FR2860213A1 - Disposable container for food product allowing it to be cooked by steaming in microwave oven has outer and inner receptacles with false bottom to hold water - Google Patents

Abstract

The container consists of an outer receptacle (2) with a lid (3) of an isothermic material that allows microwaves to pass through it, and at least one hole (5) in the lid to let out excess steam during cooking, and an inner receptacle (4) that holds the food product and is of a material that allows microwaves to pass through it. The container consists of an outer receptacle (2) with a lid (3) of an isothermic material that allows microwaves to pass through it, and at least one hole (5) in the lid to let out excess steam during cooking, and an inner receptacle (4) that holds the food product and is of a material that allows microwaves to pass through it. The walls (7) and base (8) of the inner receptacle are perforated to allow steam to diffuse through the food product from water held between the bases (8, 9) of the two receptacles and passing through a perforated false bottom (10) that separates them.

Description

The present invention relates to the technical field of packaging and

  cooking food products. In particular, the present invention relates to a new packaging box for food for microwave cooking, and in particular pasta.

  To meet the needs of some consumers who want to enjoy hot and tasty food, without wasting time, the market for ready meals and fast food has grown.

  One of the objectives of the present invention is to provide a disposable packaging, inexpensive, suitable for packaging, preservation including fresh or frozen, steam cooking in the microwave and finally the consumption of food. This package is intended for food preparations consisting of pre-prepared, partially cooked foods to undergo a final stage of steam cooking in a microwave oven.

  Therefore, the package according to the invention must first allow the packaging of the food preparation, easily and cleanly.

  Then, the packaging according to the invention must allow the storage and storage of the food preparation and therefore including its stacking.

  The packaging according to the invention must also allow the end of the steaming of the food preparation, in a microwave oven.

  Finally, the food preparation must be able to be directly consumed in the packaging which is a container easily handled, without the need to move the food preparation from one container to another.

  In this context, the present invention relates to a disposable packaging for a food preparation intended to undergo an ultimate stage of steam cooking in a microwave oven comprising: a box consisting of a first receptacle and a a lid, both made of an isothermal material passing through the microwaves, at least one orifice for evacuating the excess water vapor during cooking in the microwave oven being arranged in the lid, - a second receptacle rigid disposed inside the first receptacle, in a material allowing microwaves to pass, intended to receive the food preparation, the walls and / or the bottom of the second receptacle being perforated to allow the diffusion of water vapor within of the food preparation, during microwaving, and, means for keeping the bottom of the second receptacle at a distance from the bottom of the first receptacle, the bottom of the first receptacle and ant intended to accommodate a water reserve.

  According to another of its aspects, the present invention also relates to a food preparation packaged, preferably hermetically, in a packaging defined above.

  According to another of its aspects, the subject of the present invention is also the various uses of the packaging according to the invention, namely its use for packaging, preservation especially in fresh or frozen form, micro-steam cooking. -ondes, the consumption of a food preparation.

  Various other features of the invention appear from the description given below, with reference to the accompanying figures which illustrate embodiments of the invention.

  Fig. 1 is a sectional view of an embodiment of a disposable packaging according to the invention.

  Figs. 2 to 4 are partial sectional views, voluntarily enlarged with respect to FIG. 1, showing part of the packaging according to the invention.

  As shown in Fig.1, the package 1 according to the invention comprises first a box 1 consisting of a first receptacle 2 and a lid 3. This box 1 will contain the other elements of the package . It is therefore this box 1 that is directly manipulated by the individuals during the steps of conditioning, preservation, cooking and consumption.

  Inside this box 1, is housed a second receptacle 4 which is presented as a kind of open bowl. The second receptacle 4 substantially matches the inner shape of the first receptacle 2. The second receptacle 4 is intended to receive the food preparation. This food preparation having to undergo an ultimate stage of steam cooking in a microwave oven, the lid 3 comprises at least one orifice 5 intended to allow, at first, the evacuation of the excess steam. water generated during the microwave cooking step. Several discharge orifices 5 may be provided. Advantageously, this orifice 5 will be in the form of a circular hole of a few millimeters in diameter, preferably 2 mm in diameter.

