Cooking apparatus

A machine for the rapid and simultaneous cooking of separate quantities of pasta consists of a cabinet containing a number of cooking pots. Each load of pasta is suspended in a pot by means of a perforated basket. The apparatus includes supplies of hot water and of steam. A valve assembly operated by a controller charges each pot with hot water and then injects steam into the water to maintain it at a boiling temperature to cook the pasta. After an appropriate cooking time, determined either by the controller or manually, the supply of steam is stopped and the pot is drained. The basket with the cooked pasta can be removed from the pot for serving.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates to a cooking method and to apparatus for practicing 
such method. 
More specifically, the apparatus is designed for cooking food material, 
especially a pasta product, on a commercial scale, the primary objective 
being to permit rapid cooking of individual quantities of food in a 
restaurant or fast food outlet. 
Since the invention has been developed primarily for the cooking of pasta 
products, the discussion below of the specific form of apparatus 
illustrated in the drawings will be based on the assumption that it is 
pasta that is to be cooked. Nevertheless it should be understood that the 
method and apparatus can also be used with equal utility for cooking other 
foods that need to be cooked in boiling water. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
Basically, the invention consists of a method of cooking comprising 
immersing a load of food material in water while injecting steam into the 
water to maintain the same at a boiling temperature. 
After a selected cooking time (determined either by an automatic timer or 
manually by an operator) the cooked food material and the water are 
separated, preferably by draining the water from the pot in which the 
cooking took place. 
For convenience, the food material can be placed in a perforated basket 
that is suspended in the boiling water. This facilitates removal of the 
cooked food material from the drained pot, leaving the latter ready for 
immediate reuse. 
In the preferred form of apparatus, a plurality, e.g. ten, such cooking 
pots with associated baskets and water and steam supply pipes, valves, 
controls etc. are mounted in a common cabinet, so that a number of 
different food orders can be cooked simultaneously.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
As seen in FIG. 1, the machine consists of a cabinet 10, set into an upper 
surface of which there are a number of cooking pots 11. A perforated 
basket 12 will be supplied for each pot 11 and a set of controls and 
indicator lamps, shown collectively at 13, corresponds to each pot 11. 
FIG. 2 shows an individual pot 11 mounted in a cavity 14 in the cabinet 10, 
the bottom of the pot 11 extending into a threaded conduit 15 that engages 
in a downwardly extending pipe 16. An annular shoulder 17 on the conduit 
15 rests, through a gasket 18, on the bottom of the cavity 14. The cavity 
14 will normally be common to all the pots 11 and will have a drain (not 
shown) for disposal of any liquid spilt into it. 
Each pot 11 is open mouthed with an out-turned lip 20, and has at least one 
hole 21 near its upper edge to allow any excess water in the pot to drain 
into the cavity 14. A cover member 22, with holes 23 to accommodate each 
pot 11, forms the upper surface of the cabinet 10. 
Each basket 12 is cylindrical, open at the top and closed at the bottom, 
except that its bottom and most of its cylindrical surface are provided 
with a large number of perforations 24 small enough to contain the 
smallest size of pasta or other food material to be cooked, but large 
enough to provide easy access for water and steam into the interior of the 
basket. The basket 12 has a rim 25 that extends into a handle 26. The rim 
25 has projecting support lugs 27 to prevent the basket falling down into 
the pot 11. In use, the rim 25 and the lugs 27 seat on the lip 20 of the 
pot 11 to suspend the basket 12 therein. 
The pipe 16 extends to a solenoid-operated valve assembly 30 (shown 
diagrammatically) that can admit to the pot 11 either hot water from a 
supply 31, or steam from a supply 32, or both simultaneously, or can 
discharge the contents of the pot 11 into a drain pipe 33, under the 
direction of a controller 34 that is arranged to control each pot 11 
individually. 
A normal cooking cycle consists of the following steps. 
The operator places a load (preferably a measured serving) of uncooked 
pasta in the basket 12, and places the basket 12 in the pot 11. He selects 
the desired cooking time on a dial 40 and presses a start button 41. 
At this point the controller 34 takes over and operates the valve assembly 
30 to fill the pot with hot water (already at or very close to the boiling 
temperature). At the same time the valve assembly injects steam into the 
pot 11, which flow of steam continues throughout the cooking process, even 
though the inflow of water will have ceased once the pot has been charged 
to an appropriate level. 
When the desired cooking time is up, the controller 34 operates the valve 
assembly 30 to shut off the steam supply and to drain the water from the 
pot 11. An indicator lamp 42 blinks to signal the operator, who removes 
the basket 12 from the drained pot. The basket now contains the pasta 
cooked and ready to serve. The blinking lamp can be cancelled by the 
operator pushing a button 43, or can be cancelled automatically after a 
set time, or both, as desired. 
Obviously, the cooked pasta could be separated from the water (to avoid 
overcooking) by simply removing the basket from the pot when the indicator 
lamp blinks, but separation by immediately draining the water from the pot 
is the preferred method, since it does not rely on the operator taking 
immediate action to remove the basket and it readies the pot for a further 
cooking operation with a fresh load of pasta and fresh water. 
In a modification of this procedure, known as the standby cycle, the time 
required can be reduced by first filling the pot with water and injecting 
the steam to maintain the water boiling, and then placing the basket 
containing the uncooked pasta in the pot. 
In a further modification, the operator can override the timer in the 
controller by pushing a stop button 44. This allows the operator some 
discretion regarding cooking time.