COOKING MACHINE AND ASSOCIATED COOKING METHOD

Abstract: A machine for making a food product includes a cooking apparatus for cooking an aliquot of dough disposed in a predetermined shape about a cooking member of a material which has a chemical composition substantially impervious to cooking temperatures. The machine also incorporates a mechanism (78) in grasping contact with a protruding end of the cooking member (86) for extracting the cooking member (86) from the cooked dough (72), thereby creating a chamber in the cooked dough (72). The mechanism also includes a holder (76) in contact with the cooked dough (72) for restraining the cooked dough (72), and a motive component (74) operatively connected to at least one of holder (76) and a gripper (80) for moving the one of the holder and the gripper relative to the other to remove the cooking member (86) from the cooked dough (72).

Description: COOKING MACHINE AND ASSOCIATED COOKING METHOD BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a machine and to an associated method for preparing a finished food product. More particularly, this invention relates to a machine and to an associated method for cooking discrete food articles such as bagels. The tastiest parts of certain baked food products such as muffins and bagels are those which are browned owing to exposure to an oven's convection currents. In eating muffins, people frequently separate the crowns from the bodies of the muffins in order to savor the enhanced flavor of the crowns. Likewise, in eating bagels, some people characteristically remove the inner, doughy parts of the bagel and eat only the shell, either alone or with filling such as a cream cheese and scallion spread or a salmon spread. Where a bagel is used to make a sandwich type food item, the hollowing out of the bagel provides the additional advantage of reducing the amount of filling that is squeezed out from between the bagel halves when the consumer bites into the bagel. Concomitantly, a hollow bagel is able to accommodate a greater amount of filling material. A problem with the conventional manual method of removing dough from the interior of a bagel is inconvenience to the consumer. Another problem is waste that occurs when the removed interior dough is discarded rather than eaten. Although certain food products such as doughnuts are frequently made with hollow interiors, into which a cream or fruit filling may be deposited, the method by which that hollow interior is formed is not applicable to bagels. Doughnuts can be made from a dough which separates during deep frying to produce an interior chamber. Bagels are cooked by an initial boiling step and a subsequent baking step. Bagels with hollow interiors will not naturally form during the two-step cooking process. U.S. Patent No. 5,807,599 describes a method for making a food product which utilizes an aliquot of dough disposed in a predetermined shape about a cooking member made of a material which has a chemical composition essentially impervious to cooking temperatures. The dough is cooked, e.g., boiled or baked, at a predetermined temperature for a predetermined period. The cooking member is maintained in the dough during the cooking thereof. After the cooking of the dough at the predetermined temperature for the predetermined period, the cooking member is removed from the cooked dough, thereby creating a chamber in the cooked dough. Generally, as described in U.S. Patent No. 5,807,599, the dough is molded about the cooking member to form the predetermined dough shape about the cooking member. Alternatively, the cooking member may be inserted or pressed into a lump of the dough. According to U.S. Patent No. 5,807,599, the cooking member is an elongate member made of a flexible material such as silicone. In that case, the elongate member may be bent to assume a desired form such as a circle. The dough generally conforms to the bent cooking member. The dough has a toroidal shape when the cooking member is bent into a circle. As disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 5,807,599, an end of the elongate member is left protruding from the uncooked dough form. After the dough is cooked, the elongate member is removed from the dough by grasping the protruding end of the elongate member and pulling the elongate member from the cooked dough. An edible filling may be injected or otherwise deposited into the chamber of the hollow dough cooked product after the pulling of the elongate member from the cooked dough. OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a method for producing a cooked food product having an internal chamber for receiving an edible composition. Another object of the present invention is to provide a machine for cooking or baking a food product so that the food product has a hollow interior for receiving an edible composition. It is an additional object of the present invention to provide such a machine which is suitable for producing a hollow bagel. A further object of the present invention is to provide such a machine which produces a food product which is provided with a filling. It is a related object of the present invention to provide a method of cooking or baking a food product so that the food product has a hollow interior. Another associated object of the present invention is to provide such a method which is applicable to a bagel. A supplemental object of the present invention is to provide a method of manufacturing a food product which is provided with a filling. These and other objects of the present invention will be apparent from the descriptions and illustrations herein. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A machine for making a food product comprises, in accordance with the present invention, a cooking apparatus for cooking an aliquot of dough having an internal chamber formed by disposing the dough in a predetermined shape about a cooking member made of a material which has a chemical composition essentially impervious to cooking temperatures. The machine further comprises a mechanism for removing the cooking member from the dough, thereby creating the internal chamber in the dough. This mechanism includes a gripper disposable in grasping contact with a protruding end of the cooking member, a holder disposable in contact with the dough for restraining the dough, and a motive component operatively connected to at least one of the holder and the gripper for moving the one of the holder and the gripper relative to the other to remove the cooking member from the dough. The mechanism for removing the cooking member may be actuated prior to the cooking of the dough. In that case, it may be desirable to chill the dough to enhance the likelihood that the dough will maintain its predetermined shape and that the internal chamber will maintain a predetermined configuration essentially matching that of the cooking member prior to removal thereof from the dough. Preferably, the cooking member is subjected to elevated temperatures along with the shaped dough and is removed from the dough after the cooking thereof. The cooking apparatus includes a baking oven