Abstract:
A untensil ( 10 ) for cooking food, with raised portions ( 13 ) in its interior for a cooking with aesthetic characteristics similar to those produced by cooking on a grill, is provided with such raised portions ( 13 ) both on its base ( 11 ) and on its rim ( 12′ ), for improved cooking.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a National Stage of, and claims the benefit of priority to, International Application No. PCT/IT99/00309 filed on Oct. 5, 1999, which claims the benefit of priority to Italian Patent Application No. M198U 000645 filed on Oct. 5, 1998, which is incorporated by reference herein as fully as if set forth in its entirety. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION 
     The subject of the present invention is a utensil for cooking food. 
     Cooking utensils having series of raised portions in their bases for enabling food to be cooked so as to achieve a final aesthetic effect of the cooking corresponding to that produced by cooking on a grill are known. 
     The object of the present invention is to propose a utensil of the type described above which permits even better cooking of the food than that offered by known utensils. 
     This object is achieved by means of a utensil for cooking food comprising a base and a rim, the base having raised portions on the inside of the utensil, characterized in that the rim also has raised portions on the inside of the utensil. 
    
    
     The invention will be understood better from the following description of a non-limiting embodiment thereof, illustrated in the appended drawings, in which: 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cooking utensil according to the invention, 
     FIG. 2 is a plan view of the cooking utensil of FIG. 1, 
     FIG. 3 is a partially-sectioned side view of the utensil of FIG. 1, and 
     FIGS. 4 and 5 show the above-mentioned utensil, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, respectively, with the handle in the rest position. 
     The utensil illustrated, which is generally indicated  10  and is intended for cooking food, comprises a base  11  and a rim  12  and has a configuration in plan substantially similar to a sector of a circle. 
    
    
     The utensil  10  has, on its inside, a series of raised portions  13  which extend from the vertex of the circle sector substantially radially along the base  11  and the arcuate front portion  12 ′ of the rim  12  of the utensil. As explained above, these raised portions enable food to be cooked with a final aesthetic effect of the cooking corresponding to that produced by cooking on a grill. 
     The arcuate front portion  12 ′ of the rim  12  is inclined forwards, preferably at an angle of about 300 to the vertical. 
     At the vertex of the circle sector, the utensil  10  has a handle  14  composed of two portions  14 A,  14 B into which the handle is divided along a substantially longitudinal axis and which fit together along this longitudinal axis. Each of the handle portions  14 A,  14 B is pivoted to the body of the utensil  10  about a pin, indicated  15 A for the portion  14 A and  15 B for the portion  14 B. This pivoting enables the two handle portions  14 A,  14 B to rotate between a working position in which they fit together to form a single handle fixed to the body of the utensil  10 , and a rest position, shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, in which the handle portions are arranged against the body of the utensil  10 . 
     The fact that the raised portions  13  are also present on the front portion  12 ′ of the rim  12  of the utensil  10  enables better cooking of the food to be achieved since this portion of the utensil is also utilized. 
     The arcuate front portion  12 ′ of the rim  12  and its forward inclination lead to two important advantages. First of all, they optimize the cooking space by increasing its area. They also enable the food to be emptied out onto a plate easily; the cooked food is thus supported and is prevented from breaking up and hence being presented in an aesthetically unattractive manner. 
     The embodiment of the utensil  10  described and illustrated and the fact that the two handle portions  14 A,  14 B can be folded enable the utensil to be very compact so that it takes up little space in the kitchen cabinet or in the dishwasher in which it is placed, and so that it does not interfere with other utensils. 
     The raised portions on the base and on the rim may have a configuration, a shape, or an arrangement other than those described and illustrated and may also vary in number. For example, the raised portions may be parallel to one another, or may intersect, and so on. Moreover, the raised portions may affect all or only part of the inside of the base and/or the rim of the utensil. It should, however, be stressed that the embodiment of the raised portions which has been described and illustrated has been found particularly effective. 
     The configuration of the utensil may also vary. For example, it may have a conventional circular shape. The inclination of the rim of the utensil may also vary. In this case also, it should, however, be stated that the configuration of the utensil which has been described and illustrated has been found particularly effective. 
     The handle of the utensil may also have any configuration. Moreover, it may be in a single piece and may be foldable or fixed. Several handles may also be provided. However, the embodiment described and illustrated achieves a considerable reduction in the space occupied by the utensil.