Shell form and method of use
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Solution Overview
Problem
Small batch cooking of doughs, such as flour and corn-based doughs, like taco shells, faces challenges in achieving a consistent and predictable final product shape due to the lack of specialized tools that can form and maintain shape during cooking in hot, wet environments, leading to irregularly shaped shells when using wire baskets or forms that deform in hot oil.
Innovation Solution
A shell form assembly comprising an inner form made from a bent planar grill and an outer clip, both made from wire, which captures a tortilla to maintain its shape during cooking, ensuring a consistent taco shell shape by minimizing deformation and maximizing contact area with hot oil.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a wire basket is used to cook shells, then the cooking process is simple, but the final product shape is unpredictable and random
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-forming the tortilla around a curved form before cooking. The tortilla is wrapped around the form and secured with clips to maintain the desired shell shape during the cooking process, ensuring consistent shape output rather than relying on random formation in a wire basket.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses a curved form as an intermediary tool between the tortilla and the final shell product. This form acts as a mold that the tortilla is wrapped around during cooking, transferring the desired shape to the shell while allowing oil circulation through the wire construction.
2Shape
If a tortilla is wrapped around a curved form and then placed over the form when removed from oil, then shape can be achieved, but the shell shape becomes irregular due to relaxation away from the curved form
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs the shaping action preliminarily by wrapping the tortilla around the form before cooking begins. The form maintains the shape throughout the cooking process, and the shell is removed from the form while still hot and pliable, preventing relaxation and shape distortion during cooling.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent provides beforehand cushioning by having the tortilla tightly wrapped around the form with clips securing it in place before cooking. This pre-securing prevents the shell from relaxing or deforming during the cooking and cooling process, maintaining shape stability.
3Shape
If a form is used during cooking, then shape can be imparted, but the shell becomes irregularly shaped due to heated form deformation, opening of the shell while cooking in hot oil, and relaxation away from the curved form when moved from hot oil
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a wire form construction that allows the tortilla shell to flex and conform to the form's shape while maintaining structural integrity. The wire form provides a flexible yet stable support structure that prevents deformation under heat while allowing the shell to open properly for cooking.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent secures the tortilla to the form with clips before cooking begins, preventing the shell from opening or detaching during the cooking process in hot oil. This preliminary securing ensures the shell maintains its shape throughout cooking and can be reliably removed from the form while hot.
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 shell form assembly consistently produces taco shells with a predictable shape, maintaining structural integrity and facilitating easy filling by providing a flat bottom, addressing the issue of irregular shapes from previous methods.
Implementation Method 1
when a shell is cooked without a form but subsequently placed over a curved form when just removed from the oil
Data Source
AI summary
A shell form and a method of using the shell form requires a wire form and a wire clip, a tortilla placed therebetween during the time that the tortilla is cooked in hot oil forming a taco shell.