and may include a molding component for shaping the dough about the cooking member to form the predetermined shape about the cooking member. Where the cooking member is an elongate member made of a flexible material, the cooking apparatus may include a component for bending the elongate member substantially into a circle, the predetermined shape being toroidal. Alternatively, a plurality of flexible or rigid cooking members may be positioned in a mold cavity so as to create multiple internal cavities in the predetermined dough shape. Cavity shapes otherwise requiring a flexible member for production may be approximated by use of a plurality of rigid members. In accordance with another feature of the present invention, an injector is provided for depositing an edible filling into the chamber after the pulling of the elongate member from the cooked dough. In accordance with a further feature of the present invention, the removal mechanism includes parts for removing multiple cooking members from multiple pieces of cooked dough simultaneously to thereby create a chamber in each of the pieces of cooked dough. It is contemplated that the various parts of the machine, including the cooking apparatus, the removal mechanism and the injector are fixed relative to one another along an assembly line. A method for making a food product comprises, in accordance with the present invention, cooking an aliquot of dough having an internal chamber formed by disposing the dough in a predetermined shape about a cooking member made of a material which has a chemical composition essentially impervious to cooking temperatures and operating a mechanism for automatically removing the cooking member from the dough, thereby opening the chamber in the dough. As discussed above, the mechanism includes a gripper disposable in grasping contact with a protruding end of the cooking member, a holder disposable in contact with the dough for restraining the dough, and a motive component operatively connected to at least one of the holder and the gripper for moving the one of the holder and the gripper relative to the other to remove the cooking member from dough. A method for making a food product comprises, in accordance with the present invention, providing an aliquot of dough disposed in a predetermined shape about at least one cooking member or insert having a predetermined configuration and cooking the dough at a relatively elevated temperature for a predetermined period to form a cooked food product having an internal chamber having essentially the predetermined configuration. In one embodiment of the method, the cooking member is maintained in the dough during the cooking thereof. Where the cooking member is made of a material which disintegrates at cooking temperatures so that the cooking member essentially disappears by the end of a cooking operation, the method further comprises gradually disintegrating the cooking member during the cooking of the dough so that, after the cooking of the dough at the elevated temperature for the predetermined period, the cooking member has disappeared from the cooked dough, thereby creating the chamber in the cooked dough. Where the cooking member is made of a material dissolvable in water, the disintegrating of the cooking member includes dissolving the cooking member. The providing of the aliquot of dough disposed in the predetermined shape about the cooking member or insert preferably includes molding the dough about the cooking member to form the predetermined shape about the cooking member. Where the cooking member is made of an edible composition, the method contemplates maintaining the edible composition in the chamber after the cooking of the dough to thereby form a composite food product having a filling surrounded by cooked dough. The edible composition is generally shaped to form the cooking member prior to molding of the dough about the cooking member. The cooking member has a prescribed or predetermined configuration which is substantially identical for many instances of the cooked food product. In addition, the shaped edible composition of the cooking member may be hardened, e.g., by lowering the temperature of the shaped edible composition, prior to molding of the dough about the cooking member. Where the cooking member is made of a non-edible material, the method may further comprise, in a particular embodiment of the invention, removing the cooking member from the aliquot of dough prior to the cooking of the dough, the chamber essentially maintaining the predetermined configuration after the removing of the cooking member, the aliquot of dough essentially maintaining the predetermined shape after the removing of the cooking member. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FigJ is a diagram of successive steps in a method for making a hollow bagel. Fig. 2 is a schematic side elevational view of an automated assembly-line-type machine in accordance with the present invention for forming a bagel preform which is cooked in boiling and baking steps illustrated in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a schematic partial top plan view of a conveyor shown in Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a schematic side elevational view of an automated assembly-line-type machine in accordance with the present invention for automatically removing an arcuate flexible insert or cooking member from a cooked bagel. Fig. 5 is a diagram of a partial series of successive steps in an alternative method for making a hollow bagel in accordance with the present invention. Fig. 6 is a diagram of two series of steps for making a hollow bagel preform in accordance with the present invention. Fig. 7 is a diagram of another, alternate, series of successive steps for making a hollow bagel preform in accordance with the present invention. Fig. 8 is a diagram of yet another alternate series of steps for making a hollow bagel preform in accordance with the present invention. Fig. 9 is a schematic exploded perspective view of a cooking member and a straightening rod utilizable in performing the method of Fig. 6. Fig. 10 is a schematic perspective view showing the rod of Fig. 9 inserted into the cooking member of that figure. Fig. 11 is a diagram of selected successive steps in another method for producing a bagel preform in accordance with the present invention. Fig. 12 is a diagram of selected successive steps in an alternative method for producing a bagel preform in accordance with the present invention. Fig. 13 is a diagram of selected successive steps in another alternative method for producing a bagel preform in accordance with the present invention. Fig. 14 is a diagram of selected successive steps in an additional alternative method for producing a bagel preform in accordance with the present invention. Fig. 15 is a diagram of selected successive steps in a further alternative method for producing a bagel preform in accordance with the present invention. Fig. 16 is a diagram of selected successive steps in yet another alternative method for producing a bagel preform in accordance with the present invention. Fig. 