Abstract:
A cooking mat comprised of a flat surface containing at least one opening having a lip along the periphery forming a desired shape or shapes enabling users to prepare food items having traditional or unique shapes with ease. The cooking mat also enables users to prepare multiple shaped food items simultaneously, thus cutting down on meal preparation time.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The invention discloses a cooking mat for use in the preparation of shaped food items. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0002]    These and other objects, features, advantages and aspects of the present invention can be better understood with reference to the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments when read in conjunction with the appended drawing figures. 
           [0003]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the cooking mat in accordance with the present invention. 
           [0004]      FIG. 2  is a top view of the cooking mat in accordance with the present invention showing traditional shapes. 
           [0005]      FIG. 3  is a top view of the cooking mat of the present invention showing optional shapes. 
           [0006]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the cooking mat of the present invention including handles. 
           [0007]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view of the cooking mat of the present invention including a projected surface. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF INVENTION 
       [0008]    The cooking mat of the present invention produces shaped food items comprising a flat surface having a first side, a second side, a continuous edge spanning a perimeter, and at least one opening within the flat surface. Each opening in the cooking mat is defined by at least one lip having a desired thickness along a periphery of said opening. A fluid or moldable uncooked food item is placed within the opening or openings of the cooking mat where as it cooks, it spreads and forms to the shape formed by the periphery of the opening. The cooking mat of the present invention can also include at least one handle for ease of moving or flipping the cooking mat and releasing the food items. Further, the flat surface of the cooking mat can include a projected surface that extends beyond the periphery of the lip and into the opening of the cooking mat, thus providing support for the food items. 
         [0009]    The disclosed cooking mat enables users to easily prepare shaped food items on a baking sheet, griddle, or other flat cooking surface. The cooking mat enables a cook to prepare multiple shaped food items, such as pancakes, simultaneously, thus speeding up and simplifying the preparation process. Additionally, the cooking mat enables a cook to prepare both traditionally shaped and uniquely shaped food items with ease. 
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0010]    As shown in  FIG. 1 , the cooking mat  10  of the present invention is comprised of a flat surface  12  having at least one opening  20  within said flat surface  12 . Flat surface  12 , having a thickness  18 , includes a first side  14   a,  a second side  14   b,  and a continuous edge  16 . Each of said at least one opening  20  extends from the first side  14   a  to the second side  14   b  of the flat surface  12  and is contained within the perimeter formed by the continuous edge  16  forming the perimeter of flat surface  12 . Further, each of said at least one opening  20  is comprised of a lip  22  along the periphery of each opening  20  forming desired shape  24 . Lip  22  is preferably within the same plane as flat surface  12  as shown in  FIG. 1 . However, if desired, lip  22  could extend beyond second side  14   b  of flat surface  12  to provide additional thickness to the food without the need to increase the thickness of the flat surface  12 , In one embodiment, cooking mat  10  further includes handles  30  extending from said flat surface  12  as shown in  FIG. 4 . Further, as shown in  FIG. 5 , each opening  20  can further include a projected surface  23  extending from, and in the same plane as, first side  14   a  of said flat surface past said lip  22 , thus projecting into opening  20  and forming a second lip  25  rising from said first side  14   a.  It is preferable that second lip  25  have a minimal thickness of less than about 0.2 inch so as not to impact the appearance or cooking quality of the food item. Projected surface  23  provides support to the food item in this configuration. Projected surface  23  preferably extends at least about 0.25 inch to about 1.0 inch beyond lip  22  into opening  20 , and most preferably extends 0.5 inch beyond lip  22  into opening  20 . 
         [0011]    In one embodiment, at least one opening  20  is six openings, though any number of openings reasonable to one skilled in the art and based on cooking area sizing is a possible configuration of the present invention. The diameter of each of said openings varies depending upon the dimensions of the mat and the number of openings within the mat of a particular embodiment. In an example embodiment having a mat of about 9 inches×13 inches in dimension with six openings, the diameter of each opening can be about 3.5 inches. In another embodiment having a mat of about 11 inches×15 inches in dimension with six openings, the diameter of each opening can be about 4.25 inches. It is apparent to those skilled in the art that other sized openings could be produced depending upon the desired shape and size of the food item, for instance one large opening or greater than six small openings are other possible configurations of the present invention. 
         [0012]    Thickness  18  of flat surface  12  is critical to forming a lip  22  of opening  20  that provides a sufficient border around the periphery for creating the shape of the food item. The thickness  18  must be enough so that the substance from which the food item is being prepared, for instance pancake batter, can be contained within the opening. Preferably, thickness  18  is in the range of about 0.25 inch to about 0.75 inch, and most preferable thickness  18  is at least about 0.5 inch. The weight of mat  10  is also an important feature of the present invention in order to prevent seepage of the cooking substance from opening  20  underneath flat surface  12  thus distorting the desired shape  24  of the food item. Preferably, mat  10  weighs in the range of at least about 1 ounce to about 1 pound. 
