Patent ID: 8590728

Claim:
A cooking utensil comprising: a pot having a pot bottom, a pot rim, a pot sidewall, a cooling flange and an intermediate ledge, the pot sidewall encircling and adjoining the pot bottom, the cooling flange adjoining the pot rim, the intermediate ledge being interposed between the pot sidewall and the cooling flange; a lid having a lid bottom, an outer periphery, a lid rim and a lower edge, the lower edge adjoining the lid bottom, the outer periphery adjoining the lower edge, the lid rim adjoining the outer periphery, the outer periphery being interposed between the lower edge and the lid rim, the lower edge and the lid rim being spaced apart by a certain axial dimension, the lid bottom defining an opening therethrough, the lid being selectively movable to a removed position and an employed position, the lid being spaced apart from the pot when the lid is in the removed position, the lid in the employed position is such that: a) the lower edge of the lid rests upon the intermediate ledge of the pot; b) the lid rim is lower than the pot rim; c) a cooking chamber is defined by the lid bottom, the pot bottom and the pot sidewall; d) a condensing chamber is defined axially by the pot rim and the lid bottom and is defined radially by at least one of the lid and the cooling flange; and e) the opening places the cooking chamber in open fluid communication with the condensing chamber; and a condensing portion of the lid adjoining and encircling the opening, the condensing portion of the lid being part of the lid bottom, the condensing portion of the lid being less thermally conductive than the pot bottom; wherein the lid includes a lid flange extending from the lower edge of the rim to the lid rim, the outer periphery of the lid being on the lid flange, an annular gap defined by the outer periphery of the lid and the cooling flange, the annular gap providing an average radial clearance between the cooling flange and the outer periphery.