17 is a schematic perspective view of a holder for retaining a slug of dough during insertion of a cooking member in accordance with the present invention, showing the hold in a closed configuration. Fig. 18 is a schematic perspective view of the holder of Fig. 17, showing the holder in an opened configuration for deposition and removal of a slug of dough. Fig. 19 is a schematic perspective view of another holder, similar to the holder of Figs. 17 and 18, showing the holder in an opened configuration for deposition and removal of a slug of dough. Fig. 20 is a diagram of successive steps in a method for making a bagel with a filled center. DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS As illustrated in Fig. 1 , an elongate cooking member 10 for use in baking a hollow cooked food product such as a bagel is made of a flexible low-friction material which is impervious to boiling and baking temperatures. Such a material is silicone with a durometer hardness measurement of less than 30. Cooking member 10 is bent into an arcuate, specifically a circular, form 12. Then a predetermined aliquot of bagel dough 14 is molded about the circularly bent cooking member 12 to produce a toroidal dough preform 16 in which the cooking member 12 is embedded. An end portion 18 of cooking member 10 protrudes from preform 16. Preform 16 including circularly bent cooking member 12 is now ready for cooking by traditional steps of boiling, schematically represented at 20, and baking, schematically represented at 22 in Fig. 1. After the bagel preform has been baked, protruding end portion 18 is grasped, e.g., by a pliers 24 and pulled from the baked food item 26 to generate a hollow chamber 28. As further illustrated in Fig. 1, a syringe 30 or other instrument may be subsequently used to inject or otherwise deposit a filling material 32 such as cream cheese or minced meat into chamber 28. An alternative filling instrument (not illustrated) would have an elongate flexible tube which is inserted into chamber 28 and withdrawn as filling material is fed through the tube to an opening at a free end thereof. It is to be noted that preform 16 may take a form other than toroidal. A food product produced from the preform may be elongate. The use of a cooking member as described hereinabove may be used to produce hollow food products other than bagels, such as muffins and doughnuts. Also, preform 16 with a straight or bent cooking member 12 may be produced at a first, central, location such as a factory and shipped to remote locations (bakeries) for cooking. It is generally contemplated that cooking element 10 has a predetermined substantially constant size. However, if a suitable material is available, it would be possible to make the cooking member as an inflatable balloon member. In that event, heating of the balloon and the gases (air) inside it during the cooking process will expand the balloon member further, if only relatively incrementally. Fig. 2 schematically depicts a machine for automatically forming preform 16. A conveyor belt 34 is provided with a plurality of spaced bottom mold halves 36 each in turn provided with a plurality of vertically oriented pins 38. Pins 38 are slidably attached to the respective bottom mold halves 36 in order to move from a lowered neutral or storage position indicated at 40 to an elevated arrest configuration indicated at 42. Pins 38 are shifted vertically upward from lowered neutral position 40 to elevated arrest configuration 42 owing to a camming action arising from the motion of conveyor belt 34, mold halves 36 and pins 38 along a camming surface 44. At a first station along a path of movement of belt 34 is disposed a first dough hopper 46. A door 48 provided at a lower end of hopper 46 prevents a deposition of dough onto conveyor belt 34 unless a mold half 36 is located below the hopper. At that time, door 48 is shifted sideways, as indicated by an arrow 48. After a predetermined amount of dough (not shown) has fallen from hopper 46, door 48 is shifted back into the illustrated closure position below the lower end of the hopper. A cutting edge 50 at one end of door 48 severs the predetermined amount of falling dough from the dough remaining in hopper 46. At a second station along a path of movement of belt 34 is disposed a device 52 for bending cooking member 10 into a generally circular form. An automatically driven flexible rod 54 pushes cooking member 10 through a helical passageway or groove 56 in device 52 until the cooking member rests in a circular configuration on a door 58 at a lower end of device 52. Upon the arrival of a mold half 36 directly below device 52, door 58 is moved laterally to permit a deposition of the bent cooking member onto the dough placed into the mold half at hopper 46. The entire device 52 may be shifted temporarily downwardly to facilitate the proper deposition of the circular cooking member 10 onto the dough and inside a ring of elevated pins 28. Pins 38 serve to maintain cooking member in a curved configuration during the deposition of another predetermined amount of dough 61 from a second hopper 60 over the cooking member 10 and the first amount of dough deposited by hopper 46. Hopper 60 is provided with a reciprocatable door 62 having a cutting edge 64. At a subsequent station along the path of movement of belt 34, an upper mold half 66 having a cavity 68 is pressed onto the dough deposited by hopper 60 to shape the two aliquots of dough and connect them to one another. To that end, mold half 66 and/or mold half 36 may be provided with vibrators and other devices for ensuring that the two dough portions are intertwined with one another. Concurrently with the above described shaping or molding operation, pins 38 are withdrawn from the combined dough aliquots. This may be accomplished by several methods which will occur to one skilled in the art. A vacuum device (not shown) may ascend and contact the bottom of lower mold half 36 via a rubber seal ring. Application of vacuum will draw pins 38 from the mold. Alternatively, an electromagnet (not shown) may be placed against the bottom of mold half 36 and energized to attach pins 38, which are advantageously made of stainless steel for contact with foodstuffs. The electromagnet may then be lowered, thereby withdrawing the pins. It is to be noted that the above-described basic assembly line technique may be modified in various ways. For example, hopper 46 may be eliminated, with all of the dough being provided by hopper 60. In that case, a removable lower support is provided for the circularly bent cooking member 10. Such a lower support may comprise a plurality of additional sliding pins. The pins allow the dough to flow around the cooking member during dough deposition and additionally allow the dough to flow together and close up upon the application of molding pressure by upper mold half 66. As illustrated in Fig. 3, pins 38 are disposed in a generally circular configuration in a toroidal cavity 70 which is a mirror image of cavity 68 in upper mold half 66. Cavity 70 has an extension 71 for receiving end portion 18 (see Fig. 1) of cooking