Note : Les descriptions sont présentées dans la langue officielle dans laquelle elles ont été soumises.
11 ~3~97
DEFINITIONS AND LIMITATIONS
. ~`'';
This invention is concerned with the reduction and/or elimination `~
of juice loss in cooked meats of approximately l-inch, or less,
in thi.ckr.ess, in such items as steaks, chops, and particularly
meat patties; and with other deficiencies in this field of art.
All temperatures used herein are on the Fahrenheit scale. ~.
Cooking meat is the process of treating it with heat. Or, more
precisely for the pNrposes of this invention, cooking meat is the . .;
process of exchanging low temperature BTU's ~British thermal
units) in the m at with higher temperature BTU's in the heating
m~dia.
secauSe the consumption of beef patties, better known as ha~burgers ~ ;"
far exceeds the consumption of all other meat patties c3mbined, I
will use ham~urgers to illustrate, describe, and claim the
processes and method of this invention. It is to be understood,
however, th~t the invention applies to various cuts, steaks, chops and ~:
: ~
~ ~:
:
~ q~37 -2-
patties ~de from beef~ Yeal, ~ork, lamb, and poultry. Patties
from such meats are fabricated from raw meat by grinding, chipping,
flaking, chopping, ccmminuting, molding, pressing, forming, and/or
a combination of two or more of these methods of meat patty fabrication.
Some of the times fabricated from beef and/or veal are shaped to
resemble rib or loin steaks and are called by such names as chip steaks,
flake steaks, engineered steaks, shaped steaks, cubed steaks,
formed steaks, etc. Of all the various meat patties, steaks and
chops produced, there is one item that far outnumbers and outsells
all others combined: the hamburger. Therefore, the hamburger
patty will be used as the exe~plary item in this disclosure. It may
be of any peripheral configuration. It is generally either round
or square, 3 to 6 inches wide, and 1/8 to 1j2-inch thick.
Mbre specifically, my invention will use for its exem;plary item
the hamburgers served in the fast-food chain-store type of restaurants.
My invention is applicable for both the hcr~3 and all commercial
(restaurants, hotels, institutions) segments of the hamburger mar~et.
But the fast-food chain-store group within ~he commercial segment
of the market has special, uniquely different and difficult, hamburger
preparation problems not encountered in other groups or segments of the
meat cookery field. This group has critically important pressing
denE~Ids for speed, simplicity, and uniformity that add heavier burdens
to the burden already imçosed by the major problem of juice-weight
loss. m e reason for selecting the hamburgers of this group as
exemplary is because they have the nDst difficult combination of
proble~s in h~mburger and fabricated meat-patty oookery. If my
invention can provide a solution to the juice-loss problem for this
group, then the same solution would apply to the same problem in
the other groups.
~ 3~7 -3-
A hamburger is popularly and generically understood to be a
cooked patty of ground beef. If certain qualifying terms are used
in connection with its advertising and sale, the UDS~ legal specif-
ications must be observed. For example: if it is called l'ground
beef," "chopped beef," or "hamburger" then its fat content can be
no more than 30~ by weight. This legal limitation on fat content
is important in this invention because (1) the fat is one of the
flavor-imparting ingredients of hamburger-meat juices that (2) is
largely intercellular (not cellularly entrapped) so that (3) as
it begins liquifying early in the cooking process at temperatures
of around 110 it easily becGmes part of the cooked meat-juice
c~mplex within the meat and (4) in this liquid phase its globules
will float on and/or within the meat-juice complex, and (5) be
carried out and lost with juice that is excreted, carmelized,
evaporated, anCVor burnt cluring the high-heat prior-art cooking
processes. Therefore the greater the fat content, the greater will
be the juice-weight loss (all other things being equal) in prior-art
oookery. Fbr this reason, among others, the better quality fast-food
hamburger chains kept the fat content of their hamburgers under 20%.
E~rying and broiling are the two methods normally employed by the `
prior-art for cooking hamburgers. Frying uses the metal surfaces
of pans or griddles on which to lay and cook meat. Broiling uses
c7;rect-close-cont~ct exposure of the meat to the source of radiant
heat, as on an open-surfaced gridiron over live coals, gas flames,
or electric rods. Both of them ap~ly heats to the meat far in excess
of the 212 boiling point of water; the point at which water changes
and expands from a liquid to a gaseous (steam) phase, and in the
process breaks meat cell structures and purges cellular-held juice
out of the meat. Both of them may be termed dry-cooking systems
because they both expose their cooking hamburgers to a dry, air
and/or metal, source of heat.
~ 9 ~ -4-
Another classification of frying called "deep frying" uses the
distinguishing prefix "deep" to indicate that the frying is done in
a quantity of liquid fat of a sufficient depth so that the cooking
food can be deeply immersed therein (i.e., surrounded, covered, and
enclosed by and within said liquid); also at temperatures far in
excess of 212. In "deep frying" as herein ~mderstood, the food
and the liquid are in direct physical contact with each other, with
no barrier of any kind between them to pre~ent this direct physical
contact. Use of this classification of frying has heretofore been
avoided by the prior-art because, among o-ther reasons, immersion
in liquid fat produces objectionable flavors.
In the process of cooking a hamburger there is a change of flavor
and color from the raw to the cooked state. The cooked flav~r is
delectable to man's taste, and thus is beneficial nutritionally
and esthetically. m e oolor changes from red to pink to gray-brown
as cooking heat increases and the doneness levels change from rare
to medium to well-done. me flavor carrier is the meat's juices
which are largely derived from the blood and water complex within
the meat. Total water content of the entire meat cellular complex
(including the blood) is between 70% and 80%.
Beef blood, or serum, itself is composed of akout 55% by volume of
blood plasma and 45% of several hundred biochemical, nutrient and
waste sl~stances in various stages and levels of hydrolysis,
synthesis, and/or decomposition. The plasma itself is a water
solution whose principal function is to transport both the dissolved
and undissolved substances that are part of the blood composition.
The plasma is by volume akout 91% water, and in solution, 7~ p~otein
material, 0.9% mineral salts, and 1.1% of the substances previously
~0 mentioned. Thus of the total blood content about 50% (55% of 91%) is
water and 50% of the substances previously mention which, along with
water outside the blood proper, brings the total water content of the
3~7
entire cellular complex up to between 70% and 80%. This high water-
level is a critical consideration to an understanding of this
invention because (1) water is ~he main constituent and carrier of
the proteinaceous liquid substance known as beef juice, and (2) it
maintains within the temperature parameters of 32 and 212 the
fluid-liquid (in distinction to the fluid-gaseous) phase of this
substance. In beef cookery the definition of beef juice is en-
laxged to include the entire blood o~mple~ (plasma and undissolved
substances) plus the fat rendered liquid by cooking heats. This is
the unique combination of substances that pr~vides the flavors and
nutrition that makes keef juice both delectable to man's taste and
nutritional for his body. This "beef juice" (with or without added
water, flavorings, color, and/or preservatives in its ingredient
content) is also called "beef stock" and "beef broth," when it i5
used as a flav~r additive for foods.
BACKGROUND OF THE I~NTICN
Hamburger cookery is a cen~uries-old art. Its commercialization
in this oountry began around the turn of the century. But that
segment of the commercial market known as fast-food is only about
40 years old. A~ the w`nolesale level, the total annual quantity
of beef sold for hamburgers, both domestic and commercial, is
currently around 7.2-billion pounds, which at a wholesale price
of $1.25 per pound represents about $9-billion dollars.