  Nevertheless, this orifice could adopt any shape. When the packaging is used in storage, this orifice is most often closed by a removable self-adhesive tablet that will be removed before the cooking step.

  Similarly, to facilitate the diffusion of water vapor in the food preparation, perforations 6 are arranged on the second receptacle 4. This receptacle 4 has walls 7 and a bottom 8. The perforations 6 can also be arranged well on the bottom 8 than on the walls 7 of the second receptacle 4, or both on the bottom 8 and the walls 7. These perforations 6 may be circular, triangular, square, rectangular, or any other shape. Advantageously, the bottom 8 will have holes with a diameter of between 0.1 and 5 mm and the walls 7 of holes with a mean diameter of between 0.1 and 10 mm.

  The packaging I to assume several functions and in particular to allow cooking, without transferring the food preparation, this cooking to intervene in a microwave oven, the materials of the box 1 and the second receptacle 4 must let the microphone -ondes. Of course, these materials must also withstand cooking temperatures and, in particular, withstand temperatures above 120 C. In addition, the material constituting the box 1 is isothermal: thus, after cooking, the food preparation, arranged to inside the I package, stays warm longer. On the other hand, the outside of the box 1 remains cold and therefore easy to handle, without the risk of getting burned. Expanded polystyrene can be used. The materials used are inexpensive, allowing the disposability of the packaging. The second receptacle 4 will for example be a polymer such as polypropylene or polyethylene.

  The second receptacle 4 is rigid. By rigid, it is meant that this receptacle is self-supporting, that is to say it will have a clean fit once laid, for example as opposed to a bag in a flexible film that is completely soft and s' sinks once laid.

  To allow steam cooking, it is expected to have inside the packaging I, and in particular on the bottom 9 of the first receptacle 2, a water reserve. This water reserve may in particular be in the form of a pad soaked in water as shown in FIG. 1 or in the form of a quantity of water possibly frozen. This water can also be flavored, for example with an infusion of oregano, to perfume the food preparation during cooking.

  The package I according to the invention comprises means for holding the second receptacle 4, away from the bottom 9 of the first receptacle 2. The water supply is then housed between the space between the two bottoms of the two receptacles. As a remote holding means, it will be possible, for example, as illustrated in FIG. 1, use a false bottom 10 perforated and removable. The water reserve will then be housed under this false bottom 10. The second receptacle 4 will rest on the false bottom 10. The perforations of this false bottom 10 will allow the water vapor emitted by the water reserve of to reach the food preparation, during the step of cooking steam in the microwave oven.

  The remote holding means may also be as shown in FIG. 2, in the form of feet 11 arranged under the bottom 8 of the second receptacle 4, to maintain it a few centimeters from the bottom 9 of the first receptacle 2. According to another variant, these means may be constituted, as shown in FIG. 3, by a flange 12 extending on the circumference of the open end 13 of the second receptacle 4. This flange 12 is oriented towards the outside of the second receptacle 4 and bears on the edge 14 of the open end of the second first receptacle. According to another variant, illustrated in FIG. 4, these means will consist of lugs 15 arranged from the outer surface of the walls 7 of the second receptacle 4 and bearing on the inner surface of the first receptacle 2.

  The package I according to the invention has various advantages. Indeed, this packaging allows in a few manipulations to package, store, cook and consume the food preparation for which it is intended. Indeed, the food preparation can be directly and separately packaged in the second receptacle 4 and quickly frozen, this freezing being facilitated by the material of the second receptacle 4 and the presence of perforations 6. In parallel, the water supply can also to be frozen inside the first receptacle 2, when the packaging is intended for frozen storage. Then, the second receptacle 4 containing the food preparation may be disposed inside the first receptacle 2 on which the lid 3 is disposed. The whole can then be sealed, according to the standards imposed in the agri-food sector.