member 10. After the formation of preform 16 as described above with reference to Fig. 2, boiling and baking steps are performed as described hereinabove with reference to Fig. 1. These steps may be implemented in accordance with conventional processing techniques. Fig. 4 shows machine removal of cooking member 10 from a cooked bagel 72. Bagel 72 is deposited on a conveyor belt 74 inside a ring of lowered retaining pins 76. As conveyor 74 moves along its pre-established path of transport, pins 76 are elevated by a camming surface 77 so that the pins substantially surround bagel 72, particularly on a side thereof from which end portion 18 of cooking member protrudes from bagel 72. A grasping device 78 including a chuck or clamp 80 then grips end portion 18, owing to operation of a rotary drive 82. A translatory drive 84 then moves grasping device 78 away from bagel 72 while the bagel is held by retaining pins 76. The removed cooking member 10 is illustrated at 86. A nozzle 88 connected to a pressurized filling reservoir 90 is then moved into position by a drive 92 and injects comestible filling material inside the hollow bagel 72. Subsequent to the injection or filling operation, the completed filled bagel is mechanically jostled by a jostling mechanism (not illustrated), which may take the form of one or more pneumatic jets, delivering puffs of air. This jostling aids in the disengagement of pins 76 concurrent with recession of camming surface 77 following final processing on belt 74, which disengagement may also be vacuum or magnetically assisted as described above. Pins 38 and 76 will advantageously be given a tapered or conical head shape, to facilitate withdrawal from dough, and minimize damage to the finished product. It is to be noted that grasping device 78 may approach bagel 72 from a trailing side thereof. In that case, bagel 72 is deposited onto conveyor belt 74 so that end portion 18 points in an upstream direction, i.e., counter to the direction of transport of belt 74. Pins 76 are clustered by the end portion 18, on an upstream or trailing side of bagel 72, for holding the bagel while grasping device 78 holds cooking member 10. The movement of conveyor belt 74 serves to separate bagel 72 and grasping device 78 and remove the cooking member 10. In an alternative process for producing a hollow comestible product such as a bagel, the function of cooking member 10 is performed by a generally rigid insert made of a dissolvable material. This material should be biologically compatible or edible, such as ice, sugar, frozen gelatin, or salt. Where a hollow bagel is cooked by boiling and baking steps, the insert may be a generally circular piece of ice with a sugar and/or salt content selected to control the rate of dissolution of the insert in the hot water of the boiling step. The salt and/or sugar content will also be selected to vary the flavoring of the eventual food product. For example, the insert might have a core of pure water and an outer layer which has a substantial sugar and/or salt concentration. In that case, the higher sugar and/or salt concentration of the outer layer of the cooking insert delays the disintegration and dissolution of the insert during the initial stages of a boiling procedure. In addition, the salt and/or sugar may be deposited in a greater or lesser concentration on an inner surface of the food product, thereby providing a desirable flavoring. A dissolvable cooking insert may itself be hollow. During a molding procedure, dough is placed about the cooking insert so as to surround the insert. Mold forms may then close about the dough and the embedded cooking insert, to shaped the dough into a desired form. In another alternative process for producing a comestible product such as a bagel, the function of cooking member 10 is performed by an insert made of an edible material such as a tuna fish and/or a ham and cream cheese composition. Generally, the food material used for the cooking member or insert should be capable of being hardened, for example, by a freezing process. First the edible insert material is sculpted, molded, or otherwise shaped into the desired form. Then the shaped material is hardened, for example, by a freezing process. Alternatively, a layer of a digestible material, such as sugar or salt or a biocompatible monomer or polymer, may be formed around the basic material and hardened into a shell by a transfer of energy such as heat energy (freezing or convection cooking), electromagnetic energy (infrared radiation), vibrational energy (ultrasonic pressure waves), etc. After the hardening of the insert or a shell layer thereof, dough is molded about the insert. The entire preform is then subjected to a cooling process. Subsequently, the insert remains in the cooking bagel (or other food product) as a filling. Of course, the cooking of the dough may also cook the material of the insert. In yet another alternative process for producing a hollow comestible product such as a bagel, the function of cooking member 10 is performed by a plurality of inserts. In the configuration illustrated in Fig. 5, an uncooked toroidal dough mass 142 is formed about a pair of arcuate cross-sectionally circular inserts 140 in such a manner that a pair of cavities are formed in the dough mass of volume and shape substantially equivalent to a cavity formed by single circularly shaped cooking member 12. In this configuration, inserts 140 may evidently be either flexible or rigid, as it is possible to draw the inserts out of a bagel shape without deformation. Following a cooking step occuring either before or after a drawing out of inserts 140 from dough mass 142, a cooked dough mass 142' results, with a pair of openings 144, 146 for the injection of a filling material into a pair of arcuate chambers 148, 150 of generally circular cross-section. It is to be noted that the same mechanism for automatically removing a cooking member from a cooked bagel may be used to remove the cooking member from the dough prior to the cooking thereof. The dough is optionally chilled prior to removal of the cooking member to facilitate maintenance of the shape of the dough during and after the removal of the cooking member. In general, a flexible cooking member made of heat impervious material may be removed from an aliquot of dough before or after the cooking process. A substantially manual method for producing a preform to be used in producing a hollow comestible product such as a bagel is depicted in Fig. 6. A flexible cooking member 160 has an internal spring bias or "memory," whereby the cooking member assumes the general shape of a "9" in the absence of imbalanced external forces. An external force (not depicted) is applied to cooking member 160 to stretch the cooking member into a straightened configuration 162 in opposition to the internal spring bias or memory. This external force may be applied by hand or through the assistance of clamps or grippers (not shown) releasably fastened to the ends of the cooking member. Straightened cooking member 162 is placed along a slab of dough 164 which is then folded over the straightened cooking