Prior-Art Method and Meàns
The phenom nal growth in fast-food commercialization of hamburgers
during the past twenty years rapidly escalated the number and
intensity of the cookery problems in this field. Factual evidence
of this is the large number of ~atents for hamburger cookery
granted during ~his period. Of the-patents issued during the past
~ 9~ -6-
50 years, approxi~ately 85% ~ere issued during the last 20 years;
the years oE the 1960's and the 1970's to date. m en, sharply
indivative of the special problems of fast-food is the fact that
about 80% of these recent-decade patents were concerned with
mechanical apparatuses for increasing the cooking speed while
controlling the uniformity of the ocoked ha~burger. This high
percentage of patents on mechanical methods and means gives
credence to the thought that the pressing demand of the hamburger
industry was for inventions of speed and uniformity rather than on
the other problems covered by the remaining 20%.
However, despite the quality and quantity of the novelty displayed
in these patents, tw~ important facts should be remembered in the
context of this .invention: (1) all of them were mainly of a
mechanical nature, and (2) none of them n~de any basic departure
from the tw~ accepted cookery ~ethods o ]t-metal-contact frying
and radiant-heat broiling. The prior-art practitioners were
literally committed to the basic mechanical heat-exchange movements
of these tWD standard cookery methods. I~ley had mechanical ap-
paratuses that (1) moved cooking hamburgers on horizontal, verticaland/or diagDnal planes; with belts, rollers and~or pusher bars, (2)
against stationary, rotating, and/or sliding grills, (3) into direct
and/or indirect contact with the meat from one and/or two sides
with (4) heat emission sources supplied by gas flames and/or electric
heating elements that produced radiant, conauctive, and/or convection
heats on an~/or Ln the hamburger. m eir statements of objectives
in these patents were filled with such phrases as "efficient production"
"high production rates," "uniformity," "even heating," "uniform pene-
tration of h~at," "easy cleaning," "elimination of smoke, burnt
drippings, noxious fumes, gre~sy flavors, scorching, spattered
grease, sticking, carcinogenic carbon, disagreeable tastes," etc.
~3997 _7_ ~ `
All of thes objectives indicated a need for speed, uniformity
in the ccoked product, elimination of disagreeable cookery by
products, and/or reduction of the human element in the oookery
process. m ese are worthy objectives. A few inventions did
indeed fulfill them. Many of them did not. Many more were too
o~mplicated to be practical. Some were actually harmful to the
cooked hamburger. But all of them were locked into the methods of
metal-contact frying and/or flame or electric broiling.
In addition to the primary and clearly-stated objectives in the
prior-art, akout 20% of that art contained secondary and ambigu- ~ ~;
ously-stated objectives that alleged sc~ne kind of reduction in
loss of juice and/or flavor. These objectives were oontained in
such phrases as: 'iwithout 1QSS of flav~r or juices," "seal in
juices and flavor," "without shrinkage or juice evaForation,"
"prevents excessive loss of meat juices," "retaining mDst of the
~eat juices," etc. Actually the~e objectives were simply al-
legations; just wishful thinking with~ut proof, and nothing more.
There æ e no patented claims and~or empirical evidence showing actual
percentages that any of them aia, or ocNld, reduce the high level
of juice and flav~r loss that still exists in the fast-food
hamburger business. Thus there is no substantive shcwing in the
prior art of either a clefinitive effort of a definitive result on
a reduction in hamburger juice loss.
The juice~weight loss in fast-food hamburgers frc~n the raw weight
to the cooked weight, nor~lly ranges between 25% and 33%. Using
the lowest percentage fcxr the entire industry average, this loss
amounts to abou~ 2.25-billion pounds, or $2.8-billion annually.
This is the n~tritional and monetary magnitude of just one item
in the juice-loss problem that is the central c~ncern of this
inYentiOn.
<~,
3~ 7
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m e hamburger industry has also exerted a tremendous amount of
time, energy, and capital expenditures on mechanical methods and means
for changing primal beef m~at itself into various meat bcdies and/or
textures used in hamburger meat patties. The prior patented art
shows a great out-pouring of inventions in this æea commencing in
the early 1960's and steadily increasing in numbers to the present
dateO Some measure of the huge volume of thought given to problems
in this area is provided by the following twenty-eight descriptive
words used in the titles and abstracts of these inventions:
p~eparing, prccessing, making, producing, forming, compacting, ~ -
cutting, mixin~r grinding, chopping, comm~nuting, dispensing,
charging, extruding, shaping, stacking, separating, portioning,
dividing, compressing, stuffing, machining, slicing, depositing,
pressing, removing, segmenting, knitting, etc. But not a single one
of the inventions gave the slightest thought to retaining the
ground-meat texture and/or restructure it specifically and most
importantly to (1) reduce cooking juice-weight loss and then (2)
attain an internal uniform well-done doneness level in the ccoked
meat and (3) achieve (1) and (~) wi~hin the cooking time
limit tions of the fast-food industrv.
Thus, as noted, the fast-food hambur~er industry has bestirred
itself greatl~ with all the numerous problems and deficiencies with
which it has been plagued in producing a cooking hamburger meat,
except the greatest and most stubborn problem of all, namely, the
enormDus loss of juice. With this problem of juice loss the
advancement of the art has been zero. ~t one time all of the various
prior-art ocokery problems were also objectives of my research,
but the juice-loss problem over-rcde all the others in the
magnitude of both its nutritional importance and its resistance to
a cure. Therefore, I made the problem of juice loss not only the
central concern, but the sole concern of this invention.
3~ 9- ~ ~ :
It is therefore the overall, central, and sole objective of this ;~
invention to substantially reduce or elininate this juice-weight
loss while conforming to the doneness levels and cooking times
of the fast-food industry. All other objectives that inadvertently
might be achieved are simply contributory, accessory, circumjacent,
and/or ancillary to the sole objective.
VMDERSI~NDING THE PROELEM ;
A prerequisite to the solution of any problem is an articulation
10of it. The following paragraphs endeavor to supply such an
articulation.
It appeared frcm the long-standing e~istence of the problem that
a solution to it certainly was extremely difficult. It even appeared
that part of the overall objective to reduce to zero, or nearly so,
:-
this juice-weight loss in hamburgers was even impossible. The
solution initially appeared even more i~possible when I
considered including in my research all the special needs of the
-:
big fast-food hamburger chains for speed~, simplicity, unlformity,
and all th~;r other special problems. Such added research burdens
made a full overall solution appear complately beyond attainment.
Howe~er, even though I decided to limit my concern solely to juice-
weight loss, solutions for the entire range of problems still remained~
with me as objectives to purs~e at some later time.
Critically important to the solution of any problem is an
understanding of the basic factors producing the problem, i.e., ~ ;
what is the cause of the problem. Such basic knowledge of the
factors causing the juice-loss problem a~parently has been
lacking in the hamburger-oooking industry ~hroughout it's
prior history. At least there is no evidence in the prior-art
~ ~3~3~3~ -lo- ; ~
to indicate a knowledgeable ~mderstanding of the basic phenomena
associated with juice loss in hamburger cookery, much less using
it as a reference in solving the problem.
As is customary w_th problems like that of hamburger juice loss
that stubbornly resist an answer, the research often engaged in
"wild" or "imFossible" experiements; ~robing for solutions that
appear empirically "imFossible" but not impossible in the light
of scientifically-acc~pted theory; theory that presumably
postulates the causes. I also engaged in many such experiements, but
there isno record of the prior-art doing so. It was fortunate ~ -
that I did because, as will become evident as the description
proceeds, the final all-embracing solution disclosed in this
invention is in ~he fullest sense an "im~ossible" happenstance
discovery because it went contrary to existing empirical data;
but still a possible disoovery because it did not go contrary to
basic physical laws.
