Variable Temperature Cooking Method and Apparatus
First Claim
1. An apparatus for cooking, which comprisesa) a cooking area for receiving a food item to be cooked;
- b) a processor and digital memory, said processor capable of reading data pertaining to a variable temperature reference profile, said variable temperature reference profile comprising a table of setpoint target temperatures over a cooking duration, and supplying setpoint target temperatures to a temperature controller during said cooking duration according to said variable temperature reference profile, said setpoint target temperatures defining an applied variable temperature profile;
c) wherein said temperature controller is linked to said processor, said temperature controller for sensing a temperature within said cooking area and for controlling a heating member operative on said cooking area so that said temperature is driven according to said temperature setpoints of said applied variable temperature profile.
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Abstract
The present invention deals with a variable temperature cooking method that uses a predetermined variable temperature reference profile and adapts it by mapping its datapoints to actual cooking conditions entered by the user or modified based on the readings from an internal food temperature probe. It is shown that, in order to achieve more uniform through-the-thickness doneness of foods, a continuously decreasing temperature setting from a higher initial temperature to a lower final temperature consistently performs better than applying a constant temperature or a two-step temperature profile. Use of a probe for monitoring internal food temperature enables a predictive estimate of cooking duration based on cooking score or temperature which is used to modify an initially inaccurate cooking duration.
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Citations
16 Claims
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1. An apparatus for cooking, which comprises
a) a cooking area for receiving a food item to be cooked; -
b) a processor and digital memory, said processor capable of reading data pertaining to a variable temperature reference profile, said variable temperature reference profile comprising a table of setpoint target temperatures over a cooking duration, and supplying setpoint target temperatures to a temperature controller during said cooking duration according to said variable temperature reference profile, said setpoint target temperatures defining an applied variable temperature profile; c) wherein said temperature controller is linked to said processor, said temperature controller for sensing a temperature within said cooking area and for controlling a heating member operative on said cooking area so that said temperature is driven according to said temperature setpoints of said applied variable temperature profile. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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Specification