member to form a cylindrical envelope 166, with an end 168 of straightened cooking member 162 projecting free. Juxtaposed longitudinal edges 170 of the folded dough slab are crimped or pinched together to form a dough seam 172 along envelope 166, thereby closing the dough envelope. The external restraining forces on straightened cooking member 162 are then released (if not previously released). Crimped dough envelope 166, together with straightened cooking member 162, is then allowed to assume a substantially circularly curved or annular configuration shown at 174. Force may be applied to dough envelope 166 to urge the dough and the cooking member into the annular configuration 174. Finally, opposite ends 176 and 178 of the annular dough configuration 174 are kneaded and pinched or crimped together to form a joint or seam 180 establishing a continuous bagel shape 182 ready for cooking as described above. The removal of cooking member 160 from the cooked bagel product is effectuated as described above. In optional alternate steps of a bagel preform manufacturing procedure, a knife 184 or other cutting implement is used to cut a dough blank 186 into halves 188, 190. Straightened cooking member 162 is placed one dough preform half 188. The other preform half 190 is then folded over the straightened cooking member 162 to form a cylindrical envelope 192, again with end 168 of straightened cooking member 162 projecting free. Juxtaposed longitudinal edges 194 of the dough halves 188, 190 are then crimped or pinched together to form a dough seam 196 along reformed dough blank 186, thereby closing the dough blank. The subsequent steps are as described above: the external restraining forces on the straightened cooking member are released, reformed dough blank 186 and the cooking member are allowed or manipulated to assume the substantially circularly curved or annular configuration shown at 174, etc. In another alternate procedure, shown in Fig. 7, for forming a dough preform for cooking into a comestible food product, a dough slab 198 is inserted in a substantially cylindrical slotted configuration through an opening (not shown) in a head portion 200 of a 9-shaped resilient cooking member 202. Thereafter, the dough is shaped around head portion 200 of cooking member 202, as indicated by arrows 204. Juxtaposed edges 205 of the folded over dough slab 198 are then kneaded, crimped and/or pinched together to form a closed annular dough preform 206 about cooking member 202, with a tail 208 thereof projecting free of the dough. In another alternative method, illustrated in Fig. 8, for forming a dough preform for cooking into a comestible food product, a ring-shaped dough blank 210 is sliced with a knife 212 or other cutting implement along a transverse plane PI. The slicing is preferably partial so that the dough remains uncut along a circular region surrounding a central hole 214. At least one half of the dough 216 is folded away from the other half 224 to enable disposition of a head portion 218 of a figure-9-shaped resilient cooking element 220 between the two halves 216 and 224. Where one half 224 remains intact and undeformed, head portion 218 of cooking element 220 is placed onto a planar face 222, in plane PI, of that dough half 224. Folded dough half 216 is then folded back, over the deposited head portion 218 of cooking element 220, as indicated by arrows 226, to sandwich the head portion inside the dough. A generally circular seam or joint 228 is then kneaded, crimped, and/or pinched to reform dough halves 216 and 224 together. The two dough halves 216 and 224 may be each bent away from the other to form an annular groove for receiving the head portion 218 of the cooking element. The head portion is temporarily at least partially straightened to permit the winding of the head portion about the deformed dough in the annular groove. Thereafter, the dough of the two halves is folded or kneaded back into place to form an annular or toroidal dough preform. Figs. 9 and 10 depict a cooking member 230 and a straightening rod 232 utilizable in performing the method of Fig. 6. Cooking member 230 has an internal spring bias tending to form the cooking member into the shape of a "9" and is provided with a lumen or channel 234 extending from an opening 236 in one end 238. To straighten cooking member 230 prior to the positioning thereof on a piece of dough (162, 188), rod 232 is inserted into lumen or channel 234 via opening 236. As shown in Fig. 10, rod 232 maintains cooking member 230 in a straightened configuration 240 during the formation of a substantially cylindrical dough envelope about the cooking member. After the closure of the dough envelope by kneading, pinching and/or crimping, rod 232 is withdrawn from cooking member 230. Rod 232 may be attached to a stationary or heavy support member 242, facilitating the production of the bagel preform. The rod 234 thus serves to hold the cooking member 230 and the dough during manipulation thereof. It is to be noted that other devices may be used to maintain a cooking member in a straightened configuration in opposition to internal spring forces tending to shape the cooking member into a "9." For example, graspers or jaws (not illustrated) mounted to a table top may serve to hold the cooking member after a manual straightening. Or one set of graspers or jaws may be mounted on a track. As depicted in Fig. 11, a flexible 9-shaped cooking member 244 is placed on a piece of dough 246 which has been preshaped in a generally circular form. After the placement of a head portion 248 of cooking member 244 onto dough piece 246, the dough is manipulated so that head portion 248 is enclosed in a toroidal dough piece 250 having a sealed seam 252 and so that a tail portion 254 of cooking member 244 protrudes from the dough toroid 250. Fig. 12 shows a method for producing a cookable bagel preform 256 which entails a coring operation utilizing a coring tool 258. Tool 258 includes a generally straight handle portion 260 and an arcuate end portion 262 terminating in a pointed tip 264. First, pointed tip 264 of tool 258 is inserted into a bagel shaped piece of dough 266. During a further insertion of end portion 262 into dough piece 266, handle portion 260 is twisted to turn end portion 262 along a substantially circular path 268 inside the piece of dough. Upon a completed insertion of end portion 262 along path 268, shown at 270, tool 258 is manipulated to remove end portion 262 from dough piece 266 to form an annular chamber or channel 272. A generally circular head portion 274 of a 9-shaped resilient cooking tool 276 is then inserted into chamber of channel 272 through an opening 278 formed in dough piece 266 by tool 258, thereby forming bagel preform 256. In another method for making a bagel preform 280, shown in Fig. 13, a balloon or bladder instrument 282 is utilized to form a circular chamber or channel 284 in a piece of dough 286. Instrument 282 includes a flexible rod member 288 about which a cylindrical balloon 290 is mounted. A pressure source such as a syringe 292 is removably connectable to balloon 290 to communicate