Looking for breakthrough ideas for innovation challenges? Try Patsnap Eureka!

Microwavable steamer food pack

a steamer bowl and microwavable technology, applied in the field of food containers, can solve the problems of affecting the eating quality of the product, affecting the shelf life of the food components, and the current steamer bowl products cannot be merchandised in a vertical position on the shelf of a retailer

Inactive Publication Date: 2007-10-11
LG ELECTRONICS INC +1
View PDF38 Cites 15 Cited by
  • Summary
  • Abstract
  • Description
  • Claims
  • Application Information

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0011]The subject invention also includes a method of producing a microwavable steamer food pack comprising the steps of providing a container having a lower portion, an upper portion and a top edge; dispensing a gel sauce into the lower portion of the container; placing an insert having openings and a pull tab that faces upwards for removal of the insert between the lower and upper portions of the container; placing food components on the insert; securing a covering on the container; and chilling the food pack so as to allow the gel sauce to form into a solid or semi-solid state. The food pack allows for the gelled sauce to remain separate from the food components when the food pack is stored in a vertical position under chilled conditions.

Problems solved by technology

When the liquid sauce contacts the food components in the steamer bowl, particularly the fresh food components, the shelf life of the food components is compromised.
Extended contact of the sauce with the fresh food components, caused by the sauce moving into the food section of the steamer bowl, can also be detrimental to the eating quality of the product as the food becomes soggy.
Additionally, the current steamer bowl products cannot be merchandised in a vertical position in a retailer's shelf without the liquid sauce drenching the food products in the upper portion of the bowl.
Therefore, the current product cannot be merchandised in a way that allows for the full viewing of the contents of the container.

Method used

the structure of the environmentally friendly knitted fabric provided by the present invention; figure 2 Flow chart of the yarn wrapping machine for environmentally friendly knitted fabrics and storage devices; image 3 Is the parameter map of the yarn covering machine
View more

Image

Smart Image Click on the blue labels to locate them in the text.
Viewing Examples
Smart Image
  • Microwavable steamer food pack
  • Microwavable steamer food pack
  • Microwavable steamer food pack

Examples

Experimental program
Comparison scheme
Effect test

example 1

[0033]One embodiment of the inventive food pack includes 2-3 oz of a honey ginger gel sauce in the lower portion of the container and positioned on the insert are 3-4 oz of Japanese-style noodles and 4 oz of a fresh pre-cut vegetable mixture comprising bok choy, red bell peppers, green onions and green beans. The sauce ingredients generally include sugar, starch and gelatin, acids, soy sauce, honey, ginger, oil, spices and flavors. The sauce is prepared as described above in paragraph [0030] and the food pack is assembled as described in paragraph [0031].

example 2

[0034]Another embodiment of the inventive food pack includes 3-5 oz of a Tomato basil gel sauce in the lower portion of the container and positioned on the insert are 5 oz. of precooked pasta, 3 oz of fresh pre-cut vegetable mixture and 2 oz of pre-cut, cooked sausage. The sauce ingredients generally include water, tomato paste, tomato chunks, starch and gelatin, herbs, sugar, flavors and grated cheese. The sauce is prepared as described above in paragraph [0030] and the food pack is assembled as described in paragraph [0031].

example 3

[0035]Another embodiment of the inventive food pack includes 3-4 oz of a sesame teriyaki gel sauce in the lower portion of the container and 8-10 oz of pre-cooked potstickers or siomai on the insert. The sauce ingredients generally include water, soy sauce, sugar, gelatin and starch, spices and flavors. The sauce is prepared as described above in paragraph [0030] and the food pack is assembled as described in paragraph [0031].

the structure of the environmentally friendly knitted fabric provided by the present invention; figure 2 Flow chart of the yarn wrapping machine for environmentally friendly knitted fabrics and storage devices; image 3 Is the parameter map of the yarn covering machine
Login to View More

PUM

No PUM Login to View More

Abstract

The present invention is directed to a microwavable steamer food pack that includes a container and an insert. The container has a lower portion, an upper portion and a top edge. The insert has a plurality of opening and a pull tab and is positioned between the lower and upper portion of the container. A gelled sauce is in the lower portion of the container and food components are positioned on the insert and extend into the upper portion of the container. A covering is secured to the container. The gelled sauce remains in a solid or semi-solid state and is separate from the food components when the food pack is stored in a vertical position under chilled conditions.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION[0001]This application claims priority to U.S. application Ser. No. 60 / 789,313 filed Apr. 5, 2006 which is incorporated in its entirety.TECHNICAL FIELD[0002]This invention relates generally to food containers and more particularly for food packs with microwavable containers containing fresh food which is intended to be cooked by steaming with use of microwave energy.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]In the cooking of fresh foods using microwave energy, many food products benefit from cooking the fresh food using a steaming process. In current non-frozen (ambient or refrigerated temperature stored) steamer bowl products, there is a liquid sauce at the bottom of the bowl that moves around when the bowl is moved, for example from the production facility to the merchandising shelf, to the cashier, to the shopping bag and in the car en route to the consumer's home. When the liquid sauce contacts the food components in the steamer bowl, particularly th...

Claims

the structure of the environmentally friendly knitted fabric provided by the present invention; figure 2 Flow chart of the yarn wrapping machine for environmentally friendly knitted fabrics and storage devices; image 3 Is the parameter map of the yarn covering machine
Login to View More

Application Information

Patent Timeline
no application Login to View More
IPC IPC(8): B65B55/00
CPCA23L1/0128A23L1/052A23L1/1613A23L1/39B65D2581/3433B65D77/003B65D81/3453B65D81/3461A23L1/48A23L5/15A23L29/206A23L7/111A23L23/00A23L35/00
Inventor KRATOCHVIL, CYNTHIA P.FROSCH, KEITH M.MONKEN, SARAH M.
Owner LG ELECTRONICS INC
Who we serve
  • R&D Engineer
  • R&D Manager
  • IP Professional
Why Patsnap Eureka
  • Industry Leading Data Capabilities
  • Powerful AI technology
  • Patent DNA Extraction
Social media
Patsnap Eureka Blog
Learn More
PatSnap group products

Browse by: Latest US Patents, China's latest patents, Technical Efficacy Thesaurus, Application Domain, Technology Topic, Popular Technical Reports.

© 2024 PatSnap. All rights reserved.Legal|Privacy policy|Modern Slavery Act Transparency Statement|Sitemap|About US| Contact US: help@patsnap.com