EP2011742A1 - Vertical stand-up pouch for steam cooking and steam cooking method - Google Patents

Abstract

The pouch has a joint (3) made up of a plastic film folded into half, and fixed to lower edges (8) of another set of joints and at a triangular zone (9) of side edges (4) of the latter joints. The latter joints are connected together by the side edges to form a pouch. The latter joints have a permanent opening (5) in the form of perforation on an upper portion of the latter joints, where the latter joints are made up of plastic films that are laminated and are resistant to minus 25 to plus 100 degree Celsius to permit steam cooking of frozen food using a microwave oven. An independent claim is also included for a method for steam cooking of frozen food.

Description

Technical area

The invention relates to the packaging of foods, particularly frozen foods, for steaming them in a microwave oven.

Prior art

It is known to US 2006/0186116 A use a semi-rigid airtight bag for storing, dispensing and microwaving food. The packaging described therein comprises a flexible bag portion wrapping a rigid portion serving as a bottom and made, for example, polypropylene or food carton. The package also includes a bell-shaped vent device to open under the pressure generated by the steam generation during cooking.

This conditioning however requires a high accuracy of realization of the vent and, moreover, is not suitable for cooking frozen products. Indeed, the food products for which this packaging is designed are of the sterilized products type and therefore already cooked, which must then be stored in a completely sealed environment. It is for this reason that the vent is designed to open only in the presence of steam inside the bag. In addition, reheating or slightly baking already partially cooked and sterilized products generates much less water vapor than cooking frozen products. Such a vent is therefore not sized to evacuate the production of steam resulting from the cooking of frozen products.

Packaging of the type holding bag is known from GB 2 414 226 A . This packaging is completely waterproof and is intended exclusively for the storage and reheating of pre-cooked and sterilized foods. It comprises different variants of weakened welding bypassing a steam passage zone. As for the conditioning discussed above, the steam production Microwave heating is certainly real but relatively low. This is the reason why the complex devices and small section of these two documents are not at all suitable for steam cooking, especially frozen products.

The objective of this invention is to enable the end user to easily cook in a natural and healthy way by steaming in the microwave oven his food frozen or fresh without first opening the bag holding vertically and reduce the impact environmental waste in a ratio 5 to 7 in favor of the invention compared to bowls or other trays already known.

Presentation of the invention

• un premier morceau de film en matière plastique ;
• un deuxième morceau de film en matière plastique de taille similaire à celle du premier morceau;
• un troisième morceau de film en matière plastique plié en deux et relié aux bords inférieurs et au bas des bords latéraux des premier et deuxième morceaux superposés et reliés entre eux par leur bords latéraux de sorte à former un sachet à maintien vertical lorsqu'il est rempli et où le premier et/ou le deuxième morceau de film plastique comporte sur sa moitié supérieure au moins une ouverture permanente sous forme de perforation et les films sont des laminés résistant de - 25°C à +100°C de sorte à permettre la cuisson vapeur d'aliments congelés au moyen d'un four à micro-ondes.

The aforementioned problem is solved by a frozen food packaging bag comprising

• a first piece of plastic film;
• a second piece of plastic film of a size similar to that of the first piece;
• a third piece of plastic film folded in half and connected to the bottom and bottom edges of the side edges of the first and second superimposed pieces and interconnected by their side edges so as to form a vertically held bag when filled; and wherein the first and / or second piece of plastic film has on its upper half at least one permanent opening in the form of perforation and the films are laminates resistant to -25 ° C to + 100 ° C so as to allow cooking steam from frozen food using a microwave oven.

Preferably, the permanent opening (s) is / are essentially centered on a horizontal axis.

The permanent opening (s) can be located essentially in an area between one-half and two-thirds of the height of the bag.

The bag may have a plurality of permanent openings on at least one of the first and second pieces of film and that the openings on the same piece of film are grouped together.

Preferably, the permanent opening (s) is (are) made by removal of material.

• un premier morceau de film en matière plastique ;
• un deuxième morceau de film en matière plastique de taille similaire à celle du premier morceau;
• un troisième morceau de film en matière plastique plié en deux et relié aux bords inférieurs et au bas des bords latéraux des premier et deuxième morceaux superposés et reliés entre eux par soudure de leurs bords latéraux de sorte à former un sachet à maintien vertical lorsqu'il est rempli ; et où au moins un des bords latéraux des premier et deuxième films reliés entre eux par soudure comporte dans sa moitié supérieure une zone où la soudure est fragilisée.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a packaging bag for food products comprising

• a first piece of plastic film;
• a second piece of plastic film of a size similar to that of the first piece;
• a third piece of plastic film folded in half and connected to the lower and lower edges of the side edges of the first and second superimposed pieces and joined together by welding their side edges so as to form a stand-up pouch when is full ; and wherein at least one of the side edges of the first and second films bonded together by welding comprises in its upper half an area where the weld is weakened.