therewith for purposes of inflating the balloon after an enveloping thereof in dough piece 286. Dough 286 is formed about balloon instrument 282 when balloon or bladder 290 is in a deflated condition. Thereafter, syringe 292 is connected to balloon or bladder 290 and use to pressurize the balloon to inflate the same to an expanded configuration 293. Subsequently, balloon 290 is deflated, for example by operating syringe 292 to withdraw air from the balloon. Instrument 282 is then extracted from dough piece 286 to form annular chamber or channel 284. A generally circular head portion 294 of a 9-shaped resilient cooking member 296 is then inserted into chamber of channel 284 through an opening 298, thereby forming bagel preform 280 with a tail portion 300 of cooking member 268 protruding. An alternative method for forming a bagel preform 302 utilizes a mold 304 having two mold halves 306 and 308 optionally hinged to one another. A slab of dough 310 is placed over the opened mold halves 206 and 308 and then pushed into the mold halves to assume a dual hollowed shape 312. Thereafter, a generally circular head portion 314 of a 9-shaped cooking member 316 is placed onto the dough in one of the mold halves 306 and 308. Mold 304 is then closed so that the shaped dough surrounds circular head portion 314 of cooking member 316. Vibration may be applied to the closed mold to enhance the natural binding effect of the dough. Then, mold 304 is opened at 318 to enable deposition of molded bagel preform 302, with a protruding tail 320 of cooking member 316, onto a conveyor 322 for transport to a cooking apparatus. As depicted in Fig. 15, in another method for generating a toroidal bagel preform 324, an elongate cylindrical piece of dough 326 is inserted into a cylindrical holder 328 equipped with a sliding plunger 330. A lubricant such as water or oil may be sprayed or otherwise deposited into holder 328 prior to the insertion of dough piece 326, to facilitate the insertion and removal of the dough piece. Alternatively or additionally, an outer surface (not separately designated) of dough piece 326 may be coated with a lubricant film prior to the insertion of dough piece 326 into cylindrical holder 328. After this insertion step, holder 328 is forced over straightened cooking member 230 (see Fig. 10) so that the cooking member enters dough piece 326, as indicated at 332. It is to be noted that cooking member 332 is advantageously formed with a sharp tip 334 to facilitate penetration of dough piece 326 by the cooking member. After the penetration of the dough piece 326 by cooking member 230, cylindrical holder 328 together with dough piece 326 and cooking member 230 are shifted axially or longitudinally relative to rod 232, thereby extracting the rod from the cooking member, as indicated at 336. At that juncture, plunger 330 is pushed axially through holder 328 to eject dough piece 326 and cooking member 230 from the holder onto a conveyor belt 338 for transport to a boiling vat (not shown) or a baking oven (not shown). Cooking member 230 may have a sufficiently strong internal spring force to automatically curl a portion of itself together with dough piece 326 into a substantially circular configuration 340. Further manipulation, either by machine or by hand is optionally effectuated, prior to cooking, to seal ends 342 of dough piece 326 together to form a continuous circular or annular dough mass. Plunger 330 is withdrawn at 344 to enable a subsequent insertion of another cylindrical or columnar dough blank. As depicted in Fig. 16, a cylindrical dough holder 346 receives a cylindrical dough piece 348. Holder 346 is then manipulated to force a pointed end 350 of a resilient cooking member 352 into dough piece 348. Cooking member 352 has a naturally 9-shaped configuration and is straightened by mounting on a rigid rod 354, substantially as described above with reference to Figs. 9 and 10. Rod 354 in this case is mounted to a movable pedestal or handle 356. Upon a completed insertion 358 of cooking member 352 and rod 354 into dough piece 348 inside holder 346, holder 346 is removed, as indicated at 360. At that juncture, a tubular ejection member 362 slidably mounted to pedestal or handle 356 and surrounding rod 354 is slid along the rod to eject dough piece 348 and cooking member 352 therefrom onto a conveyor belt 364. As described above with reference to Fig. 15, cooking member 352 may have a sufficiently strong internal spring force to automatically curl a head portion of itself together with dough piece 348 into a substantially circular configuration 366. Further manipulation, either by machine or by hand is optionally effectuated, prior to cooking, to seal ends 368 of dough piece 366 together to form a continuous circular or annular dough mass. Tubular member 362 is retracted as shown at 370 to start another preform production cycle. The method of Fig. 6 may be executed with a vertical orientation of holder 346 and dough piece 348, as illustrated, or in a horizontal orientation as depicted in Fig. 15. In the vertical orientation, dough piece 248 maintains sufficient friction with the inner surface of holder 346 so that the dough does not slide out prior to insertion of cooking member 352. As illustrated in Figs. 17 and 18, a cylindrical cage 372 for holding a piece of dough during an insertion of a cooking member such as member 230 (Figs. 9 and 10) or 352 (Fig. 16) comprises a pair of cage halves 374 and 376 hingedly secured to one another along a pivot line 378. At one end, cage halves 374 and 376 are formed with respective semi-circular cutouts 380 and 382, which are aligned in a closed configuration (Fig. 17) of cage 372 to form a circular opening 384. This opening 384 permits the axial insertion of cooking member 230 in an operation similar to that illustrated in Fig. 15 or Fig. 16. Instead of being subsequently ejected by a plunger, however, the dough piece and the cooking member embedded therein are removed from the cage or holder 372 by opening the cage and turning it upside down to allow the dough and the cooking member to fall out at least partially under the influence of gravity. Fig. 19 illustrates a similar device 386 for holding a piece of dough during an axial insertion of cooking member 230 or 352. Device 386 comprises two solid semi-cylindrical halves 388 and 390 pi votably joined to one another along a hinge line 392. At one end, halves 388 and 390 are formed with respective semi-circular cutouts 394 and 396, which are aligned in a closed configuration to form a circular opening (not shown). The use of device 386 is similar to the use of cage 372. Fig. 20 illustrates successive steps in a method for producing multiple bagel-type food products 402 each having a filling material 404 disposed in a center opening (not separately designated. A predetermined amount of dough 406 is molded or otherwise disposed about an elongate cooking member 408 to form a preform 410. Cooking member 408 is made of a material impervious to cooking temperatures. Preform 410 comprises dough 406 molded into a cylindrical shape 412 coaxially surrounding cooking member 