FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a system for, a transferring apparatus for and a method of transferring cooking liquid.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

When cooking large pieces of meat, e.g. turkey, roast duck, pork loin, roast beef, etc., in an oven, the meat may typically be positioned on a grill above a roasting pan, or the meat may be positioned directly in a roasting pan. During cooking juices, or cooking liquid, run naturally from the meat and is collected in the roasting pan.

This cooking liquid is highly desired for making gravy to be used together with the finish-cooked meat. In order to make gravy, the cooking liquid has to be transferred from the roasting pan and to some kind of container, typically a pot or a saucepan, where the cooking liquid may be further mixed with different ingredients such as flour, salt, pepper, color, flavor, etc. In order to make a perfect dinner, the meat and the gravy must be ready at the same time; this means that the cooking liquid has to be taken from the roasting pan while the meat is still cooking.

However, this process of transferring the cooking liquid from the roasting pan to the container while the meat is still cooking does however involve certain difficulties, which will be known to every housewife and chef.

At least three different approaches can be used for transferring the cooking liquid, when the meat is on a grill:

1) Taking out the roasting pan temporarily and leaving the meat on the grill in the oven while pouring the cooking liquid from the roasting pan.

2) Taking out both the roasting pan and the grill with the meat. The meat is typically placed on a cutting board while pouring the cooking liquid from the roasting pan.

3) Leaving the roasting pan in the oven and using a pipette for collecting the cooking liquid and transferring it to a container.

With the meat directly in a roasting pan, approaches 2) and 3) apply. -A disadvantage of approach 1) is that cooking liquid leaving the meat while the roasting pan is missing will end up in the bottom of the oven, making extensive cleaning of the oven required afterwards.

A disadvantage of approach 2) is that it requires that meat, grill and roasting pan are substantially fixed in relative position on top of each other during removal and insertion to and from the oven. Obviously this may be difficult when a grill is involved, especially when e.g. a housewife is alone in the kitchen, and it has caused a lot of accidents with e.g. a roast on the floor or seared fingers from trying to balance several things at the same time.

Another known method when the meat is directly in the roasting pan is that one person pours when another person holds the meat with forks or the like. Obviously this as well may result in accidents like described above.

Furthermore, it is not optimum to place the meat outside the oven during the cooking process.

Approach 3) ensures a more unproblematic handling during the transferring process. However, disadvantages related to approach 3) are first of all that the separation and cleaning of a multi-part pipette (suction ball and tube) afterwards may be difficult. Second of all, the process of transferring cooking liquid with a pipette may be very time-consuming and indeed requires full attention during the whole process.

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a transferring apparatus for and a method of transferring cooking liquid which does not lack under the above- mentioned disadvantages.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a system comprising a first container in an oven, a second container, and a transferring apparatus for transferring cooking liquid from a roasting pan to a container, said transferring apparatus comprising a pipe manufactured from a material which is heat-resistant at least up till temperatures below 150°C, and a handle manufactured substantially from a low heat-conductivity material with a thermal conductivity lower than 2 W-m^ -K ^"1 ,

wherein said transferring apparatus is adapted for using the siphon principle to transfer cooking liquid from said first container to said second container,

wherein said pipe has an inner diameter between 4 and 12 mm, and

wherein said handle is fixed to said pipe. In an embodiment of the invention, said first container is a roasting pan comprising a ferromagnetic material.

Moreover, the invention relates to a transferring apparatus for transferring cooking liquid from a roasting pan to a container,

said transferring apparatus comprising a pipe manufactured from a material which is heat-resistant at least up till temperatures below 150°C, and a handle manufactured substantially from a low heat-conductivity material with a thermal conductivity lower than 2 W-m ^' ' -Κ ^"1 ,

wherein said pipe comprises at least one bended section such that the angle between a flow direction vector at an inlet end of said pipe and a flow direction vector at an outlet end of said pipe is at least 90° in order for said pipe to be adapted to using the siphon principle from the inlet end to the outlet end,

wherein said pipe has an inner diameter between 4 and 12 mm, and

wherein said handle is fixed to said pipe.

In an embodiment of the invention, said bended section facilitates a division of said pipe into a bended middle section, a substantially straight outlet section comprising said outlet end, and a substantially straight inlet section comprising said inlet end, wherein the outlet section is at least 2 cm longer than the inlet section. With the transferring apparatus according to the present invention, a much easier process of transferring cooking liquid may be obtained.

The transferring apparatus according to the present invention is specially designed to use the well-known siphon principle for facilitating the process of transferring the cooking liquid without the well-known above-described problems.