Because the prior-art did not know the causes of the juice-lo~s
problems, it is understandable why the problem wasn't solved.
But it is not und~rstandable why the prior-art didn't probe for
basic causes by using the basic references provided by proven
physical laws. In view of the dynamic growth in the fast-food
hamburger industry and its financial stren~th, it is surprising
that is has continued to live for so long with the huge nutritional
and economic losses from juice 105s. It is even more surprising
that the elementary orano-physical laws gcverning the causes
of juice loss were not knowledgeably obvious to the prior-art
practitioners. Since knowledge of these laws is available to
everyone in standard te~ts on physics, physiology, and biochemistry,
the surprising essence of this invention must then also reside in
the non-obviousness of the seemingly obvious when viewed in hindsight.
~3~397 ~ ~
Such knowledge is germane to an understanding of the p~oblem and -
the development of this invention before proceeding to specific
descriptions of ~he discoveries. It is provided in the ~ollowLng
brief and sImplified descriptions of the basic phen~mena associated
with hamburger cookery.
DEVEIDPMENT OF IHE INVENTION
The progression of sub-titled paragraphs that follow describe
in orderly se~uence the development of thought, factors, and
considerations impinging on and leading to the solution of the
juice-loss problem in hamburger cookery.
Defim tion`of Matter
.
Basic to any physical problem is matter itself. In its umversal
application, and for the purpose of the invention, matter is
simply defined as the substance (material, consitituents, elements,
orqanic and/or inorganic) of which a physical object is ccmposed.
Matter comes in different states. In its fi~damental con~
notation the "states of matter" refer to the condition of
`:
a substance; as its state of aggregation, which may be ~olid,
liquid, or gaseous -- oompact or dispersed.
A given substance may be transformed into all three of the states
of matter. Such transformed states are known as phases of the ;~
substance. For example, ~ater as a liquid is in its liquid phase,
ice is its solid phase, steam is its gaseous phase. Its
liquid and gas~ous phases are classi~ied as fluid masses and ;
ha~e the qualities of mobility and am~iency. Its solid phase is a
stationary mass, i~mobile and non-am~ient.
33
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Laws of Conservation
Basic to any understanding of the cause and then prescribing a
cure for a problem involving matter is a knowledge of the basic
laws and phenomena governing such matter. Unless such knowledge
is present in the analysis of a problem, it is improbable that
either the cause or the cure will be found. Since my invention is
concerned with the loss of matter (juice) in a mass of matter
called a hamburger, I must consult and honor the laws that
govern the conservation of matter. Without these laws as a
reference, it is inconceivable that one could even make a start
toward understanding the nature of the hamburger juice-loss
problemr much less of-Fer a cure.
The basic law of reference governing the behavior of the "phases"
of matter is the law of conserva~on of mass-energy equivalence,
wl~ich simply equates a quantity of mass to a quantity of energy.
Subordinate laws are: (1) the law of conservation of energy
which states that when tw~ or more particles of matter interact
the total energy (kinetic and potential) is always constant,
and (2) the law of conservation of mass, which has been put in
the form that matter can neither be created nor destroyed. A
statement n~re understandable to a layman would be that the total
mass of any system re~ains constant under all transformations; as for
example, the mass-energy of a given m~ss of water (liquid) remains
constant regardless of its transforlnation from its ice (solid
or steam (gaseous~ phases.
An important function of the conservation laws is that they allow
prediction about the behavior of a substance without going into
the mechanical details of what happens during the course of a
transformation from one phase to another phase. The laws provide
a direct conservation-connection between the state of the substances
before the transformation and the state after the ~ransformation.
~3~'7
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Also, one may conclude that any action (mechanical, chemical and/or
thermal) which upsets one of the oonservation laws must be forbidden,
particulæly if one wishes to conserve (retain) a substance in a
given state and/or phase. Thus if one wishes to conserve the
li~u~d phase of juice within a hamburger, any oooking system which
acts in violation of such a conservation must be forbidden, and
some other system must be found that will effec~uate and maintain
this conservation. Such laws, then, are the causal basics which
set the guidelines that must be honored if juices in hamburgers are
to be conserved.
The basic question then beoomes: what kind of svstem, if any,
could retain within a cooked hamburger patty both (1) it's
original juice-mass tweight) and (2) the heat energy to which
it was subjected in cooking. Ihis question with its dual concerns
describes in basic te~ms the leading overall obje~ctive of this
invention. Or, to state the objective anothe!r way: to discover
a system for ccoking hamburgers which will conserve the uncooked
liquid-phase hamburger juice-weight energy in the same phase and
weight in the cooked hamburger.
My search for such a system ~as preceded by a knowledgeable
reoognition of the basic reference of conservation of mass-energy
as it operates with and thLough the associated meth~ds, ~eans
and systems that have a bearing on the substance (han~rger N~at).
of our problem. With such an approach the causes of, and a solution
to,t~e~problem finally surfaced. mere is no evidence in the
prior-art of such a knowledgeable recognition an&~/or use of such
references, and so it is understandable why the prior-art
has not produced an answer to the problem. In distinction to
the prior-art the teachin~s herein will openly and continually
explain the referen&es used to reach the overall objective.
~ 14-
Incident of Heat ~xchanges
In using the basic laws of conservation as the reference it is
necessæy tc recognize (1) that the methods and means through
which these laws operate in cooking hamhurgers æ e heat exchanges
(2) involving the laws governing fluid (gas and liquid) systems,
and (3) that the substance (hamburger) to be cooked has certain
histo-bio-chemical functional structures peculiarly generic to
muscle systems.
Fbr this recognition, the basic reference is best understood if
the two equivalent parts of mass-energy are o~nsidered separately
as an exchange of energy and as an exchange of mass, as follows: ;
1. The problem of heat (gaseous)-energy exchange and/or
transfer, between a cold hamburger and a hot heat source.
This is basically a problem of energy exchange by conduction-
diffusion and/or radiation-waves because these two energy
carrier systems can transmlt and/or exchange energy without
the physical novement of mass.
The physical ana organic w~rlds are replete with evidence that
practically all mass-energy systems have heat ranges within
w~ich they can exchange heats with other masses having
unlike heats without a visibly noticable change in state,
or phase, and~or a loss of weight, e.g., within the temperature
range of 32 to 212 water can exchange heat with a heating
element without any imn~diate or substantial change in its
state or loss of its weight. ~st living and newly-deceased
organisms of the animal (e.g. hamburger meat) and vegetable
world also have a relatively wide range of temperatures
li -15-
within which they can exist anfi exchange temperatures (BTU's)
wlth an ambient atmosphere having a temperature considerably
dlrferent rrom the organism's normal tem?erature; and do this
wlthout a noticeable change in the state and/or weight of
the or~anism.
lhus it appears theoretically reasonable that such a heat
exchange could also take place in the cooklng o~ a hamburger;
that a hamburger theoretically could be cooked without a
substantial, if any, loss ln Juice_weight. If so~ then why
hasn't the theory been reduced to practice? Why haven't the
prior-art practitioners done this? ~as it been an insurmountable
problem rOr them? These questlons ~ith their absence Or answers
constltute one Or the most barrlin~ aspects Or the prior~art.