408. After the formation of preform 410, the preform is placed in a baking oven 414 where the dough 406 of preform is baked. Thereafter, the preform is removed from baking oven 414 and the cooking member 408 is removed, as indicated by an arrow 416, thereby producing a baked farinaceous tubular intermediate product 418. At that juncture, a nozzle 420 of a hydraulic type injector 422 is inserted into a lumen or chamber 424 in intermediate product 418. Injector 422 is actuated to inject comestible food composition or filling 404 into lumen 424. Subsequently, tubular intermediate product 418 with a substantially predetermined quantity of injected food composition 404 is placed on a platen 426 of a slicing device 428 having a pivotally movable flap 430 carrying a plurality of parallel blades 432. Flap 430 is pivoted, as indicated by an arrow 434, to slice tubular intermediate product 418 with the injected food composition 404 in a plurality of spaced planes (not shown). Upon a pivoting of flap 430 back into a rest position, as shown at 436, multiple bagel-type food products 402 each having a filling material 404 disposed in a center opening (not separately designated) are produced. Although the invention has been described in terms of particular embodiments and applications, one of ordinary skill in the art, in light of this teaching, can generate additional embodiments and modifications without departing from the spirit of or exceeding the scope of the claimed invention. For example, other mechanisms are well within the ordinary skill in the art for holding a cooked bagel, on the one hand, and the cooking member 10, on the other hand, and for pulling the bagel and the cooking member in opposite directions to extricate the cooking member from the bagel. Cooking member 10 may be deposited on an inflated balloon inside a mold cavity. As dough is injected into the mold cavity, the balloon is deflated and withdrawn from the cavity. It is to be understood that the cooking of bagel dough to produce bagels need not include a boiling step, as is frequently the case in contemporary bagel production methods. Where a multiplicity of bagels are disposed in a line so that the end portions 18 of the respective cooking members are pointed in the same direction, a plate may be used to retain all of the bagels simultaneously. Similarly, a pair of bars may be used for clamping all of the protruding ends of the cooking members simultaneously. Various drives are operatively connected to the bars for shifting them together towards the bagels, for clamping the bars and subsequently separating them from one another, and for moving the bars relative to the retaining plate and the held bagels. Other mechanisms will occur to one skilled in the art for automatically bending cooking member 10 into an arcuate form and molding dough about the bent cooking member. Also, in producing a bagel having an internal chamber for receiving an edible composition, the dough may be molded about an elongate flexible cooking member disposed in a linear configuration. The cooking member with the surrounding shaped dough is then bent into a desired circular configuration. In general, some adjustment in the configuration of the preform may be made after the placement of the dough about the cooking member, at least where the cooking member is a flexible element or a manipulable edible composition. Accordingly, it is to be understood that the drawings and descriptions herein are proffered by way of example to facilitate comprehension of the invention and should not be construed to limit the scope thereof.

Claims: CLAIMS: 1. A machine for making a food product, comprising: cooking apparatus for cooking an aliquot of dough having at least one internal chamber formed by disposing said dough in a predetermined shape about cooking member made of a material which has a chemical composition essentially impervious to cooking temperatures; and a mechanism for removing said cooking member from the dough, thereby opening said chamber, said mechanism including: a gripper disposable in grasping contact with a protruding end of said cooking member; a holder disposable in contact with the dough for restraining the cooked dough; and a motive component operatively connected to at least one of said holder and said gripper for moving said one of said holder and said gripper relative to the other to remove the cooking member from dough. 2. The machine defined in claim 1 wherein said cooking apparatus includes a baking oven. 3. The machine defined in claim 2 wherein said cooking apparatus includes a molding component for shaping said dough about said cooking member to form said predetermined shape about said cooking member. 4. The machine defined in claim 3, wherein said cooking member includes an elongate member made of rigid material. 5. The machine defined in claim 4, wherein said elongate member is arcuate along a longitudinal axis thereof and said machine is configured to position said member in a mold cavity for forming said predetermined shape substantially as a toroid, so that said member is disposed essentially along at least part of a center line of revolution of said toroid. 6. The machine defined in claim 3 wherein the cooking member is an elongate member made of a flexible material, said cooking apparatus including means for bending said elongate member substantially into a circle, said predetermined shape being toroidal. 7. The machine defined in claim 6, further comprising an injector for depositing an edible filling into said chamber after the pulling of said elongate member from the cooked dough. 8. The machine defined in claim 1 wherein said cooking apparatus includes a molding component for shaping said dough about said cooking member to form said predetermined shape about said cooking member. 9. The machine defined in claim 1 wherein the cooking member is an elongate member made of a flexible material, said cooking apparatus including means for bending said elongate member substantially into an arcuate form and forming the uncooked dough about the arcuate form of said elongate member. 10. The machine defined in claim 1, further comprising an injector for depositing an edible filling into said chamber after the pulling of said elongate member from the cooked dough. 11. The machine defined in claim 1 wherein said mechanism includes parts for removing multiple cooking members from multiple pieces of cooked dough simultaneously to thereby create a chamber in each of the pieces of cooked dough. 12. A method for making a food product, comprising: cooking an aliquot of dough having an internal chamber formed by disposing said dough in a predetermined shape about a cooking member made of a material which has a chemical composition essentially impervious to cooking temperatures; and actuating a mechanical gripper to grasp a protruding end of said cooking member; operating a holder mechanism to contact the dough and restrain the dough; and activating a motive component operatively connected to at least one of said holder and said gripper to move said one of said holder and said gripper relative to the other to remove the cooking member from cooked dough. 