Food support

Abstract

To provide a food support tool for supporting food from below when heating the food in a microwave oven, oven or grill, which can be bent and deformed according to the size, shape, etc. of the food, and can be used as a tray member even with a tray found in an ordinary home. [Solution] Food support device 1 is formed separately from food support device 1 and is used by placing it on a tray member 3 that receives the juices oozing out of food 5. It is made of flexible silicone and is shaped like a rope with a triangular cross section and three ridges. When food support device 1 is placed on tray member 3, ridge 2A, the highest of the three ridges, abuts against the underside of food 5, thereby supporting food 5 at a distance above tray member 3.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a food support device that supports food from below on a tray member when heating food in a microwave oven, oven, or grill. [Background technology]

[0002] When food is placed directly on a tray or other receptacle member and heated in a microwave, oven, or grill, the moisture, oil, and other exudates from the food accumulate at and near the contact point between the food and the receptacle member, making the bottom of the food sticky and reducing the texture and taste (flavor, umami, etc.) of the food. In the following, when the bottom of the food becomes sticky, this is referred to as the bottom of the food becoming sticky.

[0003] Patent Document 1 describes a cooking tray that serves as a tray member and is configured to drain water and oil that seeps out of food when heated in a microwave oven. This tray has a plurality of parallel protrusions that protrude upward from the approximate center of its bottom and are generally strip-shaped in plan view, and the protrusions are integrally formed with the bottom. When food is placed on the bottom of this tray, the food is supported from below by the protrusions, and the water and oil that seeps out of the food falls into grooves between adjacent protrusions, allowing the food to be drained. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Registered Utility Model No. 3170258 (paragraph 0010, Figure 1, etc.) Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] Foods such as ingredients to be heated in a microwave oven, etc., come in a variety of sizes and shapes. Therefore, it is preferable that a food support device that supports food so that the food is spaced above the tray member be able to support food of various sizes and shapes.

[0006] However, since the cooking tray described above has a protrusion integrally formed on the bottom thereof, it cannot be used for food that is larger than the tray, which is inconvenient.

[0007] This invention was made in consideration of the above-mentioned technical background, and its purpose is to provide a food support device that can accommodate various sizes and shapes of food, and can also use trays found in ordinary households as tray members. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The present invention provides the following means:

[0009] 1) A food support device that supports food from below when heating food in a microwave oven, oven, or grill, The food support is placed on a tray member formed separately from the food support and used to receive juices exuded from the food. It is made of flexible silicone and is formed into a rope-like shape with a triangular cross section having three ridges. When placed on the tray member, the highest of the three ridge portions abuts against the underside of the food, thereby supporting the food at a distance above the tray member.

[0010] 2) A food support device according to the preceding paragraph 1, having a regular triangular cross section.

[0011] 3) A food support according to the preceding paragraph 1 or 2, wherein the length of each side in cross section is in the range of 3 to 8 mm. [Effects of the Invention]

[0012] This invention has the following effects:

[0013] In the preceding paragraph 1, the food support supports food placed on a tray member, spaced above the tray member. Therefore, when food is heated while supported by the food support, juices from the food drip from the underside of the food onto the tray member. Furthermore, the food support supports food by having the highest of its three ridges abut the underside of the food. Therefore, when food is supported by the food support, one of the three ridges of the food support abuts the underside of the food in a line contact manner. Therefore, the contact area between the underside of the food and the food support is small. This prevents the underside of the food from becoming sticky.

[0014] Furthermore, since the food support is placed on a tray member formed separately from the food support, trays of various sizes and shapes found in ordinary households can be used as the tray member, making it highly versatile.

[0015] Furthermore, since the food support is made of flexible silicone and is formed like a rope, the food support can be bent and deformed according to the size and shape of the food, and can stably support food of various sizes and shapes.

[0016] Furthermore, since the food support is made of silicone, it has high heat resistance, which can prevent the food support from being thermally deformed when food is heated.

[0017] In the previous paragraph 2, the food support has an equilateral triangular cross section, so that any edge of the food support can stably support food.