It is lncred~ble that the huge, wealthy, and presumably
scientifically-resource~ul companies operating in the fast-
rood hamburger industry have falled to solve the problem Or~uice--weight loss. Whatever the reasons for this fallure,
the tremendous economic and nutritional losses should have
been a compelling inrluènce to rlnd a solutlon; ir not for
their selr lnterest, then at least ~or the beneflt Or thelr
customers and our Nation at large.
,'',
¦ It is a speclflc and prlmary ob~ective of thls invention,
ll thererore, to devise methods and means ror cooking hamburgers
I whereby functional properties of conduction and/or radiation
,j will be limited to roles that are beneficial, and not harmful,
or the Juice~retention quality Or the hambur~ers.
, . .
~ . .,
1,, ~ I
li . I,
_, .. _ . .. ... . .
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~ 3~7 -16_
2, The problem of mass-welght exchange and/or transfer between
' a cold hamburger and a hot heat source.
. , ' .' ' ,
This is basically a problem Or energy exchan6e by convectlon
because convection transmlts and/or exchanges energy by and
, through the physlcal movement of mass.
1,
j~ There is no evidence in the prior-art that the physlcal laws
conservation of mass-energy and the use Or convectlon for
i the exchange and/or transfer o~ heats were ever given a serious
and sustained analytical and/or comparative examlnatlon. In
fact, the evldence ls open and abundant that these laws, and/or
an alternate mechanlcs for heat exchange, were comDletely ignored.
The de facto evidence appears obvious that the prlor practitloners
in the fast-fooA hamburger industry believed that ln order to
acquire hot-heat energy fast the cooklng hamburger had to
I release (glve up) some of lts mass (Juice-welght). These
practltioners apparently have been so mesmerlzed with the need
or operational speed, slmplicity, and uniformity, they gave
no serlous consideration to placing first on thelr research
agendas the increased nutritional, flavor, and economic values
that would come wlth greater ~uice-~elght retention. The
evidence is indispu~ab~e that in the prior-art cookln~ Or
,1 hamburgers the law governing the conservatlon of mass-energy
produced a high degree Or one-way streets or trans~ers along
~; ~hich unlike states or phases of mass-energy moved; namely
i the exit of mass (liquid-phase weight) out of the hamburger
in exchange for the entry of hot temperature relatively
weightless (gaseous-state~ heat energy into the hamburger.
Despite the prolixity o~ the patented prlor-art, no way had
been found for the deslred speed ln the exchange of energy
.. ... . ~
~3~7 -17-
:: `
(heat) without a transfer that sacrificed at least 25% of
the mass (juice weight). ~
.,
The consideration of a true exchange of energy on a like-
energy for a like-energy, like-phase for like-phase, basis;
i.e., same mass for same mass, liquid for a liquid, gas for
gas, radiant waves for radiant waves, apparently had never
been seriously studied; i.e., in terms of the underlying
physical laws governing heat exchange.
It therefore becomes a further specific primary objective
of this invention to provide a method and neans for cooking
hamburgers by which the hot heats from the heating source
are exchanged via convection with the cold heats of the raw
hamburger without the cooked hamburger showin~ any sub,
stantial juice-wQight loss from its uncooked weight.
The Mechanics of Heat Exchanqe
_
A5 noted above the mechanics of cOnsQrvation in food cooking
functions via the mechanics o heat exchan~e systems. ~11 the solids,
liquids, and gasesin-cooking foods are subject to such a heat ;
exchange. In hamburger ocokery the low-temperature heats in the cold
meat are exchanged for the high temperature heats generated by
and/or through the cooking appliances. In ~he prior hamburger
art this e~change always results insome of the mass-energy in the
meat changing its phase; for example, meat juices
changing from a liquid ~o a steam (gaseous) phase, whereby
considerable juice is transferred out of the meat and is lost
as its gaseous weight is absorbed in the air (gas) of the
atmosphere. In this phenome~a the total mass-energy remains
constant, but so fæ as the hamburger is concerned its initial
mass-energy is considerably reduced, normally losing at least
~3~
-18-
25% of its weight. For the prior-art hamburger the heat-exchange
m~chanism prcduce a net transfer of mass-energy out of the hamr
burger into the open atmosphere rather than an equal weight
exchange of mass-energy between the hamburger and the heat-producing
apparatuses and/or cooking envir~nment.
It is therefore a further objective of this invention to ~rovide
a heat-exchange mechanism that will promote an equal weight exchange
of mass-energy between a hamburger and its cooking medium.
1. The cooking temperatures used in the mechanics of exchange
by the various segments in prior-art commercial hamburger
cookery include the ~ollowing: (1) metal contact frying,
hroiling, flaming, and/or baking at temp~ratures ranging
from 250 to 700, all t~mperatures far beyond the temperature
at which water expands and gasifies into pressured steam;
many of them heats at which surface meat tissue is also reduced
to dried solids and/or burnt powered (~lid particles) ash.
(2) Direct gas-flame close-meat-oontact ~system with heats
upwards of 1200 at the point of emission; heats that
quickly change meat surfaces, and some interior juices and
tissues, into highly mobile steam~pressured meat-exiting
gases and power d carbon ash.
Despite the enormous ~uice losses, the fast food hamburger chains
apparently have felt their co~mitment to fast, speedy, service
out-weighed in commercial imp~r~ance ~he econ~mic and/or nutritional
values that would be added from a reduction in juice losses.
Despite this cammitment to speed, the more quality-concerned
~ast-food practitioners have generally kept their cooking heats
d~wn around the 250 to 350 temperature range in an effort to
3~
munimize and/or reduce some of the deleterious effects produced
by higher temperatures. But some, in flagrant disreg æd of such
deleterious effects, have gone to indirect flaming at 700 and ``
higher; into the heats at which beef tissue undergoes almost
instant oombustion. One of the industry leaders actually going
to a close-contact gas-flame at 1200.
Regardless of the speciic oooking heats used by prior-art
practitioners all of their heats create the violent thermal
shocks that produce the extreme hyperexcitement, cell contraction,
cell breaking, and cell-cramp-lccking effects on beef's cellular
structures that in turn, produce a correspondingly violent and
almost ins~antaneous change in the state of hamburger juices from
c~liescent and stationary-but-m~vable fluid lic~ids to highly-
pressured rapidly moving fluid gas (steam) anc~or tightly locked-
in immobilized liquids.
All of the cooking temperatures used in prior-art ham~urger
cookery are fæ above the 212 steam~producincJ level of water.
mus all the prior-art is c~nstantly engaged in changin~ hamburger
juice from the quiescent liquid phase of ~ater into the expansion-
pressured-meat-exiting phase of steam.
It is a further object, therefore, to provide a hamburger cooking
syst~m that will cook hamburgers at temperatures under 212 and ~;~
over the toxic danger point of 128.
2. The heat-exchang systems
Syst~ms for exchanging cooking heats that have been used by
prior-art h~burger cookery may be grouped under three
~37
, 1~ ~20-
classir1catlons based on the manner by h~hich their respectlve
heats encompassed and/or were combined around the cooking meat.
, This manner Or classification is used here because it relates
directly to the ability o~ the ~luld carriers to perrorm a true
¦,¦ like-phase ror like-phase heat-exchange bet~een the cooking meat ,
and ~he cooking heat. ,
a. L1~uid_heat encompass1ng hamùur~ers
Deep-rryinG in hot liquid olls or fats is an example Or a
heat-exchange system in which the liquld and its heat completely
surrounds an~ encompasseS and is ln dlrect physical contact ',
l hith, the cooking hamburger from all sides and angles. There
" is no barrier bet~een the bare raw meat and the hot liquid.
l The heat o~ the liquid is usually around 400. This system
1~ ~Yould appear to haYe at least the advanta~e o~ belng able to
1. exchange the liquid-~uice mass Or the meat with another
!liquid mass ~oil). Here then existed the opportunity o~ . '
exchanging heat mass-energy on a like-~or-like phase basis;
I' . . . .