The transferring apparatus is filled with a start liquid such as tap water, afterwards which the outlet end of the pipe is closed, e.g. with a fingertip. The end of the inlet section of the transferring apparatus is then positioned in the cooking liquid in the roasting pan with the end of the outlet section of the transferring apparatus in a position lower than the end of the inlet section and above the container. Upon opening of the outlet section, e.g. removing the fingertip, the siphon principle will result in the cooking liquid being transferred steady and unproblematic from the roasting pan to the container without further actions required by the user. When sufficient cooking liquid has been transferred, the user can simply lift the transferring apparatus and the transfer will stop.

As compared to prior art this involves a number of advantages:

The transferring apparatus can be easily cleaned with soap and hot water or simply by loading it into the dishwasher as it is.

The roasting pan, meat and a possible grill can maintain the position in the oven during the transferring process.

The container, e.g. a pot or a saucepan, can be hold under the outlet section of the transferring apparatus or it may preferably be placed on the open oven door, in an ideal position for transferring the cooking liquid from the roasting pan.

The amount of time required to transfer sufficient cooking liquid will vary depending on the amount of cooking liquid and the inner diameter of the pipe; however, as compared to using a pipette or removing/re-inserting the roasting pan and meat from the oven, the present invention facilitates a very time-efficient method of transferring cooking liquid. In an embodiment of the invention, said pipe is manufactured from a material which is heat-resistant at least up till temperatures below 200°C, such as below 250°C. The material for said pipe should be resistant to temperatures and conditions from any kind of cooking liquids during use. The present applicant has discovered that stainless steel is particularly suitable for the purpose. Moreover stainless steel is very easy to clean. In an embodiment of the invention, said pipe is manufactured from stainless steel, preferably polished acid-resistant stainless steel.

In an embodiment of the invention, said low heat-conductivity material has a thermal conductivity lower than 1 W-m ^' ^K ^"1 , preferably lower than 0.5 W-m ^' ' -Κ ^'1 . The material for said handle should be suitable for preventing too much thermal energy being transferred from said pipe through said handle to the user.

In an embodiment of the invention, said low heat-conductivity material is a thermoplastic polymer such as polyethylene or polyoxymethylene.

The present applicant has discovered that thermoplastic polymers such as polyethylene or polyoxymethylene are particularly suitable for the purpose. However, the present invention should not be limited to these materials but to any suitable material for the purpose.

In an embodiment of the invention, the outlet section of the pipe comprises a closing mechanism such as a bung or a cap for temporarily closing the end of the outlet section after filling the transferring apparatus with a start liquid. The outlet section can easily be closed with a fingertip but other mechanisms may be used as well within the scope of the invention. In an embodiment of the invention, said handle is adapted to detachably fixing said transferring apparatus to said roasting pan. According to an embodiment of the invention, said handle may be shaped to being able to hold the transferring apparatus fixed relative to the roasting pan. This can e.g. be done if the handle comprises some kind of hook, which can lean over the side of the roasting pan. Another possibility is that the handle is shaped such that a magnet can be part of the handle in a position capable of holding the handle to the roasting pan.

In an embodiment of the invention, said transferring apparatus comprises a holding item which in one end comprises a detachably fixing means, preferably a magnet, adapted such that said holding item can be coupled to a roasting pan and in another end said holding item is adapted to hold said pipe. When a magnet is used, the holding item is in particular suitable for roasting pans comprising a ferromagnetic material.

According to an embodiment of the invention, a holding item is mounted on the roasting pan by the use of a magnet. This holding item is then used to hold the transferring apparatus in place when transferral is going on without the need for the user to hold the transferring apparatus. An advantage of this embodiment is that the holding item can be fixed on the roasting pan first and then the pipe can afterwards be fixed in a right position on the holding item as required.

In an embodiment of the invention, said holding item is manufactured in a low heat- conductivity material, preferably in the same material as said handle.

In an embodiment of the invention, said holding item comprises a milled groove in said low heat-conductivity material, said groove having a width corresponding substantially to the diameter of said pipe, which milled groove is adapted to squeezing tight around said pipe.

By using the right materials for said holding item, a milled groove in said holding item with a width corresponding to the diameter of the pipe, will result in a satisfactorily squeezing effect, when the pipe is inserted into the groove. Such right materials may be e.g. some thermoplastic polymers, such as polyethylene.

In an embodiment of the invention, said pipe has an inner diameter between 6 and 1 1 mm, preferably between 7 and 10.5 mm, such as between 7.5 and 10 mm.

The inner diameter of the pipe is very important for deciding with which speed the cooking liquid is transferred. As such, the diameter may be set as desired. A value about 8 mm is believed to provide a suitable speed for a typical household, whereas a value about 10 mm can be more appropriate under other circumstances.

