Container for storing cheese and other temperature sensitive food and items in wine refrigeration units, wine storage rooms and wine cellars

Abstract

The invention is a container for storing and serving food, especially practical for cheese, and other items that would benefit from being stored in a temperature and environment similar to those recommended for wine. The invention addresses food storage requirements including moderated refrigeration and enhanced humidity control while addressing odor migration thus maintaining the flavor and other characteristics of cheese and other temperature sensitive items. The invention does so by taking a novel approach in that it repurposes one or more of the wine bottle storage bays found in commercially available refrigerated wine storage units and the bottle bays of wine storage racks found in wine cellars and wine storage rooms. By virtue of the container's size and contour the container will fit stably into the bottle bays in the vast majority of commercially available refrigerated wine storage units and in those bottle bays of wine storage racks found in wine cellars and wine storage rooms. It will also rest stably on a flat surface such as a table or countertop thus facilitating the filling of the container, access to its contents and its use as a serving vessel.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application claims the benefit of provisional patent application “Cheese storage unit for use in wine refrigerators / cellars” EFS ID 1748917, Application Number 60916336, Confirmation Number 9922 filed 2007 May 7 by the present inventor(s)BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]1. Field of the Invention[0003]This invention relates to the storage and serving of food, especially cheese, and potentially the storage of other items that would benefit from being stored in a temperature and environment similar to those recommended for wine storage, such as those environments found in commercially available refrigerated wine storage units, wine cellars and wine storage rooms.[0004]2. Prior Art[0005]Prior art does not sufficiently address how to store cheese or other items in more optimal temperature conditions, maintain sufficient humidity to prevent drying, prevent foreign (non-cheese) odors from creating undesirable flavors, and prevent cheese odo...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0006]This invention is a container for storing and serving food, especially practical for cheese, and other items that would benefit from being stored in a temperature and environment similar to those recommended for wine. In particular cheese, depending on its variety, is, in essence, a living organic entity that can be damaged or whose flavor can be significantly diminished by storing it at the average food refrigeration temperature or in too warm an environment. The invention addresses food storage requirements including moderated refrigeration and enhanced humidity control while addressing odor migration thus maintaining the flavor and other characteristics of cheese and other temperature sensitive items. The invention does so by taking a novel approach in that it repurposes one or more of the wine bottle storage bays found in commercially available refrigerated wine storage units and the bottle bays of wine storage racks found in wine cellars and wine storage rooms. By virtue of the container's size and contour the container will fit stably into the bottle bays in the vast majority of commercially available refrigerated wine storage units and in those bottle bays of wine storage racks found in wine cellars and wine storage rooms. It will also rest stably on a flat surface such as a table or countertop thus facilitating the filling of the container, access to its contents and its use as a serving vessel.

Problems solved by technology

Prior art does not sufficiently address how to store cheese or other items in more optimal temperature conditions, maintain sufficient humidity to prevent drying, prevent foreign (non-cheese) odors from creating undesirable flavors, and prevent cheese odors from escaping the environment.

Some prior art is too general and not tailored for this purpose for example, Food Storage Container or the Like (U.S. Pat. No.

But they do not address the fact that quite often cheeses, butter and other items are more optimally stored in temperatures that range significantly below room temperature but above those temperatures customarily maintained in refrigeration units being used for the purpose of storing and preserving freshness of other foods.

Even prior art specifically designed for cheese, while addressing issues of odor migration, dehydration and even slicing and serving cheese, do not address the temperature or enhanced humidity requirements of cheese storage.

While there is some prior art designed to address the specialized storage requirements of cheese they are too complex, large and costly thus making them impractical for use in the home.

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