JPH04281116A - Heating cooker - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a new device of cooking by heating which is capable of providing the food with an improved taste, better appearance and color, etc., in comparison with conventional methods of cooking which heats the food in the atmosphere of the air. CONSTITUTION:The heating chamber 2 of a microwave cooking oven which receives a food A and heats it with microwaves is constructed air-tightly, and at the same time nitrogen enriched air is formed from the atmospheric air by means of a nitrogen enriching diaphragm 11, and this nitrogen enriched air is supplied to the heating chamber 2 through a piping 14 by a pump 12, and the food is cooked in the nitrogen enriched air.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cooking device for cooking food in a cooking container using an electric or gas heat source.

0002

[Prior Art] Conventionally, this type of heating cooker includes microwave ovens and defrosters that use electric microwaves as a heat source, or cooking pots, tempura pans, roasters, and jar rice cookers that use electric heaters as a heat source. and so on. All of these heating cookers cook food stored in a cooking container in an air atmosphere or a pressurized or depressurized air atmosphere by boiling, baking, or warming the food. The purpose of these cooking methods is to quickly infiltrate heat and flavor into the food.

0003

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, the above-mentioned conventional heating cooker is based on a conventional cooking method that attempts to quickly cook in a very ordinary air atmosphere. The improvement remains within the framework of conventional cooking methods, and has the disadvantage that it is not possible to improve the taste, appearance, color, etc. of the cooked food.

[0004] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to change the concept of the conventional cooking method of heating in an air atmosphere, thereby making it possible to impart a more advanced taste, appearance, color, etc. to foods through cooking. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a new heating cooker.

[0005]

[Means for Solving the Problem] The inventor came up with the idea of reducing oxygen in the air atmosphere and increasing inert gas such as nitrogen, conducted various cooking tests in an atmosphere rich in inert gas, and developed the present invention. This led to the construction of the invention. That is, the heating cooker of the present invention cooks food in a cooking container using an electric or gas heat source, and the cooking container has an airtight structure and an inert gas generating inert gas. It is characterized by comprising a gas generation section and an inert gas supply section that supplies the inert gas generated by the inert gas generation section into the cooking container.

[0006] The above-mentioned inert gas generating section may be configured to separate nitrogen gas from the atmosphere using a polymer membrane, or to separate nitrogen gas from the atmosphere using an adsorbent that adsorbs gases other than nitrogen gas. It can be made separate.

[0007]

[Operation] After opening the lid of the cooking container and placing food inside the container, the lid is closed to seal the container. Next, an inert gas is generated from the inert gas generation section, and the generated inert gas is supplied into the cooking container by the inert gas supply section to replace the air in the cooking container with the inert gas. . Then, the food in the cooking container is heated and cooked using an electric or gas heat source. In this way, food is heated in an atmosphere that is low in oxygen and high in inert gas, which improves the taste of cooked food compared to conventional methods, allows for flexible browning control, and improves the taste of cooked rice. It extends the heat retention period, prevents thawed foods and leafy vegetables from discoloring, and prevents tempura oil from deteriorating.

[0008] If the inert gas generating section is one that separates nitrogen gas from the atmosphere using a polymer membrane,
Nitrogen-enriched air with a nitrogen concentration of about 40% can be continuously supplied into the cooking container from the abundant atmosphere. Furthermore, if the inert gas generating section is configured to separate nitrogen gas using an adsorbent that adsorbs gases other than nitrogen gas from the atmosphere, it is possible to create an even higher nitrogen concentration of about 80% in the cooking container. Can continuously supply oxidized air.

[0009]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be explained in detail below with reference to illustrated embodiments. FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of a microwave oven as an embodiment of the heating cooker of the present invention, in which 1 is a main body incorporating an inert gas generation section and an inert gas supply section, and 2 is a cooking container attached to the main body 1. A heating chamber 3 is provided, and a door 3 is pivotally attached to the front edge of the heating chamber 2 to irradiate microwaves to the food placed therein to heat it. It should be noted that silicone rubber packings 4 are attached to the four peripheral edges of the door 3 that come into contact with the front plate 1a of the main body 1 in order to keep the heating chamber 2 airtight. In addition, in the heating chamber 2, a turntable 5 on which food A is placed and an electric heater 6 (see FIG. 1) are installed on the bottom,
It is installed on the ceiling.

As shown in FIG. 1, the inert gas generation section 10 includes a nitrogen-enriched separation membrane 11 made of a polymer such as silicone rubber, which separates nitrogen gas from the atmosphere, and a nitrogen-enriched separation membrane 11 that separates nitrogen gas from the atmosphere. a pump 12 that depressurizes the interior of the membrane and forms part of the inert gas supply section; an exhaust pump (not shown) that discharges the oxygen-enriched air remaining after separation; and a nitrogen-enriched separation membrane 11 that generates heat during separation. It consists of a blower (not shown) that cools the air conditioner, etc. On the other hand, the inert gas supply section 1
Reference numeral 3 includes the pump 12, a pipe 14 extending from the downstream side of the pump 12 to an air supply port 15 at the upper part of the heating chamber 2, and a pressure regulating valve (not shown) interposed in the pipe 14. In addition, an exhaust port 16 provided at the bottom of the heating chamber 2 is used to prevent food A during cooking.
It is used as an outlet for steam, smoke, and odors emitted from the heating chamber 2, and as an inlet for circulating hot air during convection cooking, and when nitrogen-enriched air is supplied from the air supply port 15, Used for evacuation by convection fan.