  Then, the consumer will be able to perform the final steaming step in a microwave oven directly in the package I, without removing the lid of the first receptacle 2. The orifices 5 on the lid 3 will, in At first, avoid too much overpressure inside the box. Once the cooking is complete, the steam density will cause the lid to rise slightly with a characteristic pop indicating the end of cooking. Thus, whatever the power of the microwave oven used, the user is able to know when the food preparation is ready to consume.

  In addition, the various perforations 6 present on the second receptacle 4 allow rapid diffusion of water vapor created by microwaves, within the food preparation. Therefore, the defrosting and steaming time is very fast. This results in an excellent quality of the food preparation without finding any drying.

  Finally, one of the essential advantages of the invention is that the consumer can directly taste the food preparation, once cooked, directly in its packaging I. In fact, on the one hand, the first receptacle 2 isothermal material allows to manipulate and to hold the packaging I in one hand, on the other hand, the second rigid receptacle 4 makes it possible, on the one hand, to protect the interior of the first receptacle 2 from the possible costs of the fork of the consumer, and on the other hand, constitutes a tasting container more pleasant than the first receptacle 2.

  According to another of its aspects, the present invention also relates to the use of a packaging I according to the invention for the packaging, storage, cooking and consumption of a food preparation. The invention also relates to a food product comprising a food preparation intended to undergo an ultimate stage of steam cooking in a microwave oven, said preparation being disposed inside the second receptacle 4, a reserve of water being housed on the bottom of the first receptacle 2, the whole being conditioned, preferably hermetically, for preservation in the fresh or frozen.

  For example, a kind of sheath, in the form of a band, which can easily be removed, is used to hold the lid 3 on the first receptacle 2. It is also possible to house the packaging I containing the food composition in a retractable flexible film, the sealing of this film around the packaging being made under vacuum or normal atmosphere.

  In particular, the food preparation will consist of partially cooked pasta intimately mixed with a hydrated sauce.

  Pasta means pasta for culinary consumption that can be in various forms such as noodles, tagliatelle, spaghetti or other. Before their precooking, these pasta can be in dry form or in the form of fresh pasta. Precooking is done according to conventional pasta cooking techniques, well known to those skilled in the art. Advantageously, the precooking is carried out by immersing the pasta in a large volume of boiling water. In the sense of the invention, the pasta is partially cooked, that is to say that they have not yet reached the degree of cooking in which they will be consumed.

  Advantageously, they have been cooked for a period of about 15 to 50% less than the time required for al dente cooking. Cooking al dente is known to all and corresponds to a pasta baking ready to be consumed but having in their heart a small uncooked portion, so that pasta cooked and remain firm under the tooth. For each type of pasta, there is therefore a time or duration of al dente cooking. The pre-cooked pasta used in the process according to the invention are therefore not directly consumable: their cooking has been interrupted. During their pre-cooking, the pasta nevertheless absorbed a certain amount of water. However, they will have to undergo a subsequent cooking step to reach the desired state of cooking. During this subsequent firing step, they will absorb the amount of complementary water needed to give them the desired flexibility and hydration.

  By hydrated sauce is meant a preparation containing a certain amount of water and liquid or semi-liquid consistency, as opposed to a dehydrated sauce in dry form. This sauce has two essential functions: first of all to provide at least a part of the water necessary for the complementary hydration of the precooked pasta during cooking in the microwave oven and partly to give the pasta the desired taste . The sauce preferably has a sufficiently thick consistency to adhere to the pasta after mixing and thus comes to coat the pasta. Therefore, it is indicated that the pasta is intimately mixed with the hydrated sauce. Preferably, this hydrated sauce serves as a coating sauce and is, after mixing, in contact with each dough. The hydrated sauce thus makes it possible to generate, under the effect of microwaves, water vapor as close as possible to the pasta. This water vapor will be absorbed by the pasta which will swell during the final cooking step in the microwave oven, to bring them into their optimal consumption state.