In an embodiment of the invention, said pipe has an outer diameter between 6 and 14 mm, preferably between 8 and 13 mm, such as between 9 and 12 mm. In an embodiment of the invention, said outlet section is at least 3 cm longer than said inlet section, such as at least 4 cm, 5 cm or at least 6 cm longer than said inlet section. In an embodiment of the invention, said outlet section is at most 20 cm longer than said inlet section, such as at most 17 cm, 14 cm or at most 1 1 cm longer than said inlet section.

In an embodiment of the invention, said inlet section has a length of at least 1 cm, such as at least 2 cm.

In an embodiment of the invention, said pipe comprises at least one bended section such that the angle between a flow direction vector at an inlet end of said pipe and a flow direction vector at an outlet end of said pipe is at least 110 ^° , such as between 120° and 180°.

In an embodiment of the invention, said handle covers at least 2 % of the outer surface of said pipe, preferably at least 5 %, such as at least 20 % Or at least 50 %.

In some embodiments, the handle is sized approximately to fit two fingers. In other embodiments, larger areas of the pipe may be covered by the handle. E.g. larger part of the pipe may be covered by a silicon layer.

According to an embodiment of the invention, said handle fully encircles said pipe for at least 5 mm, such as at least 10 mm. According to an embodiment of the invention, said handle fully encircles said pipe for at most 50 mm, such as at most 40 mm.

In an embodiment of the invention, said handle is fixed to said pipe with the middle of said handle being closer to said inlet end than to said outlet end of said pipe.

According to an embodiment of the invention, said handle is fixed to said pipe with the middle of said handle being at least 1 cm closer to said inlet end than to said outlet end of said pipe, such as at least 2 cm. According to an embodiment of the invention, said handle is fixed to said pipe with the middle of said handle being at most 3 cm from the middle of said pipe, such as at most 2 cm. In an embodiment of the invention, said handle comprises at least two flattened portions to facilitate an easy grip with two fingers.

In an embodiment of the invention, said transferring apparatus comprises a detachable strainer for hindering undesired items from the cooking liquid in being transferred. In an embodiment of the invention, said transferring apparatus is manufactured in disposable materials.

In an embodiment of the invention, the transferring apparatus of said system is a transferring apparatus as herein described.

Moreover, the invention relates to a kit comprising a transferring apparatus as herein described and a cleaning brush for said transferring apparatus. Moreover, the invention relates to a method of transferring cooking liquid from a first container in an oven to a second container by the use of a transferring apparatus, wherein said transferring apparatus is adapted for using the siphon principle to transfer cooking liquid from said first container to said second container,

said method comprising the steps of:

- filling the pipe of said transferring apparatus with a liquid such as tap water, followed by temporarily closing the outlet end of said transferring apparatus, thereby maintaining said liquid inside,

- opening the oven door on the oven containing said first container,

- positioning a second container, such as a pot or a saucepan, above the opened oven door in a height below said first container, preferably on said opened oven door,

- mounting said transferring apparatus with the inlet end in said first container and the outlet section pointing towards said second container,

- opening said outlet end, thereby initiating transferring of cooking liquid by the siphon principle.

In an embodiment of the invention, said first container is a roasting pan comprising a ferromagnetic material.

In an embodiment of the invention, said method further comprises the step of:

- mounting a holding item on said first container, and

- fixing said pipe to said holding item prior to opening said outlet end. In an embodiment of the invention, the transferring apparatus of said method is a transferring apparatus as herein described. THE DRAWINGS

The invention will now de described more in detail with reference to the drawings of which

fig. 1 shows a transferring apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention, figs. 2A and 2B show different embodiments of a holding item, which in preferred embodiments may be part of the transferring apparatus,

fig. 3 shows the transferring apparatus of fig. 1 during use,

fig. 4 shows the transferring apparatus of fig. 1 during use in another situation, and fig. 5 shows a transferring apparatus according to another embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the present context, the cooking liquid is meant to comprise the juices that run naturally from meat during cooking, The term roasting pan will be well-known to the skilled person, and can in the broadest sense cover any kind of oven-proof container with relatively high sides to e.g. collect cooking liquid. The transferring apparatus according to the present invention can be used with all such; however, in order for using a holding item with a magnet to Secure it to the roasting pan, roasting pans comprising a ferromagnetic material are required.

In preferred embodiments of the invention, the transferring apparatus is used together with roasting pans of the type where the size of the roasting pan fits the size of the oven, and where the roasting pans comprise sides adapted for fitting into pre-made grooves in the left and right side of the oven. The siphon allows a liquid to flow uphill without a pump, over an obstacle and then discharge at a level lower than the surface of the original reservoir. Practical siphons operate because gravity causes the hydrostatic pressure at the downstream end of the tube to be significantly higher than the surrounding pressure so fluid flows out of the tube into the atmosphere or into a second reservoir lower than the first.

The siphon principle used in the present invention has been known for thousands of years and is widely used for different applications such as in sewage systems (fixed use), in the fermentation of wine and beer, and when emptying fuel from a fuel tank on a car (both occasional use).

