Sous vide pouch
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Solution Overview
Problem
Sous vide cooking is hindered by food products overlapping and contacting each other, reducing surface area exposure and cooking effectiveness, and the difficulty in preparing and containing sauces within flexible pouches, leading to spillage and inconsistent sauce distribution.
Innovation Solution
A sous vide pouch with a partitioned chamber, a resealable tearable portion, and a one-way valve to prevent food overlap and facilitate air removal, along with a textured material for air flow and a dam to retain sauce, ensuring even cooking and sauce consistency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If multiple food products are placed in a sous vide pouch, then the pouch can contain multiple items for cooking, but the food products may overlap and contact each other, reducing surface area exposure and cooking effectiveness
Solution Approach 1:
The sous vide pouch is divided into multiple separate compartments using partitions or dividers. Each compartment can hold one or more food products, preventing overlap and contact between different food items. This segmentation ensures that each food product maintains maximum surface area exposure to the cooking fluid, thereby preserving cooking effectiveness while allowing multiple items to be cooked simultaneously in a single pouch.
2Stability of the object's composition
If sauce is prepared to accommodate liquid exuding from food products, then the sauce can maintain proper consistency, but pouring the sauce into the flexible pouch is difficult and results in spillage
Solution Approach 1:
The pouch is equipped with a spout or pouring guide that is pre-formed as part of the pouch structure. This spout allows the sauce to be poured in a controlled manner, directing the flow into the pouch accurately and preventing spillage. The spout design accommodates the flexible nature of the pouch while providing ease of operation during the sauce pouring step.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the pouch is made flexible to facilitate sealing and cooking, then the pouch can be easily sealed and adapted to cooking conditions, but pouring the sauce into the pouch becomes difficult and results in spillage
Solution Approach 1:
The pouch structure is segmented into a main body that remains flexible for sealing and cooking, and a separate spout or pouring guide component that provides structural rigidity in the pouring region. This allows the pouch to maintain flexibility where needed while having a dedicated structure that facilitates easy and spill-free sauce pouring.
4Reliability
If air is removed from the pouch to improve cooking quality, then the cooking effectiveness is enhanced, but the valve must prevent non-gaseous contents from exiting while allowing air to pass through
Solution Approach 1:
The valve incorporates a selective permeable membrane or filter with specific pore sizes that allow air molecules to pass through while blocking larger non-gaseous contents such as food particles and sauce. This local quality differentiation within the valve structure enables it to perform its dual function of air removal and content retention without requiring complex mechanical components.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The partitioned design increases food surface area exposure, enhancing cooking predictability and effectiveness, while the valve and textured material improve air removal and sauce retention, maintaining sauce consistency and preventing spillage.
Implementation Method 1
the sous vide pouch comprises a valve to facilitate removal of air from the chamber
Implementation Method 2
at least some of the plastic material of the chamber is textured to create channels for the air to flow therethrough toward the valve during removal of the air
Implementation Method 3
the valve includes a membrane configured to permit the air within the chamber to pass therethrough and inhibit non-gaseous contents within the chamber exiting via the valve
Implementation Method 4
the sous vide pouch comprises a dam formation configured to inhibit the non-gaseous contents exiting the chamber via the valve during removal of the air
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3A~3B
AI summary
Pouches and assemblies for use in sous vide cooking, and associated systems and methods are disclosed. In several embodiments, a sous vide pouch includes a sealable chamber having a sauce for cooking with a food product. The chamber can have a partition that provides a boundary a boundary between a first and second portion of the chamber to receive two food products during a sous vide cooking process. In some embodiments, the sous vide pouch can further include a vacuum valve for removing air from the chamber.