Microwave Heating Construct for Frozen Liquids and Other Items
OwnerScott W. MIDDLETON, Lorin R. Cole +1inventors
InventorsScott W. MIDDLETON, Lorin R. Cole, Patrick H. Wnek
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Various constructs and methods are provided for heating a plurality of different food items to their respective desired serving temperatures in a microwave oven in about the same amount of time.
Claims31
A microwave heating construct in combination with a liquid food item, the liquid food item initially being in a frozen state, the microwave heating construct being for heating the frozen liquid food item to a desired serving temperature in a microwave oven, the construct comprising:
- a cavity containing the frozen liquid food item;
- and
- microwave energy interactive material adjacent to the cavity, the microwave energy interactive material being operative as a susceptor for converting at least a portion of impinging microwave energy into thermal energy, wherein the susceptor is for thawing the frozen liquid food item to heat the frozen liquid food item to the desired serving temperature more quickly than a microwave heating construct without the susceptor.
A microwave heating construct for concurrently heating a first food item and a second food item in a microwave oven, the first food item and the second food item each being frozen at a respective initial temperature and having a respective required heating time to reach a respective desired serving temperature that is higher than the respective initial temperature, wherein the first food item is substantially a liquid or semi-liquid at its desired serving temperature, and the second food item is substantially a solid at its desired serving temperature, the microwave heating construct comprising:
- a susceptor for being in proximity to the first food item, the susceptor being for generating heat at an interface with the first food item to reduce the required heating time of the first food item relative to heating the first food item without the susceptor;
- and
- at least one microwave energy interactive element for altering the required heating of the second food item so that the first food item and the second food item are heated to their respective desired serving temperatures in substantially the same amount of time.
A microwave heating construct in combination with a first food item and a second food item, the microwave heating construct being for concurrently heating the first food item and the second food item in a microwave oven, wherein the first food item and the second food item are each frozen at a respective initial temperature and have a respective required heating time to reach a respective desired serving temperature that is higher than the respective initial temperature, and wherein the first food item is substantially a liquid or semi-liquid at its desired serving temperature, and the second food item is substantially a solid at its desired serving temperature, the microwave heating construct comprising:
- a first compartment containing the first food item and a second compartment containing the second food item, the first compartment and the second compartment each comprising microwave energy interactive material, wherein
- the microwave energy interactive material of the first compartment comprises a susceptor for reducing the required heating time of the first food item relative to heating the first food item without the susceptor, and
- the microwave energy interactive material of the second compartment is configured to alter the rate of heating the second food item so the second food item is heated to its desired serving temperature when the first food item is heated to its desired serving temperature.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.