The microwave oven configured as described above operates as follows. Open the door 3 and remove the turntable 5 inside the heating chamber 2.
After placing 1.2 kg of chicken A on top as the food to be cooked, the door 3 is closed to seal the heating chamber 2. Next, the pump 12 of the inert gas generation unit 10 is driven to reduce the pressure inside the nitrogen enrichment separation membrane 11, and mainly nitrogen gas in the atmosphere is separated and collected inside through this membrane 11, Approximately nitrogen concentration 40
% nitrogen-enriched air is supplied to the heating chamber 2 from the air supply port 15 via the pipe 14. In addition, the convection fan is driven for a predetermined period of time to exhaust air from the heating chamber 2 to the exhaust port 16.
The inside of the heating chamber 2 is filled with the nitrogen-enriched air. Next, chicken A is heated for about 60 minutes using electric heater 6 and microwave. The roast chicken thus made is
Compared to food cooked in an air atmosphere using a conventional microwave oven, the outer surface has a uniform brown color, less char, and oxidation is suppressed, while the interior has the same color tone and finish as before. there were. As a result of tasting by 10 people, it was found that it was ``tastier'' than the conventional one. Note that by increasing or decreasing the nitrogen concentration in the nitrogen-enriched air, the degree of browning can be flexibly adjusted.

[0012] Furthermore, when colored vegetables such as green onions, Chinese cabbage, spinach, and quince peas were seasoned and cooked in the microwave in nitrogen-enriched air, they were less overcooked than in the conventional method. It was found that discoloration was suppressed and the finish was ``delicious to the eye.'' Furthermore, when the food was tuna sashimi and thawed using microwaves in nitrogen-enriched air, it was demonstrated that the surface discoloration was less than when using conventional methods.

As another embodiment, in place of the nitrogen-enriched separation membrane 11 shown in FIG. 1, there is provided a heating cooking system having an inert gas generating section using an adsorbent such as zeolite that adsorbs gases other than nitrogen gas from the atmosphere. I made a prototype of the device. The nitrogen concentration in the nitrogen-enriched air generated by this adsorbent is significantly higher than that by the nitrogen-enriched separation membrane 11 described above, reaching approximately 80%. Therefore, similar to the above-mentioned embodiment, the color tone of the browned food is uniform, the amount of char is small, the degree of burntness can be adjusted arbitrarily, delicious cooking is possible, and there is little discoloration of colored vegetables and thawed products. Not only can you cook delicious food, but you can also get even more noticeable effects because of the high nitrogen concentration.

[0014] In the above embodiments, a microwave oven was described, but the inert gas generating section and supply section of the present invention can be applied to a pot using electricity as a heat source, a tempura pan, a hot plate, a roaster, a jar rice cooker, It can be widely applied to gas grill stoves that use gas as a heat source. In addition, jar rice cookers have a longer heat retention period, while tempura pots can prevent tempura oil from deteriorating, improving the overall taste of food, and suppressing ignition and smoke caused by fats and oils from food, which helps prevent fires. can also contribute.

[0015]

Effects of the Invention As is clear from the above explanation, the cooking device of the present invention has an airtight structure for the cooking container that houses food and heats it with an electric or gas heat source, and also has an inert gas generating section. Since the inert gas such as nitrogen gas is generated in the inert gas supply section and the inert gas is supplied into the cooking container in the inert gas supply section, cooking is performed in an inert gas enriched atmosphere. Compared to ordinary heating cooking in an air atmosphere, the food being cooked has a one-step-advanced taste, appearance, and color.
Preservability can be imparted, and ignition, smoke, and fire associated with cooking can be suppressed.

[0016]

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a microwave oven as an example of a heating cooker of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of the microwave oven.

[Explanation of symbols]

1...Main body, 2...Heating chamber, 3...Door, 4...Packing, 6...
Electric heater, 10... Inert gas generation section, 11... Nitrogen enriched separation membrane, 12... Pump, 13... Inert gas supply section, 14
...Piping, 15...Air supply port, A...Food.

Claims (3)

[Claims] Claim 1. A heating cooker for cooking food in a cooking container using an electric or gas heat source, the cooking container having an airtight structure and comprising an inert gas generating section that generates an inert gas. A heating cooking device comprising: an inert gas supply section that supplies the inert gas generated by the inert gas generation section into the cooking container. 2. The cooking device according to claim 1, wherein the inert gas generating section separates nitrogen gas from the atmosphere using a polymer membrane. 3. The cooking device according to claim 1, wherein the inert gas generating section separates nitrogen gas from the atmosphere using an adsorbent that adsorbs gases other than nitrogen gas.