidewall with each of the first and second sidewalls having an upper portion adjacent the opening, and the rack has an upper portion including a first retaining rod and second retaining rod, each of the first and second retaining rods having first ends and second ends, the first ends of the retaining rods movable between a first relative spaced apart position and a second relative spaced apart position whereat the first ends of the retaining rods are closer together than when at the first relative position, and the second ends of the retaining rods are spaced apart in a substantially fixed position;

and the method further comprises;

moving of the first ends of the first and second retaining rods from the first relative spaced apart position to the second relative spaced apart position to facilitate the attachment of the upper portion of the container to the rods;

attaching while the first ends of the retaining rods are in the second relative spaced apart position the upper portion of the first sidewall to the first retaining rod and attaching the upper portion of the second sidewall to the second retaining rod;

thereafter

allowing the first ends of the first and second retaining rods to return to the first relative spaced apart position to thereby allow the first and second sidewalls adjacent the opening to be placed in a spaced apart relationship to provide access to the interior of the container when placing the cooked food into the container and when removing the cooked food from the container and for providing access to the separable seal when separating the separable seal when the container is in the liquid;

attaching and securing the container to the rack to prevent the container from floating upwardly when the rack is submerged in the liquid; and

submerging at least a portion of the rack into the liquid so that at least the lower portion of the container is maintained within the liquid.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein at least one of the first and second retaining rods is flexible and the method further comprises:

flexing at least one of the retaining rods to move the first ends of the retaining rods from the first relative spaced apart position to the second relative spaced apart position when securing the container to the rack and thereafter releasing the at least one flexed retaining rod to automatically return the first ends of the retaining rods to the first relative spaced apart position to place and maintain the first and second sidewalls adjacent the opening of the container in an open position above the sealed portion of the container containing the food and to provide a trough at the opening so that a utensil may be inserted into the trough and into the interior of the container to separate the collapsed container wall to open the sealed portion of the container to remove the food from the previously sealed portion of the container.

11. The method of claim 10 further comprising containing the liquid in a vat.

12. The method of claim 11 further comprising:

providing a work surface; and

positioning the vat adjacent the work surface.

13. The method of claim 12 further comprising;

positioning the vat in a kitchen;

providing a second vat positioned at a remote location in the kitchen, the vat containing a liquid therein;

submerging at least a portion of the rack in the second vat so that at least the lower portion of the container is submerged in the liquid contained in the second vat;

removing the rack and the container secured thereto from the second vat;

transporting the rack and the container storing the food product to the first vat;

and thereafter submerging at least a portion of the rack at the first vat adjacent the work surface.

14. The method of claim 6 further comprising combining the food removed from the container with a second food item after removing the food from the container.

15. The method of claim 1 further comprising the container being a flexible-walled bag having an opening along a top edge of the container.

16. The method of claim 15 further comprising the container being a flexible-walled bag and at least a portion of one of the opposed sidewalls collapses against the other opposed sidewall to seal the bag when the bag is submerged in the liquid.

17. The method of claim 16 further comprising:

securing the bag to the rack with the opposed sidewalls spaced apart from each other at the opening, the bag including a gusset, the gusset positioned on the bag opposite the open end and joining the opposed sidewalls.

18. The method of claim 17 further comprising providing the gusset with a first tab and a second tab, and providing increased heat transfer between the liquid and the interior of the sealed portion of the container by securing the first tab and second tab to the rack with the first tab spaced from the second tab to increase the surface area of the lower portion of the bag in contact with the liquid.

19. The method of claim 2 further comprising providing a heating device to maintain the liquid at an elevated temperature above ambient temperature.

20. The method of claim 19 wherein the heating device maintains the temperature of the liquid at a temperature of 150°

F. or greater.