1,~,ut this system has never been used on a commerclal scale
,'1 b,y the prior-art ham,bur~er lndustry because results
sho~ed that (1) it produced unpalatable oily ~lavors in
the hamburgers, and (2) it ~ailed to accomplish a signl~icant
reduction in ~uice (mass) loss.
I,~ ' ',:
I b. Cas heat encomDassin~ hambur~er
1,'
Baking in a radiant-heat oven is an example Or a heat-exchange
i system ln which a heated gas (air) substantially surrounds 'l`
1~1 . .. ..
l .
..
!~
!'l .
; . .~.................. :
ll ~ 7
-21-
and encompasses the cooking hamburger ~rom all sldes and angles
i~ it rests on an open wlre rack. Tnis system has the
advantage o~ con~ining lts heat within a closed cavlty which,
thou~h the heat ls amblent, supplles all the sur~aces Or the
cooking hamburger with rairly unirorm temperatures. The heat
is not subJected to cross-currents Or uncontrolled variant-
temperatured atmospheric air. And thus this system could be
used to cook hamburgers at low (under 212) temperatures with
a consequent reduction in Julce-expelling heat-pressures.
However, this system has never been used on a large commercial I I :
scale by the prior-art becau~e: (1) regardless o~ the ..
cooking temperatures large ~uice-losses still occurred, and I !
(2) it was operatlonally aw~ward and more costly in tlme
and labor. However, apparently unknown to the prlor-art
there was a more basic reason: there existed no possibility .
of exchangln~ heats between the hamburger and the cooklng
atmosphere on a llke-phase ~or like-phase basis.
Il
c~ll Gas hea~ not-encompassin~ _ham~urger
Broiling (gridiron) and hot-metal-contact (griddle or ~rill)
, frying are the two primary examples o~ the cooking system
i that employes non-encompassin~, open gas (air) atmosphere
in which to cook hamburgers. Cooking ls done at hirh (at
least over 250) temperatures with the he2t cont2cting the
hamburgers from only one or two sides 2t a tlme leaving the
,¦ other sur~aces exposed to the ambient non-heat-conrlned
(non-enco ~asslng speci-lc heat) ~arlable-heat atmosphere.
.
~ . .
1.~
... ..
~, ~ '7 -22-
¦ Since the heats Or this system are (1) open to an ambient
I! ~not closed or conflned) atmosphere, and (2) this atmosphere
ls a gas (air), there is no ~ay ln which an e~change Or heat-
mass energy can take place on a llke~ror~ e pihase basis
between the Juice-mass in a hamburger and th~ heat-energy in
the atmosphere. The unlike phase exchange Or energy
l requires a liquid (Juice) phase to leave the hamburger ln
I~ exchange for the entry Or a gaseous (air and/or radiant-
l wave) phase into the hamburger.
l
: .
Since this is the cooking system classiricatlon used by all
' prior-art practitioners o~ rast-~ood hamburger cookery, a ~ ~ -
¦ brier examination Or the rationale ror such universal use
is in order here. I~ the system produced a hamburger with
l high-level Juice retention this would be a sufricient ratlonale
!~ ~or lts use. But it doesn't do this.
I' ~,:
When asked to supply a quality rationa:le on why this systèm
I, is thelr choice, prior-art practitioners could not give me a
!~ firm reply. ` `
!` `~
j For example: (a) There are some who argue uneasily
(i.e., without firm knowledge) that the reason ls a
I' ~' '`
better flavor because the high heats tend to open`up `l
the inner and outer surfaces Or a hamburger and thus ~ ¦
acilitate later release o~ rlavor ~uices in the mouth.
Actually there is no logic or empirical evidence to
il support such a position because opened meat sur~aces
release llavor ~uices, and substantial quantlties Or
~uice-rlavor are lost, long berore the hamburger enters
the mouth. As a matter Or ract such meat is more likely
to have a dry, carmelized, and/or burnt rlaYor. (b) There
are others who take a contrary position. They allege that
1 ~ '
.
3 9 ~ ~
-23-
' the hi~h heats used in grllling and broiling keep
I' and/or seal in the ~uices and flavor by cauterlzing the
¦, surraces o~ the meat. These statements direc~ly contravene
the open knowledge that these systems expel meat Julce in
1 large quantities. Thus the alleged cauterlza~ion does
¦ not accomplish the alleged purpose. (c) Others ar~ue
simply that grilllng in the open atmosphere "is the way
it has always been done so, there~ore, lt must be the
best way or it wouldn't be used." Such an ar~ument ls ~ j
devoid Or syllogistic logic, and doesn't even pretend
to give a quallty ratlonale.
ll
It is obvious that the hamburger industry is conrused in
both its rationale on quality and how quality can be
l~ achieved. Therefore it ls ~nother object o~ this invention
!l to provide a heat-exchange system in which the heat-ener~y
¦ used ~or a coo~ing hamburger will be able to exchange heat-
1, energy in a hamburger without the hambur&er losing mass. .
ll . ` 1' .
- 3.`, The heat transmission sYstems `
I~ , ... _ ................................................. ,
,
. To enable heat exchange systems to func~ion in rood cookery li
there must be a modus operandi for transmittln~ and/or carryin~
the heats to be exchanged. There must be a heat transmission .
system within the exchan~e system. There are three well-known ~ j
heat-transmission systems used in food cookery; all o~ them avall-
ll¦able to, and used in varying degrees by, prior-art ~ast-~ood '
i hambur~er operators. These transmlssion systems all use
i fluid carriers: liquids, gases, and/or radiant waves to
, transmit and/or exchan~e heat. They are the ~ollowing.
, ,~:
ll
.' ..... ~ ....... ........
.
3~
-24-
!
1 (1) conductlon -- which is the function of transmitting
I heat by dl~fuslon through immoblle materials such as beer
tissues and flbers and/or stagnant ~uices; (2~ radiation --
which ls the runctlon o~ transmitting heat by radiant
wa~e energy moving through ambient al., vapors, liquids,
, and~or permeable meat tissue; (3) convection -- which is the
l' ~unction Or transmitting heat by a fluid carrler (liquid
¦ or gas) actually travelling ~rom one location to another
location.
Ii
Il . , 1, - .
