EP0950861B1 - Method of cooking food in an oven - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a method of cooking food in a domestic oven, if applicable appropriate in an industrial oven, especially for to optimize the results of this cooking and, at the same time, reduce the energy to the bare minimum electric used.

We know that baking ovens generally include the more generally, an internal muffle housed inside a external enclosure and in which food is placed to be cooked, this muffle being open towards the outside to allow access to its internal cavity and arrange in this food before it is closed by a pivoting door, mounted on the front of the enclosure external.

The oven has resistances inside the muffle electric heaters, mounted at the bottom and / or in its side walls and if necessary other resistors attached to the muffle ceiling, generally providing a grill function for roasting Food.

These resistances for cooking the products put in place in the muffle cavity, or even to achieve a cleaning operation by grease pyrolysis and other residues deposited on the internal walls of this muffle, are joined to a control device which regulates power output and electrical energy consumed in the oven, depending on the paces of desired cooking temperatures to be reached.

Control and adjustment buttons, usually arranged on the front face of the oven on a strip provided above of the pivoting door, allow to display the selected cooking parameters, which do not change as during this cooking if the user does not modify them not himself, at his discretion or based on data from cooking available.

Thus, in conventional ovens, the cooking temperature once displayed remains fixed, the heating resistors being kept energized until a sensor or analog, which continuously measures the temperature in the muffle, reaches the set point, in which case it provides a signal that cuts off the power until the temperature decreasing, the resistances are again powered and so on the temperature in the flask fluctuating around the displayed threshold.

At the same time, a turbine or other device similar ventilation, generally provided at the bottom of the muffle, may or may not be ordered to ensure a static or ventilated cooking as appropriate, evacuation gases and moisture produced in the muffle being provided by another fan which sucks the fumes and vapors from cooking, by permanently rejecting to the outside of the enclosure.

We also know, from WO-A-97/07723, an oven industrial in which the heating is carried out by lamps and not by electric resistors, for get quick cooking.

In this document, regulation of the power delivered to lamps as a function of energy residual stored in the oven to allow to obtain successive cooking with cooking time constant, without being bothered by this residual heat which forbidden such cooking without modification of the time necessary for each of them.

This type of usual control of cooking parameters food in the muffle of a domestic oven or industrial, however, has certain drawbacks.

In particular, to obtain good culinary results, it it is necessary to have a heating power high, which, conversely, requires programming the cooking time precisely, to avoid overheating and especially overly prolonged cooking, which can be harmful to the appearance and taste of food.

Similarly, it is also essential to remove quickly the preparations to be cooked out of the muffle, a once the correct cooking is completed so that the heat accumulated in the oven does not continue to cook the products beyond the planned and displayed duration, the heat unused residue therefore representing a loss notable energy.

The present invention aims to improve very significantly the results of cooking food in the oven, making these results far less dependent on the precision of the programming carried out cooking time, while reducing the overall consumption of energy required to obtaining optimal cooking.

• qu'on prévoit un ventilateur dans le fond du moufle et un second ventilateur permettant d'aspirer, dans le moufle, les fumées ou vapeurs provenant des aliments ;
• que dans un premier temps la phase de montée en température est réalisée en mode ventilé avec le ventilateur en route, et une évacuation minimale de l'humidité, le second ventilateur entraíné à bas régime ;
• que dans un second temps, on effectue la cuisson proprement dite, à température fixe correspondant à un premier seuil, on agit en mode ventilé, avec ou sans variation d'humidité en contrôlant la vitesse du second ventilateur ;
• que dans un troisième temps on coupe l'alimentation des résistances en laissant la température décroítre jusqu'à un seuil donné, ce qui correspond à une phase dite de récupération ;
• et que dans une dernière phase de fin de cuisson, le four est maintenu à une température relativement basse telle que les aliments dans le moufle sont conservés au chaud sans risque de surcuisson. Dans un mode de mise en oeuvre préféré du procédé, les résistances de chauffage sont alimentées indépendamment et complémentairement l'une de l'autre, mais non simultanément.

