Improvements in Devices for Re-heating Cooked Foods, or for Warming them Up again, applicable also to the Cooking of Certain Kinds of Food.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 4th Dec., 1894
Complete Specification Left, 4th Sept., 1895-Accepted, 9th Nov., 1895
TRUVIDIONAL SIMULTIVATION.
[Communicated from abroad by VICTOR BARABAN, of Neuilly-sur-Seine, in the
Republic of France, Architect.]
Improvements in Devices for Re-heating Cooked Foods, or for
Warming them Up again, applicable also to the Cooking of
Certain Kinds of Food.
I, HENRY HARINGTON LEIGH, Assoc. M. Inst. C.E., Fel. Ch. Inst. P.A.,
F.I. Inst., practising as Phillips and Leigh at No. 22 Southampton Buildings,
Chancery Lane, in the Administrative County of London, Engineers and Patent
Agents, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows :-
This invention relates to improvements in devices for conducting the re-heating
or warming up of cooked foods in such a way as to avoid any sacrifice of their
natural flavour, and also for cooking foods which do not require a higher tempe-
rature for that purpose than 100° C. It is necessary for the purpose of my
invention to construct an apparatus adapted to enclose the food, air and vapour tight
and, at the same time, to allow of the regulation of the temperature.
In carrying the invention into effect, there is provided a water bath. This latter
has a small gutter incorporated with its outer edge. The dish for the food to be
warmed up fits within the bath and the bath cover (which is dome shaped) over it,
but the edges of both the dish and the cover are shaped so as to dip down into the
gutter to the bottom of it. The cover is a little larger than the dish so as to leave
just enough space between their turned down edges for water to be held between
them by capillary attraction. The water bath is provided with lips into which the
gutter can overflow and down which water can be poured into it, between the lips
of the cover and dish. As the temperature of the bath rises to boiling point, the
water of the food is evaporated, condenses on the inner face of the cover and
trickles down into the narrow space between cover and dish dipping edges. As
soon as the temperature between dish and cover rises above 100° C., the capillary
seal is forced out and the liquid finds its way back down the lips into the bath.
Dated this 4th day of December 1894.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Devices for Re-heating Cooked Foods, or for
Warming them Up again, applicable also to the Cooking of
Certain Kinds of Food.
I, HENRY HARINGTON LEIGH, Assoc. M. Inst. C.E., Fel. Ch. Inst. P.A.,
F.I. Inst., practising as Phillips and Leigh at No. 22 Southampton Buildings,
Chancery Lane, in the Administrative County of London, Engineer and Patent
[Price 8d. |

page_text: Agent, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement:-
This invention relates to improvements in devices for reheating cooked foods or
for warming them up again, applicable also to the cooking of certain kinds of
food. The object of the improvements is to provide for the culinary operations,
especially that of reheating or warming up being effected without driving off the
distinctive odour and flavour of the food in question.
The invention is applicable for the purpose of reheating or warming up any kind
of food: as a cooker it is limited to those kinds which do not require a higher
temperature than one of about 100° C., such as vegetables, eggs, or farinaceous
foods.
To attain the object of the invention, there is provided an apparatus adapted
to contain the food in question, which is sealed in the apparatus so as to thoroughly
and exactly retain the natural odour and flavour without it becoming necessary to
have recourse to a Papin's digester-a dangerous device to use because its
construction lacks provision for the internal temperature being watched.
The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which
Figure 1 is a front elevation.
Figure 2, a transverse sectional elevation.
Figure 3, a plan of the water pan bath, the dish and the cover; and Figure 4, a
sectional elevation on an enlarged scale of the seal.
A is the pan of the water bath. The edge is provided with a continuous trough a
furnished with two overflows a' leading from it back into the said pan.
B is the dish adapted to receive the food to be treated. Its edge b is retorted
so as to dip into the trough a in which the cover stands.
C is the moveable cover. Its edge c is shaped to fit over and, concentrically with,
the outer face of the retorted edge b, and close enough to the vertical portion
thereof to establish and maintain a capillary space between the two, i.e., a space
too small for any moisture which finds its way into it, having weight enough to
flow down and away.
The functions of the different members of the apparatus are respectively, as
follows.
The water pan A with its water is put on the fire, the food dish B with its
contents is put on the water pan and both covered with the cover C. When the
water reaches a temperature of 100° C., it boils and rapidly communicates the
same temperature to the contents of the dish B. The watery elements of the said
contents, are evaporated and condensed in the concave side of the cover C. As a
result of the concave contour of the latter, the dew on it runs down and occupies
the capillary space above described, forming therein a water seal.
If the pressure
between the cover (and the dish Bever exceeds that of the atmosphere, some of
the scal water flows from the capillary space into the trough a and from there
into the water bath in the pan A. The condensed water can never either settle
upon the outside of the apparatus, or drop into the fire. The food in the dish B
can never be heated beyond 100° C., nor can either flavour or odour escape,
nothing getting away from the food save a few drops of water.
The apparatus may be made of any suitable material and fitted with such mounts
in the way of handles and the like, as may be desired.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. A water bath for reheating or cooking, consisting of three members, a water
pan having a trough round its edge and one or more overflows therefrom back
into the pan; a dish for the food having a retorted edge adapted to stand in the
said trough ;
and a concave cover having its edge adapted to stand in the said

page_text: trough, the edges of the cover and dish being concentric and of proper respective
sizes to establish a capillary space between them.
Dated this 4th day of September 1895.
PHILLIPS & LEIGH,
22 Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, London,
Agents for the Applicant.