Patent ID: 7279666

Claim:
A vacuum microwave thawing method for heating and thawing frozen foodstuffs by repeating a reduced-pressure process and a pressure restoration process and radiating microwaves, said method comprising: after the reduced-pressure process is carried out to a reduced-pressure balanced range, initiating the pressure restoration process for a thawing cycle, the thawina cycle comprising: (a) after the reduced-pressure of the pressure restoration process reaches a lower limit at which vacuum discharge does not occur, initiating irradiation of microwaves, (b) after pressure restoration is carried out to a preset pressure restoration upper limit, repeating the reduced-pressure process, (c) repeating the irradiation of microwaves until the reduced-pressure reaches the lower limit at which vacuum discharge does not occur, and (d) performing sublimation cooling in the reduced-pressure process to the reduced-pressure balanced range, after the irradiation of microwaves is terminated; and repeating the thawing cycle, until a desired thawing temperature is reached.