Preferably, the zone where the weld is weakened is essentially in the form of a horizontal line.

Preferably, the zone where the weld is weakened is essentially in the form of an inverted V.

The bag may have at least one precut area at one of its side edges at a height of approximately half or less the total height of the bag.

The bag may be provided with a laser precut at the height of the precut zone so as to ensure controlled cutting of the bag.

• placer les aliments à l'état congelé dans un sachet de conditionnement,
• fermer le sachet une fois rempli afin de pouvoir le distribuer,
• faire cuire les aliments en plaçant le sachet de conditionnement sans l'ouvrir dans un four à micro ondes,
  et où le sachet de conditionnement est un sachet à maintien vertical comprenant au moins deux parois verticales et une paroi servant de fond et comporte au moins une ouverture permanente par perforation dans la partie haute d'une de ses parois verticales.

A method for cooking frozen foods is also provided, consisting of

• place the frozen foods in a packaging bag,
• close the bag once filled in order to distribute it,
• cook food by placing the packaging bag without opening it in a microwave oven,
  and wherein the packaging bag is a holding bag comprising at least two vertical walls and a wall serving as a bottom and comprises at least one permanent opening by perforation in the upper part of one of its vertical walls.

Preferably, the permanent opening (s) is / are essentially centered on a horizontal axis.

Preferably, the permanent opening (s) (5) is / are essentially located in an area between one-half and two-thirds of the height of the bag.

The bag may have several permanent openings on at least one of the vertical walls and in that the openings on the same wall are grouped together.

Preferably, the permanent opening (s) is (are) made by removal of material.

Brief description of the drawings

The figure 1 illustrates a vertical holding bag for frozen food packaging (natural vegetables, cooked vegetables, fish, ready meals, etc.)

The figure 2 illustrates a vertical holding bag for packaging fresh liquid food (omelettes, tortillas, cake dough, soups, marinades, coulis, etc.)

The figure 3 illustrates a vertical holding bag for the packaging of solid fresh foods (vegetables, cooked dishes, fish, etc.).

The figure 4 shows a bottom view of the holding bag according to the invention.

Best way to realize the invention

The vertical holding packaging bag shown in figure 1 comprises a first piece of plastic film 1, a second piece of pastic film 2 identical to the first forming the side walls of the bag and a third piece 3 serving as a base and bottom to the bag. The pieces 1 and 2 are superimposed and welded together along their side edges 4. The third piece is folded in half along the dotted line and connected to the other two 1, 2 also by welding at the lower edges 8 and at the bottom of the lateral edges 4. Preferably, the lateral zones of the piece 3 forming the bottom of the bag are welded to the corresponding areas of the pieces 1 and 2 forming the walls so as to form triangular zones 9. These are able to deviate from each other at each end of the bag so as to stiffen the bag and to allow vertical holding once filled.

On the top of the bag and the side edges 4 this weld gives a thickness of 4 layers of film (in the case of a duplex film and 6 layers of film in the case of a triplex film) and thus allows the final consumer to be able to leave the dish immediately after cooking steam in the microwave oven without waiting for the cooling and especially without getting burned.

At the end of the steaming in the microwave oven, the bag is taken directly without waiting time and instinctively between two fingers by one of the corners of the bag holding vertically.

The reference 6 designates a precut allowing a tear initiation, thus making easy opening for the vertical holding bag, the consumer does not need to use a knife or a pair of scissors to open the bag.

The reference 7 designates a tear initiation performed at 50 to 60 mm from the base, but it is completed by a laser precut to ensure a straight opening of the bag holding vertically. In certain applications of ready meals or steam vegetables as in the automatic distribution, it is necessary to be able to consume the product directly in the packaging.

The use of a polyethylene oriented in the composition of the duplex also makes it possible to open the bag vertically holding rectilinear way.

After opening, we obtain a holding bag that easily holds in the hand and is like a bowl.

The bottom elevation of approximately 15 mm allows the positioning of the steaming food at the optimal distance from the microwave generator (magnetron). At 15 mm above the turntable the absorption of microwaves is maximum. For this reason we do not have the phenomena of ultra hot point and cold points, as on the heating of the trays or other bowls.

The bag of the figure that is specifically designed for applications for frozen products has 2 vents 5, one on each side of the film are placed between 5 and 7 cm from the top with a diameter of 0.4 to 0.8 mm depending on the cooking time required (plus the holes are small plus the pressure increases and cooking is fast and vice versa). Mastering the diameter and positioning is an essential element of the invention.

Indeed during the cooking stage the vertical holding bag is placed vertically in the microwave oven and after one minute at 900 Watts, a column of steam will form and we go through the vertical position to use the movements natural convection (unlike different horizontal systems such as trays or bowls for example).

A very homogeneous stirring will occur in the bag holding vertically and will thus allow to steam food very homogeneously.