13. A method for making a food product, comprising: providing an aliquot of dough disposed in a predetermined shape about a cooking member or insert having a predetermined configuration; and cooking said dough at a relatively elevated temperature for a predetermined period to form a cooked food product having an internal chamber having essentially said predetermined configuration. 14. The method defined in claim 13, further comprising maintaining said cooking member in said dough during the cooking of said dough. 15. The method defined in claim 14, wherein the cooking member is made of a material which has a chemical composition essentially impervious to cooking temperatures. 16. The method defined in claim 14 wherein the cooking member is made of a material which disintegrates at cooking temperatures so that the cooking member essentially disappears by the end of a cooking operation, further comprising gradually disintegrating said cooking member during the cooking of said dough so that, after the cooking of said dough at said elevated temperature for said predetermined period, said cooking member has disappeared from the cooked dough, thereby creating said chamber in the cooked dough. 17. The method defined in claim 16 wherein the cooking member is made of a material dissolvable in water, the disintegrating of said cooking member including dissolving said cooking member. 18. The method defined in claim 14 wherein the providing of said aliquot of dough disposed in said predetermined shape about said cooking member or insert includes molding said dough about said cooking member to form said predetermined shape about said cooking member. 19. The method defined in claim 18 wherein the cooking member is made of an edible composition, further comprising maintaining said edible composition in said chamber after the cooking of said dough to thereby form a composite food product having a filling surrounded by cooked dough. 20. The method defined in claim 19 wherein the providing of said aliquot of dough disposed in said predetermined shape about said cooking member or insert includes shaping said edible composition to form said cooking member prior to molding of said dough about said cooking member. 21. The method defined in claim 20 wherein the providing of said aliquot of dough disposed in said predetermined shape about said cooking member or insert further includes hardening the shaped edible composition of said cooking member prior to molding of said dough about said cooking member. 22. The method defined in claim 21 wherein the hardening of said shaped edible composition includes lowering the temperature of said shaped edible composition. 23. The method defined in claim 13, further comprising removing said cooking member from said aliquot of dough prior to the cooking of said dough, said chamber essentially maintaining said predetermined configuration after the removing of said cooking member, said aliquot of dough essentially maintaining said predetermined shape after the removing of said cooking member. 24. The method defined in claim 23 wherein the removing of said cooking member includes pulling said cooking member from said dough. 25. The method defined in claim 24 wherein the material of said cooking member is flexible, the pulling of said cooking member including unbending said cooking member from an arcuate configuration. 26. The method defined in claim 13 wherein said cooking member or insert is a resilient member having a spring bias tending to form said cooking member generally into the shape of the number 9, the providing of said aliquot of dough disposed in said predetermined shape about said cooking member including: forming a substantially annular chamber in an annular piece of dough; and inserting a portion of said resilient member into said annular chamber. 27. The method defined in claim 26 wherein the forming of said annular chamber includes inserting an inflatable bladder into said piece of dough and inflating said bladder. 28. The method defined in claim 26 wherein the forming of said annular chamber includes inserting a substantially rigid arcuate coring member into said piece of dough. 29. The method defined in claim 13 wherein the providing of said aliquot of dough disposed in said predetermined shape about said cooking member includes: laying said cooking member on a piece of dough and folding said dough over at least a portion of said cooking member. 30. The method defined in claim 13 wherein the providing of said aliquot of dough disposed in said predetermined shape about said cooking member includes: cutting an annular dough blank to form an annular groove in said dough blank; laying a curved portion of said cooking member in said groove; and folding dough over the portion of said cooking in said groove. 31. The method defined in claim 13 wherein said cooking member or insert is a resilient member having a spring bias tending to form said cooking member generally into the shape of the number 9, the providing of said aliquot of dough disposed in said predetermined shape about said cooking member including: deforming said resilient member to assume a straightened configuration; forming said dough about said straightened configuration; and thereafter curving the formed dough and at least a portion of said resilient member into an annular shape. 32. The method defined in claim 13 wherein the providing of said aliquot of dough disposed in said predetermined shape about said cooking member includes: 33. The method defined in claim 13 wherein the providing of said aliquot of dough disposed in said predetermined shape about said cooking member includes: providing an open mold; depositing dough in said mold; disposing at least a portion of said cooking member on the deposited dough; closing said mold about the deposited dough and said portion of said cooking member; subsequently removing the dough and the cooking member from said mold. 34. A composite dough preform comprising an aliquot of dough disposed in a predetermined shape about a cooking member or insert. 35. The preform defined in claim 34 wherein said cooking member is made of a material which disintegrates at cooking temperatures. 36. The preform defined in claim 34 wherein said cooking member is made of a material which is dissolvable in water. 37. The preform defined in claim 34 wherein the material of said cooking member is taken from the group consisting essentially of ice, salt, sugar, and frozen gelatin. 38. The preform defined in claim 34 wherein said cooking member is made of a material which is edible. 39. The preform defined in claim 34 wherein said cooking member is made of a material taken from the group including a cream cheese composition and a tuna fish composition.

Inventors: WEISBERGER JOSHUA, WILK PETER J, WEISBERGER, JOSHUA, WILK, PETER, J.
Applicants: WEISBERGER JOSHUA, WILK PATENT DEV CORP, WILK PETER J, WEISBERGER, JOSHUA, WILK PATENT DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, WILK, PETER, J.
Application year: 2000
Main classification: A21C11
IPC codes: A21C11, A21D13, A23L1, A23P1