  The hydrated sauce can contain various elements of type aromatics, vegetables, fats, proteins, such as pieces of fish, meat, seafood, depending on the desired taste. In any case, the hydrated sauce contains a certain amount of water. Advantageously, the hydrated sauce contains a quantity of water at least equal to the amount of additional water that the pre-cooked pasta would absorb during al dente cooking. According to another variant, it can be considered that this sauce is overhydrated with reference to a sauce adapted to be mixed with pasta cooked al dente. By sauce adapted to be mixed with pasta cooked al dente means a ready-to-use sauce, for example commercially available, and which is generally consumed with cooked pasta directly consumable. Preferably, the hydrated sauce corresponds to a sauce adapted to be mixed with pasta cooked al dente, to which was added a weight percentage of 15 to 45% water, preferably 20 to 30%. This additional water supply can of course be achieved by means of any aqueous liquid that may be in various forms, for example in the form of poultry broth, wine, coconut milk ... In particular, this contribution of Complementary water will be approximately the amount of additional water the pasta would absorb as part of al dente cooking.

  Advantageously, the mixture to be microwaved in the microwave oven contains a weight percentage of hydrated sauce with respect to the pasta between 50 and 100%.

  The food product according to the invention is ready, very quickly and easily, and one obtains a pasta dish tasty and rich in taste and without nuisance smell or other and directly consumable without being transferred to another container. Such packaging is therefore perfectly suited for use in hotels, breweries, fast food establishments, sports clubs or leisure clubs, and generally in all places where a catering service can be carried out.

Claims (9)

CLAIMS:   1 - Disposable packaging (I) for a food preparation intended to undergo an ultimate stage of steam cooking in a microwave oven comprising: a box (1) consisting of a first receptacle (2) and a lid (3), both made of an isothermal material passing microwaves, at least one orifice (5) for evacuating the excess water vapor during cooking in the microwave oven, being arranged in the lid (3), - a second receptacle (4) rigid disposed inside the first receptacle (2), a material passing through the microwaves for receiving the food preparation, the walls (7) and / or the bottom (8) of the second receptacle (4) being perforated to allow the diffusion of water vapor within the food preparation, during microwaving, and means (10, 11, 12, 15) to maintain the bottom of the second receptacle (4) away from the bottom (9) of the first receptacle (2), the bottom (9) of the first er receptacle (2) being intended to accommodate a water reserve.   2 - Packaging (I) disposable according to claim 1, characterized in that the means for holding the bottom (8) of the second receptacle (4) away from the bottom (9) of the first receptacle (2), consist of a false bottom (10) removable perforated.   3 - Packaging (I) disposable according to claim 1, characterized in that the means for holding the bottom (8) of the second receptacle (4) away from the bottom (9) of the first receptacle (2), consist of lugs (15) arranged from the outer surface of the walls (7) of the second receptacle (4) and coming to bear on the inner surface of the walls of the first receptacle (2).   4 - Packaging (I) disposable according to claim 1, characterized in that the means for holding the bottom (8) of the second receptacle (4) away from the bottom (9) of the first receptacle (2), are constituted by a rim (12) extending over the circumference of the open end (13) of the second receptacle (4) facing outwardly thereof, this flange being supported on the edge (14) of the open end of the first receptacle (2).   - Packaging (I) disposable according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the material constituting the box (1) is expanded polystyrene.   6 - Packaging (I) disposable according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the material constituting the second receptacle (4) is a polymer, preferably polypropylene or polyethylene.   7 - disposable packaging according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that holes of diameter between 0.1 mm and 5 mm are arranged on the bottom (8) of the second receptacle (4).   8 - disposable packaging according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that holes of diameter between 0.1 mm and 10 mm are arranged on the walls (7) of the second receptacle (4).   9 - Food product characterized in that it comprises a food preparation intended to undergo an ultimate step of steam cooking in a microwave oven, said preparation being disposed inside the second receptacle (4), a reserve water being housed on the bottom (9) of the first receptacle (2), the whole being conditioned, preferably hermetically, for preservation in the cold or frozen.   - Food product according to claim 9 characterized in that the food preparation consists of partially cooked pasta, intimately mixed with a hydrated sauce.   11 - Use of the disposable packaging according to one of claims 1 to 8 for packaging, preservation in fresh or frozen, steam cooking in the microwave oven and / or the consumption of a food preparation.