[0018] In the preceding paragraph 3, the length of each side in the cross section of the food support is in the range of 3 to 8 mm, which has the following advantages:

[0019] In other words, by making the length of each side 3 mm or more, the food can be reliably supported at a height that prevents the juices from spilling onto the tray member from contacting the bottom of the food, thereby preventing the bottom of the food from becoming sticky. By making the length of each side 8 mm or less, the food support can be easily bent and deformed, and the material costs of the food support can be reduced. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0020] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing a food support device according to one embodiment of the present invention in one state of use. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing the food support device in another state of use. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional perspective view of the food support device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0021] An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[0022] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, a food support device 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention supports food 5 (shown in phantom lines) such as ingredients from below on a tray member 3 when heating the food 5 in a microwave oven, oven, or grill (none of which are shown).

[0023] The food support device 1 and the tray member 3 are formed separately from each other, and the food support device 1 is placed on the tray member 3 when in use.

[0024] The tray member 3 receives exudates such as water and oil exuded from the food 5 when the food 5 is heated in a microwave oven, an oven, or a grill (hereinafter also referred to as "microwave oven, etc.").

[0025] As the tray member 3, a tray used in a general household when heating food 5 in a microwave oven or the like can be used, and specifically, for example, a flat plate, round plate, oval plate, square plate, etc. made of ceramic (e.g., porcelain, earthenware, heat-resistant glass) as shown in the figure can be used as the tray member 3. Furthermore, the tray member 3 may be plate-shaped as shown in the figure, or may be container-shaped.

[0026] Food support device 1 is made of flexible silicone such as silicone rubber, and is therefore elastically bendable. As shown in Figure 3, food support device 1 is shaped like a long, thin rope with a triangular cross section, having three ridges 2A, 2B, and 2C. When food support device 1 is placed on tray member 3, the highest ridge of 2A-2C (for example, ridge 2A in the figure) abuts against the underside of food 5, thereby supporting food 5 above and spaced apart from tray member 3.

[0027] In this embodiment, food support tool 1 has a regular triangular cross section. Therefore, the lengths of sides a, b, and c in the cross section of food support tool 1 are equal (i.e., a=b=c). The preferred lengths of sides a to c will be described later.

[0028] The length of food support device 1 is not limited, but is preferably in the range of 20 to 150 cm. A more preferable lower limit for the length of food support device 1 is 30 cm, and an especially preferable lower limit is 40 cm. A more preferable upper limit for the length of food support device 1 is 120 cm, and an especially preferable upper limit is 100 cm.

[0029] When using food support device 1, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, a user (not shown) of food support device 1 places food support device 1 on tray member 3. Then, two of the three ridge lines 2A-2C of food support device 1 (e.g., ridge lines 2B and 2C) and the surface between ridge lines 2B and 2C come into contact with tray member 3, and the remaining ridge line (e.g., ridge line 2A) is positioned higher than ridge lines 2B and 2C. Next, food support device 1 is bent and deformed by hand to fit the size and shape of food 5 (more specifically, the underside of food 5).

[0030] In FIG. 1, food support device 1 is bent and deformed in a generally spiral shape, and in FIG. 2, it is bent and deformed in a generally wave shape.

[0031] In the present invention, the food support 1 may be bent and deformed to fit the size, shape, etc. of the food 5 before being placed on the tray member 3.

[0032] Next, food 5 is placed on food support device 1. This brings one of ridges 2A of food support device 1 into line contact with the underside of food 5, thereby supporting food 5 in a spaced-apart position above tray member 3. Then, while food 5 is still in this supported state, food 5 can be covered with plastic wrap (not shown) as needed, and food 5 is then heated in a microwave oven or the like.

[0033] When the heating of the food 5 is completed, the wrap is peeled off, and the food support 1 is removed from the tray member 3, and the food 5 is then eaten, or the food 5 is removed from the food support 1 and placed on a plate for eating, and then the food 5 is eaten.

[0034] If food support 1 becomes soiled during use, it can be reused by washing it with water or the like.

[0035] According to the food support device 1 of this embodiment, when food 5 is supported by the food support device 1, the food 5 is spaced above the tray member 3, so that juices exuding from the food 5 due to heating fall from the underside of the food 5 onto the tray member 3. Furthermore, the highest ridge line 2A of the three ridge lines 2A-2C of the food support device 1 makes line contact with the underside of the food 5, so the contact area of ​​the underside of the food 5 with the food support device 1 is small. This prevents the underside of the food 5 from becoming sticky.

[0036] Furthermore, since the food support device 1 is used by being placed on a tray member 3 formed separately from the food support device 1, trays of various sizes and shapes found in ordinary households can be used as the tray member 3, making it highly versatile.