This cooking is done to "smothered in foil" because no previous opening of the bag is necessary. We do not need to add water for cooking, because this process uses only the water naturally present in the foods used.

This allows us to have maximum energy exchange on a minimum of time in a confined volume which allows us to keep the nutritional values of the food, to preserve their texture, their taste and the natural flavors constituting the food.

The same benefits as the Fig. 1 applies to vents 3 of the figure 2 .

The bag illustrated at figure 2 allows the packaging of fresh solid products (vegetables, meat, fish, cooked dishes) under modified atmosphere (binary mixture of CO2 and N2).

The same benefits as for the figure 1 apply to the vents of the figure 3 .

This application allows the packaging of liquid products under modified atmosphere (binary mixture of CO2 and N2)

With this latest version of the invention, we managed to make omelettes in the microwave oven and cakes based on a chocolate device and clafoutis apparatus.

In fact, during the packing we dose whole liquid egg and the other constituents of the omelette (bacon, potatoes, etc.) also applying to the chocolate and clafoutis devices we add fruits and we obtain after cooking Steam ready-to-eat cakes, hot directly out of the microwave.

When cooking steam microwave, we get an omelette, whose shape is oval as the bottom of the bag holding vertically ( Fig. 4 .)

Compared to the cooking time you can get a well-cooked omelette or "baveuse".

After coagulation of the protein and during the omelette formation during the cooking step, after easy opening of the holding bag, you have an omelette ready to consume on your plate.

If we use easy opening in the low position, the omelette can be consumed directly in the holding bag.

Steam cooking directly in the vertical holding bag serving as a mold, said cake dough machine or omelette base being then demolded by reversing the invention, the cake or omelette sliding in the plate very easily thanks to the property flexible of the invention.

Claims (16)

Packaging bag for frozen food products comprising a first piece (1) of plastic film; a second piece (2) of plastic film of a size similar to that of the first piece; - a third piece (3) of plastic film folded in two and connected to the lower edges (8) and the bottom (9) of the lateral edges of the first and second pieces (1, 2) superimposed and interconnected by their edges laterally (4) so as to form a holding bag when filled; characterized in that
the first and / or second piece of plastic film has on its upper half at least one permanent opening (5) in the form of perforation and the films are laminates resistant to -25 ° C to + 100 ° C so as to allow the steam cooking frozen foods using a microwave oven. Packaging bag according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the permanent opening or openings (5) is / are essentially centered (e) along a horizontal axis. Packaging bag according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the permanent opening (s) (5) is / are essentially located in an area between one half and two thirds of the height of the bag. Packaging bag according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the bag has several permanent openings (5) on at least one of the first and second pieces (1, 2) of film and in that the openings on the same piece are grouped together. Packaging bag according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the permanent opening (s) (5) is / are produced by removal of material. Packaging bag for food products comprising a first piece (1) of plastic film; a second piece (2) of plastic film of a size similar to that of the first piece; a third piece (3) of plastic film folded in two and connected to the lower edges (8) and to the bottom (9) of the lateral edges of the first and second pieces (1, 2) superimposed and connected together by welding of their side edges (4) so as to form a vertically held bag when filled; characterized in that
at least one of the lateral edges (4) of the first and second films (1, 2) connected together by welding comprises in its upper half a zone (10, 11) where the weld is weakened. Packaging bag according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the zone where the weld is weakened is essentially in the form of a horizontal line (10). Packaging bag according to claim 6, characterized in that the area where the weld is weakened is essentially inverted V-shaped (11). Packaging bag according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises at least one pre-cut zone (7) at one of its lateral edges (4) at a height approximately equal to or less than half of the total height of the bag. Packaging bag according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the bag is provided with a laser precut height of the precut area (7) so as to ensure a controlled cut of the bag. Method of cooking frozen foods consisting of - place the frozen foods in a packing bag, - close the bag once filled in order to distribute it, - cook food by placing the packaging bag without opening it in a microwave oven, characterized in that
the packaging bag is a holding bag comprising at least two vertical walls (1, 2) and a wall (3) serving as a bottom and comprises at least one permanent opening (5) by perforation in the upper part of one of its vertical walls. Method according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the Permanent openings (5) are / are essentially centered on a horizontal axis. Method according to one of claims 11 and 12, characterized in that the permanent opening (s) (5) is / are essentially located in an area between one half and two thirds of the height of the bag. Method according to one of claims 11-13, characterized in that the bag has several permanent openings (5) on at least one of the vertical walls and in that the openings (5) on the same wall are grouped together. Method according to one of claims 11-14, characterized in that the permanent opening (s) (5) is / are produced by removal of material. Method according to one of claims 11-15, characterized in that the frozen foods placed in the packaging bag comprise a device of the cake dough or omelette base type and in that the method allows the cooking of said apparatus directly in the bag serving as a mold, said apparatus then being removed from the bag after cooking.

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