To this end, the process considered, for cooking food placed inside an oven, in particular a domestic oven heated using at least one electrical resistance, preferably by two or more resistors, sole and / or side wall, and / or grill, consists in dividing the total cooking time of the elements placed inside the oven muffle by alternating several successive phases, comprising a first time corresponding to a phase of temperature rise in the muffle, the food being placed in it, and is characterized in that:

• that a fan is provided in the bottom of the muffle and a second fan for sucking, in the muffle, the fumes or vapors from food;
• that initially the temperature rise phase is carried out in ventilated mode with the fan on, and a minimum evacuation of humidity, the second fan driven at low speed;
• that in a second step, the actual cooking is carried out, at a fixed temperature corresponding to a first threshold, it is acted in ventilated mode, with or without variation of humidity by controlling the speed of the second fan;
• that in a third step we cut the supply of resistors leaving the temperature to decrease to a given threshold, which corresponds to a so-called recovery phase;
• and that in a final phase of end of cooking, the oven is kept at a relatively low temperature such that the food in the muffle is kept warm without risk of overcooking. In a preferred embodiment of the method, the heating resistors are supplied independently and in addition to one another, but not simultaneously.

• La Figure 1 est un schéma illustrant la manière dont est réalisée la commande séquentielle des diverses fonctions du four.
• Les Figures 2 et 3 sont des diagrammes permettant de mieux comprendre la répartition avec laquelle s'effectue la mise sous tension des résistances de sole et de grill du four considéré.

Other characteristics of a cooking process established in accordance with the invention will become more apparent from the following description of an example of implementation, given by way of non-limiting example, with reference to the appended drawing in which:

• Figure 1 is a diagram illustrating the manner in which the sequential control of the various functions of the oven is carried out.
• Figures 2 and 3 are diagrams to better understand the distribution with which the power is applied to the sole and grill resistances of the oven in question.

In Figure 1, the illustrated diagram makes it possible to understand the principles by which is designed and implemented the method of the invention on a furnace with two resistances.

In this figure, reference 1 designates a phase of the power supply and reference 2 the neutral of this power supply, the oven or similar device comprising two switches 8 and 9, the closure of which performs electrical powering of resistors 4 and 5, respectively provided in the muffle ceiling of the oven to perform a grill function in particular, and in the side walls and / or the bottom of this muffle to normal cooking of the food placed in this muffle.

The switch 10 allows the energization of a fan 6 or a turbine, generally provided in the bottom of the muffle and the switch 11, putting under voltage of a second fan 7, generally designated under the term tangential, allowing to aspire into the muffles fumes or vapors from food to during their cooking, these fumes or vapors passing through the muffle's ceiling through a passage provided in this to be collected in a conduit arranged above of the muffle, in order to repel this smoke towards the outside of the oven enclosure, usually through a discharge slot in the front of this enclosure, above or to the right of the door swivel which normally closes the latter.

Independent switches, respectively 8, 9, 10 and 11, according to the invention allow control individually or simultaneously the tensioning of elements, connecting them between phase 1 and neutral 2 of the food.

A programming device 12 enables these different switches according to a sequence performed in accordance with the process of the invention, ensuring a temperature regulation inside the muffle or energy recovery, this at the same time as the food is cooked in static mode, or in ventilated mode, by allowing the rate to be controlled humidity in the muffle, in particular by modifying the tangential fan speed.

In the example considered, the oven is equipped with two resistors, the electrical power of resistors 4 and 5 can be adjusted, especially to 2500 Watts for the grill and also 2500 Watts for the sole.

According to the invention, by playing on the switches 8 to 11 using the sequencer-programmer 12, one can obtain all desired power distributions between two grill and sole resistances, controlling the respective times during which these resistances are power up, the diagram in Figure 2 corresponding to a heating rate where the resistance of grill 4 is powered for 80% of the cycle, while the floor resistor itself is only supplied during 20% of this same cycle.

In the diagram according to Figure 3, the resistance 4 is energized during 20% of the cycle and resistance 5 during 40%. In all cases, the two commands are at most complementary.