The prior-art use of these heat transmission systems is more
~ully described as ~ollows: ¦
Il .. . ' 1
a. Conductlon, is the action used to di~use heat throueh
i~mobile substances; substances that normally have
l greater densities than mobile (fluid)substances. Because
!l o. these characterlstics, these immobile substances are
¦~ relatively intractable to a rast acceptance o~ the
I cooking~accelerating inrluence o~ high heats. Conduction's .
responsiblllty ror heatlng immobl~e substances normally
would make it the slowest o~ the three runctlonal
mechanisms ~or cooking meat. One would assume, therefore,
that the rast-~ood practitioners would not use conductlon
mechanics in their hamburger cookery. Such an assumption
I is completel~ contrary to the facts. Conduction ls used;
and used extensivel~. Despite the lntractability o~ the
.
meat to ~ast heat-acceptance via conduction's dlffusion
il mechanics, the prior-art uses high heats to force heat
l tractibillty upon a cooking hamburger in the interest o~
!il , ~ ,
. 1l1 ' :
1 , ,,
,
7 -25-
speed. ~ut~ by so do~ng, lt also rapidly rorces some
Il otherwise relatively i~mobile cellular-trappeà Julces ~ -
¦l out o~ the hamburger, and spllts open, deslccates, and/or
burns some o~ the non-~luid tissues. The fluid, ~ut
, relatively imrnobile, liquid phase o~ much of the trappèd
~uice is rapidly transformed into its rluid and highly
mobile gaseous (steam) phase; in which phase it can
i escape rrom lts cellular entrapment and move into the
i outer atmosphere. In this process it is impossible to
produce an exchange Or energy on a like-ror-like basis;
i.e!, heat-dirrused ener~y ror heat-dif~used energy,
gas-mass energy ror gas-mass energy, or llquld-mass
energy ~or liquld-mass energy. Instead, there is an
exchange o~ unlike energy; i.e., heat-di~used energy
is exchanged for a net out-trans~er Or ~uice-mass and
gaseous phase energy.
ll
This prior-art use o~ conduction heating, thererore,
results ln a transfer Or mass-energy out Or the hamburger
rather than a like-phase ror llke-phase exchange o~ mass~
ener~y between the hamburger and its cooklng atmosphere.
Conduction, there~ore, with prlor-art heats actually ~ ~ I
helps to conduct (trans~er) at least 25~ o~ mass-ener~y
weight out o~ prior-art ha~.burgers and conducts nothing
back into the hamburger to replace thls lost weight.
It is another ob~ect ol thls invention, there~ore, to
provide a system that ~ill allow and/or assist heat
1-
I . ' ','"
lll
,
I' . ..... - ....... .
3~ 26-
conduction to ~unction to whatever extent it 15 able,
without obstructlng the mechanics Or heat-exchange and/or
the laws of conservatlon from operatlng within the cooking If
, hamburger proper.
~~ . ' ': '` '
¦' b. Radiation requires that the substances to be heated be
a fluid, ambient, or permeable nature so that radiant
wave-ener~y can move lnto and/or through and/or mix wlth -~
the substances. The hamburger patty is a substance that
is nelther rreely fluld or ambient, nor very permeable.
Thus, it offers considerable resistance to the radlant
1 heat-waves used by prior-art cookin~ elements and
apparatuses. As wlth conductlon, the prlor-art resorts
to a massive quantlty Or radlant waves (massive output
of high-denslty heat), to overcome the resistance Or the
hamburger mass. In the process, the fluid lngredients
within the mass are rendered more fluld and ambient, and
the solid ingredients rendered more permeable, permlttln~
the radiant waves greater ~reedom to move into and~or
through and~or mix wlth the hamburg,er's ~ulces, gases,
and tissues. This lncrease ~n ~luldity, amblency, and~
permeability is increasln~ly evldent 25 cookin~ heats move ;
!~ up the thermal scale. More and more after the cooking
heats pass. 212, internal ~eat-water expands ~nto the
, steam phase which, in turn, breaks open meat cells, releasing~
its ~uices, and exposing bare cell tissues to increased~
speed heat-forced ambient movements Or liquid ~uice, steam, ;~
and to the combustion phase of tlssues. In general, the
i~
I
,1
`I
.
3~ ~ 7 -27-
. prior-art's use of radiation heat produces a broad degeneration
and/or deleterlous chanGe in the states or phases o- a cooklng `
1 hamburger's several ingredlent substances. It is a chan2e
¦ that enables the dilruslon mechanics Or conductlon to operate
more erriciently wivhin the hamburger mass; but at the expense
ll Or ~uice weight loss and tissue deterloration. Thus
¦ conduction and radlation serve mutually supporting roles in
I promoting the exit Or ~uices out of prior-art hamburgers.
l . 1:
It is, therefore, another ob~ect of this inventlon to ~ ¦
pro~ide a heat-exchange system that will prevent both
conduction and radiation from promoting the exit Or ~uice
out of cooklng hambur~ers.
Convection involves an actual physical mass (wel~ht)
ener~y movement; a physical exchange Or locations
between two llke masses. Thus it, and it only, can
provide æ. true exchan~e Or like-phase for like-phase
mass (weight) ener~y, provided the two masses are In `
direct physlcal (no barrier in between~ contact with
each other.
.''
Since the loss Qf hamburger-cookln~ juice (a fluid-liquld
substance) is the problem Or tn~s invention, the problem
is essentlally one Or rluld~ uid dynamics where convection ;
means the transrer Or a property o~ the fluid from one
position to another by movement Or the fluid. Ir, as is
the case here, the property ls hea~, convection is
dlstinct ~rom radiative and conductive transrers which
do not reaulre movement of the substance. In the natural
(non-propeller rorced) convection in hamburger cookery,
the fluid movement Or coo`~ing ~uices derives lts energy
rom the klnetic ana potential energy supplied to it in
.' . . :
I
.1l . ' :
.. . .
;
~3~37
` -28-
the form Or density changes (e~pansions) induced by
heating. The higher the heats, the mor.e expanded and
lowered will be the densities Or the fluid-liquid, and,
there~ore, the raster will be the rlUid movement Or
cooking hambur~er ~julces.
The prior-art heats are so high that the relative
impermeability and resistance o~ the immobile hamburger
tlssues to heat-pressured rapid ~uice movement also
builds up back-pressures that assist in a net out-movement
Or both gasified ~uice and dehydrated Juice solids rrom
the hamburger body into the atmosphere. In such net
exit movements the very nature of convection precludes
its ability to play a substantial wei~ht-loss prevention
role in the conservation Or the prlor-art's hamburger
mass~energy. Convection can only work when there is a
like-phase ~or liXe~phase exchange of mass-energy~ ;
Practically none Or thls kind of exchan~e takes place
in prior-art hamburger cooke~y; only small amounts within
the hamburger bod~ itselr. There is no entry or re-entry
from outside the hamburger of any rlUid-liqUid mass.
Evidence Or this is: (1) The existence Or ~uice remainln~
in the prior-art's cooked hamburger. Emplrical observatlon
I ~ ~ ~
indicates it is largely the cell-encapsuled (intracellular
"bound") ~uice and/or connective tissue that remains
ent.rapped in the prior-art hamburger arter cooking. This
~¦ Juice, because the relatively impermeable nature~s Or the
. ::
cell walls and webbed connective tissues are barriers to : :~
ii rast exchange movement, will remain relatively untouched
I by convection. (2) The existence of ~uice-weight losses
;'l between the 25
1 ' :~
:
~ ~ ,
3~3c~
i. -29-
and 33~ levels. Since cellular ~uice is normally 25
intercellular ("free," outslde the cell proper) and 75
intracellular ("bound," encapsulated within unbroken
cells) a fast mass-energy exchan~e would ~lrst affect the
"~ree" ~uices and the liquid rats. These two hamburger
lngredients (rree ~ulce and fats) alone could produce the
~' 25~ to 33~ ~uice loss. And flnally (3) the existence of a
large net out-movement and no in-movement Or ~ uice weight;
and therefore to that extent, no mass~energy exchange that
, can be classi~ied 2S convection.
¦In the prlor-art systems it is next to impossible to measure
¦precisely the extent Or the cookin~ roles played respect1vely
by conduction and radiation. They enact mixed but supportlng
'l roles. With pan or griddle frying, with its direct meat to
I hot-metal contact, the ma~or role is played by conduction.