[0037] Furthermore, because food support device 1 is made of flexible silicone and is formed like a rope, it can be bent and deformed according to the size and shape of food 5, and can therefore stably support food 5 of various sizes and shapes. Therefore, food 5 can be stably supported even if it is fried food (tempura, fried chicken, etc.), fish (including grilled fish), frozen food (frozen dumplings, frozen Chinese buns, etc.), toast, pizza, etc.

[0038] Furthermore, because silicone generally has a high coefficient of friction, when food support 1 is placed on tray member 3 after being bent to conform to the shape of food 5, even if food support 1 attempts to return to its original shape due to its own elastic restoring force, it is difficult to do so due to the contact frictional force from tray member 3 acting on food support 1. This ensures that food support 1 maintains its bent and deformed state, and prevents food support 1 from returning to its original shape when or after food 5 is placed on it.

[0039] Furthermore, because food support device 1 has a regular triangular cross section, food 5 can be stably supported no matter which of three ridge lines 2A to 2C of food support device 1 is positioned at the highest position.

[0040] Furthermore, because food support 1 is made of silicone, it generally has higher heat resistance than synthetic resins such as polypropylene, which helps prevent the food support 1 from thermally deforming when food 5 is heated.Furthermore, it can be cut to the desired length using, for example, ordinary household scissors, so the length of food support 1 can be easily adjusted to a convenient length.

[0041] The silicone used is so-called food-grade silicone, and it is preferable to use food-grade silicone that is FDA-certified and / or LFGB-certified, such as FDA45° or LFGB55°. Such a silicone food support 1 has the advantages of being highly safe and easily bent and deformed.

[0042] When using food support 1 to heat food 5 in a microwave oven or the like, food support 1 is used below the heat resistance temperature of the silicone material of which it is made, specifically, typically below about 230°C.

[0043] Although there are no restrictions on the lengths of the sides a to c in the cross section of the food support tool 1, it is preferable that they all be in the range of 3 to 8 mm. The reason for this is as follows.

[0044] That is, by making the lengths of each of sides a to c all 3 mm or more, food 5 can be reliably supported at a height that prevents juices from food 5 that have fallen onto tray member 3 from contacting the underside of food 5, thereby reliably preventing the underside of food 5 from becoming sticky. By making the lengths of each of sides a to c all 8 mm or less, food support device 1 can be easily bent and deformed, and material costs for food support device 1 can be reduced. A more preferable upper limit for the lengths of each of sides a to c is 7 mm, and an especially preferable upper limit for the lengths is 6 mm.

[0045] In fact, we manufactured a rope-like food support 1 made of flexible silicone with an equilateral triangular cross section. We then used this food support 1 to support tempura (a food 5 containing a lot of oil) on a tray member 3 and heated it in a microwave oven. When the lengths of each of the sides a to c in the cross section of the food support 1 were all within the range of 3 to 8 mm, we were able to reliably prevent the underside of the tempura from becoming sticky, and we were able to bend and deform the food support 1 to fit the shape of the tempura. The particularly preferred lower limit of the length for each of the sides a to c was 4 mm, and the particularly preferred upper limit was 6 mm.

[0046] Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment and can be modified in various ways without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

[0047] In addition, in this invention, it is particularly preferable that the cross-sectional shape of the food support be an equilateral triangle as in the above embodiment, but this invention is not limited to this and does not exclude triangular shapes other than equilateral triangles (e.g., acute triangles). [Industrial Applicability]

[0048] The present invention can be used in a food support device that supports food when it is heated in a microwave oven, oven, or grill. [Explanation of symbols]

[0049] 1: Food support 2A~2C: Ridge line part 3: Tray material 5: Food

Claims

1. A food support device that supports food from below when heating food in a microwave oven, oven, or grill, The food support is placed on a tray member formed separately from the food support and used to receive juices exuded from the food. It is made of flexible silicone and is formed into a rope-like shape with a triangular cross section having three ridges. When placed on the tray member, the highest of the three ridge portions abuts against the underside of the food, thereby supporting the food at a distance above the tray member.

2. 2. The food support device according to claim 1, wherein the cross section is an equilateral triangle.

3. 3. The food support device according to claim 1, wherein the length of each side in cross section is in the range of 3 to 8 mm.

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