The cooking process is then carried out in the manner next.

At first, which corresponds to the phase of temperature rise in the muffle for cooking of food placed in it, carried out in ventilated, with fan 6 on, and a minimum moisture evacuation, fan 7 being driven at low speed, cooking is done using at best the energy supplied by resistors 4 and 5, energized successively and additionally as specified with reference to the diagrams described more high.

In this first phase, preheating can be removed, the rise in temperature in the muffle being used to start cooking.

Secondly where the cooking takes place properly said, we can also act in ventilated mode, with or without humidity variations, controlling the speed of the fan 7, this second phase taking place at fixed temperature.

Thirdly, we cut the power to resistances leaving the temperature to decrease to a given threshold, lower than the first. This operation, which corresponds to a so-called recovery phase, is preferably carried out in natural convection with a maximum humidity, which makes the best use of energy stored in the oven and improve significantly the culinary result.

At the end of cooking, which must necessarily intervene after a recovery phase, we can maintain the oven at a relatively low temperature, food in the muffle being kept warm, without risk of overcooking. This last phase is carried out as the previous in natural convection with a maximum humidity.

The first three phases are implemented in a way successive and repetitive as long as necessary to cooking, the last phase occurring only after a recovery.

The invention makes it possible to obtain significant gains in energy consumption, around 20% or even more, the better the better the oven isolated.

Cooking is less dependent on the total time used, the invention provides a certain guarantee of result obtained, the recovery phase being particularly useful in the case of cooking meats where it advantageously replaces the period of usual rest, essential for obtaining quality optimal. Baking pastries is also optimized, the recovery phase making it possible to obtain more softness than with conventional cooking.

The system can be coupled with a programmer, to obtain semi-automatic cooking. The sequences of phases then depend on the type of cooking selected, and the duration of each phase of the total programmed time.

It is also possible to manage cooking automated, determining by type of cooking, sequences and temperatures, allowing to obtain a good culinary result, whatever the preparation concerned.

Of course, it goes without saying that the invention is not limited not to the embodiment more specifically described above with reference to the accompanying drawings; she in on the contrary embraces all variants. In in particular, the method can be implemented with a number of resistors greater than two, alternating controls of these resistors to reduce the power installed from the device.

Claims (5)

1. Process for baking food disposed inside an oven, in particular a domestic oven heated by means of at least one electric heating element, preferably by two or more heating elements, on the bottom and/or the lateral wall and/or the grill, consisting in splitting the total duration of baking of the foods disposed inside the muffle of the oven by alternating several successive phases, comprising a first stage, corresponding to a phase of raising the temperature in the muffle, the food being placed in this muffle, characterised in that a fan (6) is provided in the base of the muffle and a second fan (7) is provided, for sucking the steam or vapours emanating from the food into the muffle, in that, in a first stage, the phase of raising the temperature takes place in fan mode, with the fan (6) activated and minimal moisture evacuation, the second fan (7) being set to low; in that, in a second stage, the actual baking itself is carried out, at a fixed temperature corresponding to a first threshold, in fan mode, with or without moisture variation by monitoring the speed of the second fan (7); in that, in the third stage, the power is isolated from the heating elements while allowing the temperature to decrease to a given level, which corresponds to a so-called recovery phase; and in that, in a final baking phase, the oven is maintained at a relatively low temperature, such that the food in the muffle is kept warm, without there being a risk of over-baking.
2. Process for baking according to claim 1, characterised in that the first three phases are carried out in a successive and repeated manner, and in that the last phase only takes place after a recovery phase.
3. Process according to either of claims 1 and 2, characterised in that the third and fourth phases are carried out in natural convection with maximum moisture.
4. Process according to any of the preceding claims, characterised in that the sequences and temperatures which yield good culinary results, whatever is being prepared, are determined according to the method of baking, to enable automatic baking to be effectively managed.
5. Process according to any of the preceding claims, characterised in that the heating elements are supplied independently of and complementarily with one another but not simultaneously.

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