Patent ID: 8658952

Claim:
A method of heating, browning, and/or crisping a food item in a microwave oven, comprising: placing a food item on a microwave heating construct, the food item having a surface that is desirably at least one of browned and crisped, wherein the microwave heating construct comprises a first panel and a second panel in a facing, contacting relationship with one another, the first panel and the second panel each having an interior side and an exterior side, wherein the first panel and the second panel are joined to one another along respective opposite side edges such that an unjoined area is defined between the interior sides of the first panel and the second panel, the unjoined area being in communication with an open peripheral edge of the construct, wherein the first panel and the second panel each comprise a microwave energy interactive material operative for converting at least a portion of impinging microwave energy into thermal energy, and the first panel includes an aperture in communication with the unjoined area between the first panel and the second panel, wherein placing the food item on the microwave heating construct comprises placing the food item on the exterior side of the first panel so that the surface of the food item is proximate to the microwave energy interactive material of the first panel, and so that the food item overlies the aperture so that the surface of the food item is in communication with the unjoined area between the first panel and the second panel; and exposing the food item positioned on the exterior side of the first panel of the microwave heating construct to microwave energy within the microwave oven, so that during the exposing the microwave energy interactive material converts at least a portion of the microwave energy into heat, the heat is transferred to the food item to brown and/or crisp the surface of the food item, and the surface of the food item is in communication, by way of the aperture, with the unjoined area between the first panel and the second panel.