However, the use of the principle for transferring cooking liquid according to the present invention has never been seen before. Moreover, this use has required that the transferring apparatus has been specially designed to work with the present invention.

In almost all known applications of the siphon principle, a rubber or plastic tube is used when a transfer of liquid is required. This is especially the case for occasional uses. Such rubber or plastic tubes provide much more flexibility and easiness of handling the apparatus and process. For the present invention, however, it is of uttermost importance that the material used for the pipe is authorized and safe for use with foodstuff, even when temperatures are relatively high, such as close to 100 ^° C, as may be the case for the cooking liquid in question.

The present inventor has discovered that stainless steel is in particular suitable for this purpose.

However, since stainless steel is heat-conductive, the use of such makes it unsuitable for the purpose since the user may very well get seared fingers when removing the apparatus afterwards.

However, the present inventor has discovered that stainless steel can in fact be used, when a low heat-conductivity material handle is fixed on the pipe, whereby the apparatus can be handled with this handle. Fig. 1 shows a transferring apparatus 10 according to an embodiment of the invention. It comprises a pipe divided into an inlet section 1 1, a middle section 12, and an outlet section 13. During use material may flow through the transferring apparatus 10 from the inlet end 14 to the outlet end 15. Furthermore the transferring apparatus 10 comprises a handle 16, by which the transferring apparatus 10 may be handled regardless of the temperature of the pipe. It is noted that the temperature of the pipe may be relatively high during and immediately after use.

Figs. 2A and 2B show different embodiments of a holding item 20, which may be used as part of the transferring apparatus. With the holding item 20, the pipe is fixed to the roasting pan while the cooking liquid is transferred, thereby allowing the user to perform other tasks while transferring the liquid. The holding item 20 comprises a magnet 25 to fix the holding item 20 to a roasting pan comprising a ferromagnetic material. Furthermore the holding item 20 comprises means for holding the pipe during transfer of the cooking liquid. In fig. 2A the holding item 20 has a milled groove, which results in two "legs" 21 and 22, squeezing around the pipe, when inserted. In fig. 2B the holding item 20 further comprises an adjusting screw 23, which can be used instead or as supplement to the squeezing effect. Obviously a number of other variations can be used to give the desired effect.

Fig. 3 shows the transferring apparatus 10 of fig. 1 during use, when mounted with a holding item 20. In the fig. an oven 30 is seen, with the oven door 31 opened. Inside the oven is a roast 34 in a roasting pan 32, where it has been roasting for some time. The result is that an amount of cooking liquid 35 has run naturally from the roast over time, where it has been collected in the roasting pan. At this point it is desired to move the cooking liquid 35 to another container 33, such as a sauce pan, in order to cook gravy to the roast 34.

Instead of removing the roasting pan 32 and the roast 34 from the oven with risk of spilling or burned fingers, the user simply places the sauce pan 33 on the oven door 31, and the holding item 20 on the roasting pan 32. Upon filling the pipe of the transferring apparatus 10 with tap water, the water is kept inside the pipe by positioning a fmger tip on the outlet end 15. The transferring apparatus 10 is then positioned or fixed in the holding item 20 essentially as shown in the fig. Upon removal of the finger tip from the outlet end, the siphon principle will lead the tap water followed by the cooking liquid 35 from the roasting pan 32 to the sauce pan 33. Whenever the transferring process is desired to stop, the transferring apparatus 10 may be raised from the cooking liquid 35 and e.g. put into the dish washer as it is while the roast 34 continues the roasting in the oven 30, and gravy can be made. In this regard it is mentioned, that most gravy is added further ingredients than cooking liquid, which is why the use of a small amount of tap water will most likely not be a problem. Otherwise, e.g. milk could be used instead.

Furthermore, if desired and the cooking liquid is separated in phases, such as meat juice and fat, the height positioning of the inlet end of the transferring apparatus 10 over the bottom of the roasting pan 32 may define what kind of liquid is being transferred.

Fig. 4 resembles fig. 3 with the difference that the roast is placed on a separate grill 40 above the roasting pan. The principles are the same as for fig. 3. Not illustrated, in some embodiments the grill will be right above the roasting pan, in which case an advantage of the present transferring apparatus is that it can be inserted through the openings in the grill. Fig. 5 illustrates another embodiment of a transferring apparatus. As compared to the embodiment of fig. 1, the handle 56 is designed such that the transferring apparatus can be attached to the rim of a roasting pan; in the disclosed embodiment by squeezing the two legs 57a and 57b over the rim. Obviously, within the scope of the invention, other fastening means or squeezing means could be used as well. Thereby a detachable fixing of the transferring apparatus to a roasting pan will be possible regardless of which material the roasting pan is made of.