~ ~rith broiling, where all or most o~ the heat source uses heat-
,~ wave transfer through an ambient atmosphere to contact the meat,
! the ma~or role is played by radiation. Convection plays llttle
or no role in prior-art cookery because there is no physic~l
l exchange o~ ~luid ~uices between the inslde and the outslde Or
I the hamburger. Any convection in the prior-art functlons
¦largely as a transfer mechanlsm and not as an exchan~e mechanism.
It functions as a one-way pipeline carrying ~uice out and
con~e~lng no ~luice back into the hamburger. It cannot, therefore,
even be classlfied 2S convection in the exchange Or phase-for-
phase, visible, physical,mass-weight, sense of tne word.
, ~ It is, therefore, another ob~ect of this invention to provide
¦~ a heat-exchange system that will allow and assist convection
.~ to exercise a ma~or and measurable role in the conservation Or
,'1 .
, 1. .
.
11!
-30-
mass-energy in hamburger cookery so th~at all of the "free"
cellular protein juices within the hamburger can be exchanged,
without any barrier preventin~ such an exchange, on a phase-for-
phase basis ~ith similar juices from both within and without the
hamburger mass.
Summary of Prior-Art Conduct Under the Mechanics-of Heat-Exchange
Each of the exchange and transmQssion systems used by the prior-art
could have inYolved a partial like-for-like (the same kind of mass ~;
for the same kind of mass; the same kind of energy for the same kind
of energy) exchange for mass-energy in hamburger cookery if the prior-
art had been willing ~o radically extend the time and reduce the
te~peratures necessary to accomplish this. But the fast-food prior-art
has never been willing to do this. l'herefore, they have never had
exchanges of like-for-like mass or like-for-like energy between the
inside and outside of their oooking hamburger3. Substantial equality
in exchange of mass has ne~er been part of thl~ir cookery. Instead
there has always been a large net loss of ha~urger mass-energy in
the fo~n of juice-weight loss transferred out of the hamburger.
: .:
Without modifying their conventional cooking apparatuses, the prior-
art fast-food practitioners could have partially reduc~d juice
losses if they had been wqlling to reduce their cooking heats to
under 212 and akout triple their cooking-tLme periods to confo~n
to the time-heat juice-conservation reguirements of hamburger meat's
heat tractibilities. But, if they had done this, they would have
completely sacrificed their commitment to the concept of "fast
food." There is evidence that some of them made attempts in this
direction; attempts that failed primarily because they simply refused
to sacrifice their commitment to a "fast-food" oFeration.
.
~3~97 -31-
"'
These attempts and failures, plus a blind inability to reoognize
and/or honor the requirements of basic physical laws, has resulted
in a haphazard use of the mechanics of heat exchange by the prior-
art fast-food practitioners. These m~chanics of heat exchange
became involuntarily involved in various degrees, by commission or
omission, and their individual effectiveness sacrificed for the
fast-food commibment to speed.
It thus becomes another overall objective of this invention to
disoover a heat-exchange system that will enable a truer and more
equal exchange of like-phase for like-phase mass-energy to take
place in hamburger ccokery, and do so, if possible, without
sacrificing fast-Eood speed in ocoking.
It will be apparent fron this brief examination of the ocoking
temperatures, the heat-exchange systems, and the heat-transmission
systems used for exchanging cooking heats ancl any method andVor
means that does not produre a kind-for-kind, sa~e mass for same
mass, or a like-for-like ~like-phase for like-phase) exchange of
mass-energy, that ~orces transfer of mass-ener~y out of the
hambur~er without replacing it with a like mass-energy, is deleterious~
to the quality of the hamburger. This reduction in quality
(especially juice-level quality) is the present and accepted state
of the prior-art. In the prior-art there is no balancing or
offsetting exchange equivalent in mass-energy of like-for-like
matter. Prior-art oookery loses at least 25~ of the total hamburger
mass via one-way transfers of mass energy out of the hamburyer. It
cannut provide full and true two-way exchanges of like-for-like
:::
mass-energy. Thus it prevents at least the law of oonservation
of mass from operating within a hamburger patty.
'~
~
-32-
Therefore, another one of the overall objectives of this invention
is to provide a system that will enable the law of conservation
of mass to operate within a ccoking hamburger patty.
The Incidence of Beef Muscle Cell-Structures
Since hamburger meat is the exemplary substance with which this
invention is concerned, it is incumbent that an internal
examination be made of this particular substance of matter.
It is a common phenamenon, observable by anyone, that hamhurgers
will visibly move and contract in size when they are cooked. It
is also a oommon phenomenon, observable by anyone, that the
skeletal muscles of vertebrates will contract when stimulated.
Since the meat used in hamburgers is practically all beef
muscle whose cellular structure is des.igned specifically to
perform a contractile function, it would be well to examine ~ -
briefly what, if any, relationship exists betr~een the contractility
of beef muscle and the contraction in cooked hamburger size.
Skeletal muscles of beef cattle are ocmposed of muscle fibers
(cells); the~ axe flexible, elongated, parallel cylinders of a
proteinaceious nature. Within t~e fibers are the fibrils and their
enclosed filaments; the fibrils anl filaments together making up
a chain o~ shorter striated or banded sections called striations.
The ~ibers are between 0.00039 to 0.0039 of an inch in diameter,
and fnom 0.3937 of an inch to several times longer in length.
The striations (bands) within the fibrils range in length from
0.0000624 to 0.000068 of an inch. m ese measurements thus
indicate there are ùpwards of some 5800 striations within the
length of the shortest fiber (cell), and hundreds of millions
within a single muscle.
~ 3~5~7
-33-
Since these fibril striations are banded together to make up the `~
longer fiber-cell they may be compared to links that are hooked
together to make up a long chain. In a chain each link is a
completely formed unit independent of the other links, but
each link must be hooked to ~ther links to make a chain. Thus
too, in muscle structures each striation is a completely formed
contractile cell structure independent of the others but it must
be banded to others to function as a muscle fiber. The micron-size,
the huge numbers, and the singular contractile structure of the
striations have an important bearing on the contraction of cooking
hamburgers.
A single muscle may be made up of hundreds of thousands of fibers
(cells) packed together to form a kind of living cable. A cross
section of this "cable" would show so~e 1000 to 2000 smaller fibrils
within each of t~e fibers; the fibrils again laying parallel to
one another. Within the fibrils are filament:s which again run
parallel to one another. The filaments and their encompassing
fibrils working together do the actual oontractile work. Each
~ibril holds hun~reds of these unique oontractile filaments each with
their thousands of striations; together they comprise the smallest
known structural-cell co~ponent of muscle before one enters the
still-mysterious histo-cio-chemical sub,micron-~olecular world
underpinning and governing this oontractile m~scle function.
A 200,000 times magnification by an elect~on microscope shows the
superfine filaments to be arrang~d in a geometric pattern in
which thick and thin sections alternate. As a muscle fibril
contracts, its filaments do not seem to beoome shorter. This
explains the theory that t~n filaments may be arranged so that
they slide between thick filamentsO A crude illustration of this
theory is to imagine ~hese filaments as a zipper with opposite-facing
studs that can slide into each other in a oontracted releasable lock
and slide out of each other into an expanded unlocked separation, and
~1~3~
-34-
then resting in either position without a net increase or decrease in
the actual total width of the zipper-band with its studs. m ese
structural and ~unctional details are meaningful here only insofar as
they explain the constancy of a contractile cell's internal space.
m e significance of this for a hamburger is that such cells can
contract without squeezin~ out their internal juices.
