GB2291785A

GB2291785A - Roasting tin with drainage means

Info

Publication number: GB2291785A
Application number: GB9415058A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Eric Martyn Halsted Johnson
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1994-07-26
Filing date: 1994-07-26
Publication date: 1996-02-07
Anticipated expiration: 2014-07-26
Also published as: GB2291785B; GB9415058D0

Abstract

A culinary utensil for use as a roasting tin comprises an open-topped container (13) having a base wall and an upstanding side wall (12). The container (13) is provided with a controllable drainage means (15, 16, 17) whereby liquid held in the container (13) can be discharged from the container 13. <IMAGE>

Description

Title: Culinary Utensil Description of the Invention This invention relates to a culinary utensil and particularly to an opentopped container having a base wall on which food to be roasted is usually placed and an upstanding side wall to retain fat evolved during cooking, for use in roasting food such as poultry. Such a container is commonly referred to as a roasting tin irrespective of the material of which the container is made, and will be referred to as such hereinafter.

When certain foods are roasted, such as goose or turkey, a considerable amount of fat is evolved which is collected in the roasting tin. It is desirable to keep the food out of contact with such large amounts of fat and hitherto this has been achieved, generally, by removing the roasting tin from the oven and tipping out the excess fat. This is a difficult operation particularly when the food is heavy such as when roasting a large turkey. There is also risk of the food slipping out of the container onto the floor.

An object of the invention is to provide a roasting tin where the above mentioned problem is overcome or is reduced and thus render the fat removal operation safer.

According to one aspect of the present invention we provide a culinary utensil for use as a roasting tin comprising an open-topped container having a base wall and an upstanding side wall and in which the container is provided with a controllable drainage means whereby liquid held in the container can be discharged from the container.

The controllable drainage means preferably comprises a conduit having an entry end in communication with the interior of the container and an outlet end in communication with the exterior of the container and which is movable between a first position in which is disposed above the entry end and a second position in which it is disposed below the entry end so that liquid from the interior of the container can be held in the container when the outlet end is in the first position and can be discharged from the container by flow under gravity when the outlet end is in the second position.

At least a part of the conduit may comprise a flexible tube to permit movement of the outlet end between said pOsitions.

Preferably means may be provided releasably to retain the outlet end in said first position.

The retaining means may comprise a clip provided on the container with which the conduit can be releasably engaged when in said first position.

The base wall may be provided with a depression adjacent an entry end of the discharge means to collect fat therein.

The base wall may be provided with at least one elongate channel to direct fat to a position adjacent an entry end of the discharge means.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompany drawing which is a perspective view of a roasting tin embodying the invention.

Referring to the drawing a roasting tin is indicated generally at 10 and comprises a generally rectangular base wall 11 and a side wall 12 which extends generally upwardly but inclines slightly outwardly from the base wall 11 to define an open-topped container 13. The side wall 12 comprises four side wall portions one of which is shown at 12a and is provided with a circular opening 14 in which a cylindrical boss 15 is sealingly mounted, for example, by brazing or any other suitable manner.

The boss 15 has a flexible tube 16 coupled thereto by any suitable coupling means such as by an external thread on the boss 15 engageable by a nut 17 which traps an out-turned flange of the tube 16 against the end of the boss 15.

The flexible tube 16 comprises a sectional metal hose made of spirally disposed interengaged adjacent turns of conventional construction.

The tube 16 and boss 15 together provide a conduit having an inlet end 18 which communicates with the interior of the container 13 and an outlet end 19 which communicates with the exterior of the container. The outlet end 19 is movable between a first position, shown in full line in the figure, and a second position, shown in chain dotted line, in the figure. The tube 16 is releasably retained in the first position by engaging the tube with a clip 20 secured to the wall 12a in any suitable manner and is releasable from the clip 20 by displacing the tube 16 to the left from the position shown in full line in the figure and then the tube can be flexed to move the end 19 to the position shown in chain dotted line.

It will be appreciated that when the tube is in the first position the liquid is held in the container 13 whilst when the tube is moved to the second position the liquid can drain from the outlet end 19 under the influence of gravity.

The tube may be moved between the first and second position in any convenient manner for example by engaging a suitable tool such as a sleeve, clip or tongs with the tube or by using a heat insulating handling means such as an oven glove.

Although a controllable discharge means which is wholly comprised of a flexible tube, except for the boss 15, has been described hereinbefore, the controllable discharge means may be provided in other ways, for example, by providing a flexible tube for only a part or parts of the length of the discharge means the remainder of the discharge means comprising elongate rigid tube sections which may be interconnected by one or more flexible tube sections.

Alternatively the discharge means may comprise a plurality of rigid tube sections interconnected by a suitable rotary joint means.

A further alternative of discharge means may comprise a conduit provided with valve means. However the discharge means having a flexible tube with an exit end movable between the above described first and second positions is preferred to a valve means since under the conditions of service and in particular to the varying temperatures leakage of valve means may occur.

If desired, the entry end of the discharge means may be located at a position other than that illustrated, for example, at or adjacent a corner of the container.

Moreover, if desired, the base of the container may be provided with a depression to collect fat at or adjacent the entry end and/or one or more elongate channels to drain fat towards the entry end and the depression when present.

The features disclosed in the foregoing description, or the following claims, or the accompanying drawings, expressed in their specific forms or in terms of a means for performing the disclosed function, or a method or process for attaining the disclosed result, as appropriate, may, separately or in any combination of such features, be utilised for realising the invention in diverse forms thereof.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A culinary utensil for use as a roasting tin comprising an open-topped container having a base wall and an upstanding side wall and in which the container is provided with a controllable drainage means whereby liquid held in the container can be discharged from the container.

2. A culinary utensil according to claim 1 wherein the controllable drainage means preferably comprises a conduit having an entry end in communication with the interior of the container and an outlet end in communication with the exterior of the container and which is movable between a first position in which is disposed above the entry end and a second position in which it is disposed below the entry end so that liquid from the interior of the container can be held in the container when the outlet end is in the first position and can be discharged from the container by flow under gravity when the outlet end is in the second position.

3. A culinary utensil according to claim 2 wherein at least a part of the conduit comprises a flexible tube to permit movement of the outlet end between said positions.

4. A culinary utensil according to claim 2 or claim 3 wherein means are provided releasably to retain the outlet end in said first position.

5. A culinary utensil according to claim 4 wherein the retaining means comprises a clip provided on the container with which the conduit can be releasably engaged when in said first position.

6. A culinary utensil according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the base wall is provided with a depression adjacent an entry end of the discharge means to collect fat therein.

7. A culinary utensil according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the base wall is provided with at least one elongate channel to direct fat to a position adjacent an entry end of the discharge means.

8. A culinary utensil substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

9. Any novel feature or novel combination of features described herein and/or in the accompanying drawings.