         [0013]    With configurations having multiple openings, each opening  20  is located within flat surface  12  so that the periphery of each opening  20  has a sufficient surface breadth  19  between the periphery of any adjacent opening  20  as shown in  FIG. 2 . In most applications the preferred surface breadth  19  is in the range of about 0.5 inch to about 0.75 inch. The surface breadth lends stability to the cooking mat  10  and allows for optimal heating of the cooking mat and even cooking of all food items. 
         [0014]    Shape  24  of at least one opening  20  of the present invention is only limited by imagination and production constraints. The most common shape  24  is a circle as shown in  FIG. 1 , which is the traditional shape of pancakes and other baked goods. However, as shown in  FIG. 3 , shape  24  can include a variety of geometric and organic shapes including but not limited to rectangles, squares, triangles, polygons, stars, flowers, hearts, crowns, animals, letters, etc. One mat  10  could contain multiple openings of a singular shape as shown in  FIG. 2 , or a one mat could contain multiple openings having various shapes as shown in  FIG. 3 . It is apparent to one skilled in the art that a wide variety of shapes are possible configurations of the present invention. 
         [0015]    It is apparent to those skilled in the art that several materials would be appropriate for the cooking mat of the present invention as long as the material is food grade and highly heat resistant. The most preferred material of the present invention, however, is food-grade silicone which allows for heat-resistance, desirable weight, ease of production, and flexibility in use. 
         [0016]    Traditionally, shaped food items such as pancakes are cooked on a flat cooking surface on a stove top, ideally on a griddle, skillet, or large pan on a stove top to yield a greater number of food items at once. The mat  10  of the present invention can be used in this traditional sense by placing the mat on a hot, properly greased cooking surface, with first side  14   a  of flat surface  12  touching the cooking surface and second side  14   b  facing away from the cook surface. In stove top use, an appropriate amount of the food substance, e.g. pancake batter, is dispensed within at least one opening  20  such that the food substance spreads to engage but not escape the lip along the periphery of the opening. Once the food substance is set by the cooking process, the mat  10  is removed from the cooking surface, thus leaving food items of desired shapes on the cooking surface. Removal of the mat  10  can be made easier by incorporation of at least one handle  30  on the second side  14   b  of flat surface  12  as shown in  FIG. 4 . The food items on the griddle can then be flipped with a cooking utensil to finish the cooking process. Alternately, in the embodiment having at least one handle  30  and projected surface  23  as shown in  FIG. 5 , the mat  10  can be picked up from the cooking surface, with projected surface  23  providing support to the food items and thus lifting the food items. Once picked up, the food items can be flipped over thus allowing the cooking process to complete with second side  14   b  in contact with the cooking surface. 
         [0017]      17 . While stove top use is one possibility of the present invention, another use is to bake the food item in the oven. In oven use, mat  10  of the present invention is placed on a properly greased baking surface such as a baking pan, with first side  14   a  of flat surface  12  touching the baking surface and second side  14   b  facing away from the baking surface. The baking surface can be cool or preheated. Once mat  10  is in position on the baking surface, an appropriate amount of the food substance, e.g. pancake batter, is dispensed within at least one opening  20  such that the food substance spreads to engage but not escape the lip  22  along the periphery of the opening. When all openings are filled, the baking surface is placed into a properly preheated oven and baked for an appropriate amount of time until the food item is completely cooked. Once the food item is cooked, the baking surface is removed from the oven and the mat  10  is removed from the baking surface, thus leaving food items of desired shapes on the baking surface. As noted above, removal of the mat  10  can be made easier by incorporation of at least one handle  30  on the second side  14   b  of flat surface  12  as shown in  FIG. 4 . Further, as shown in  FIG. 5 , the handled embodiment can include projected surface  23  thus allowing the mat to be picked up, projected surface  23  providing support to the food items and thus lifting the food items. Once picked up, the food items can be removed from the baking surface while keeping the food items within the cooking mat to be flipped onto the baking surface or transferred to another surface. 
         [0018]    While one use of the present invention is to cook pancakes as mentioned above, any food item that can be prepared from a liquid or moldable substance, such as a batter or a dough, could be cooked using the mat of the present invention. Food items that can be cooked using the present invention include, but are not limited to, pancakes, muffins, cake, brownies, cookies, and quick breads. Other food item options will be apparent to those skilled in the art. 
         [0019]    Other variations and modifications of the present invention will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, and it is intended that such variations and modifications be covered by this disclosure. Particular values and configurations discussed above can be varied, are cited to illustrate representative embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. 
       LIST OF COMPONENTS 
       [0020]    Number 
         [0021]      10  mat 
         [0022]      12  flat surface 
         [0023]      14   a  first side 
         [0024]      14   b  second side 
         [0025]      16  edge 
         [0026]      18  thickness 
         [0027]      19  surface breadth 
         [0028]      20  opening 
         [0029]      22  lip 
         [0030]      23  projected surface 
         [0031]      24  shape 
         [0032]      25  second lip 
         [0033]      30  handle(s)