The ability of the cellular striations to oontract depends first of
all on the residual oontractibility remaining in post-mortem beef
muscle. This may range from 25% to 40% depending in lar~e measure on
the physical posture (stretch) and/or the time-temperature factors
to which the beef is subjected while entering rigor mortis, including
the pre-rigor and post-rigor periods. After that, the actual
contraction that can and does take place within the residual
contractile modulus depends on the quality, e~tent, and duration
of the cooking heat exposures delivered by ~le cooking system. And
even though the fibril-filament cellular syst:em is well suited to
retain a substantial amount of juice in the ~ace of moderate physical
and thermal abuse (because of the singular structural micron-size
individuality of ~he striations), a remarkable capability that persists ; ~s
even after hcmogenization of the meat, it simply is unable to keep
this entire capability intact under the massive onslaught of heat from
prior-art hamburger cookery.
The spaces with à muscle's cellul æ structures tinside and outside)
of the fikers, fibrils, and filaments) are filled with a collagenous
cytopla~m, or blood fluid. m e fluid on the outside of the cell proper
is known as intercellular or "Eree" juice; that on the inside of the cell
proper is known as intracellular or "bound" juice. These "juices,"
along with the highly hydroly~ed collagen and collagenous fibers (in
distinction bo sheath (endymysial) fibers and undissolved connective
tissues) within all the cellular muscle tissues, make up the major
c~mFosition of what shcws up as cooked meat juice. It is the "free"
juice that becomes the first and major loss casualty of the prior-art's
cooking heats; and then to a lesser degree the "bound" juice.
3~
-35-
More specifically, the significance of all this highly simplified but `
basic histo-biological description of muscle compositions, structures,
and functions and theîr incidence in the oooking of hamburgers is that:
(1) It is the intercellular structures (holding the non~
encapsulated "free juice") that first rupture and collapse,
thereby releaseing their "free juice" and creatmg sluice-ways
or passageways through and along which such juice will flow
out of the cellular system. These same opened passageways ~ ;
could then provide the means for a return flow of juice from
outside the cellular structures if the passageways could be
kept open and if suitable cooking-environment oonditions could
be discovered to permit and promote a return flow of juice.
(~) The cellular structures within raw hamburger patties will
retain an extensive post-rigor modulus of oontractibility
even though they have been ground into relatively small
particles. For example, even though a single orifice in the
extruding plate of a meat grinder may be only V16 (.0625)
of an inch in both diameter and thickness, the meat within the~
cubic area of these dimensions could contain over one-million
individual unbroken fibril striations, each one being a complete
cellular system of contractile fibrils and filaments. ~hus
,
a l/4-pound hamburger could contain tens of millions of individual
contractile striations, many of them still capable of extensive
contractions from the hyperexcitement created by the massive
thermal stimuli produced by the prior-art's cooking systems.
(3) me stimulation from prior-art cooking heat is sufficiently
constant, violent, and/or extreme so ~hat the celll~ar structures
enter a hyperexciteable state and in a few minutes become
locked in an extreme, practically unreleasable, irreversible
cramp, closing down the whole muscle to further movements of
either relaxation or contraction. The further up the therm~l
scale the cooking heats move, the tighter bec~mes this cellular
~ ' .
-36
cramp, eventually causing an extreme irreversible
contraction of muscle-meat structures.
(4) The irreversible contraction (cramp) and the fast cellular-
structure movements that take place during its formation
temporarily opens and then permanently closes the hambur~er
mass. This mass is opened as the high heats purge the inter-
cellular and cell-broken intracellular juices out of the mass,
and then the whole mass shrinks as the remaining whole cells
close a cramping lock on the residual intracellular juices. A
convulsive cellular contraction takes place that literally
squeezes the free and/or tenuously-held juice out of the
cellular mass.
In 4 minutes most prior-art hamburger operators bring
temperatures from 0 to 400 or more. Even the operators who
start with ha~burger at 40 refrigerated tem~eratures and
cook at 250 bring theix temperatures up 210. Thus most of
the prior-art produces 200 to 400 temperature increases
inside their hamburgers within a 4-minute time span, or 50
to 100 per minute. These are violent and massive thermal
shocks that can quickly produce the confulsive juice-expelling
squeezings, extreme contractions, and permanent contractile
locks within the contractile cells of ha~burgers that show
themselves at the end of the prior-art's cooking time as
relatively hard, dry, shrunken pieces of meat.
It is an objective, therefore, to provide cooking heats that reduce
and/or eliminate the cellular juice-expelling squeezings and
contractile activity, and extren~e muscle cramp in beef hamburger
muscle cells; keep juice-purged intercellular passageways open and
provide conditions that permit and promote a return flow of juice.
.... .
. . .
~1~3~97 -37-
- '
Hamburger Shrinkage in Size and Weight
These shrunken pieces of meat are a common phenomenon, observable
by anyone ~ho cooks hamburgers. Any observer can see them visibly
shrink as they are being oooked by the systems of the prior-art.
It is well kncwn in all fast-food hamburger restaurants that a 20% fat,
c~uarter-pound, circular hamburger patty having a prec~oked diameter
of 5-inches and a weight of 4-oz. will shrink to about 4 inches
in diameter and to a weight of about 3-oz. or less after c~oking.
m is is a ?0~ reduction in diameter size and 25% or more reduction
in weight. ;
The recluction in cliameter size is not per se a deleterious
reduction because this oould simply mean a linear oontraction
of the beef c~ntractile muscle cells, a phenamÆnon that normally `
occurs in various degrees under the influence of tem~eratures
outside of the n~rm~l temperature climate of such contractile
cellular structures. However, if in the pracess of this
cellular oontraction beef juice is permanently and irreplaceably
expelled frcim confinemen~ within the ground beef mass, then
the reduction in diameter size is optical evidence of a very
~ serious loss in juice weight, nutrition, flavor, and ec~nomic
value. -`~
Thus, when the 20% reduction in diameter is acocmpanied by a 25%
reduction in weight the occurrence is one of great and serious
co~cern to everyone involved in the sale and purchase of hamburgers. -
Restaurant cwners and consumers everywhere view this reduction in
weight as a reduction in the entire value of the food; a value not
measured simply in teLnLs of economic value. Joining the consumers
-38-
are nutritionists, health authorities, and government conservationists
who view this reduction more Importantly in terms of a loss to our
Nation in valuable human bcdy-building and body sustaining nutrition. ~ -
Practically all of the 25% reduction in the total uncooked hamburger
weight is due to a loss of juice. It is in the meat juices, in
distinction to the meat tissues and fibers, where practically all of
the flavor, juiciness, tenderness, and immediately disgestable nutri-
tion resides. Remove all of the juice from a cooked hamburger and ~ "~
all that remains is tasteless, dry, tough, substantially nutrition- ;
less fiber; a remnant without any significant nutritional value.
When o~e considers that the weight of the juice alone may
represent 75% of the total weight of the hamburger, the loss of
juice-weight becomes even more serious. A 2!;~ reduction in
total weight thus means a 33% reduction in juice weight; and a
33~ reduction in total weight means a 44~ reduction in juice
weight. Such reductions in juice weight are comm~nplace facts
of life in the ~oo~ery of fast-food hamburgers boday. As noted ;
above, the annu21 nutritional and monetary loss from the juice~
weight loss is staggering.
2~
It is a further objective, therefore, to reduce the shrinkage in
size and weight now occurring in prior-art hamburger cookery.
It should be noted in passing that very little work has been done
by the scientific community of the meat industry on the pm blem
of beef juice loss by oomparison with the huge volume of work
it has done on the probIem of beef tenderness. The prestigious
' ` '
- ~ ~
-39-
~ 3~7 :`
symposium entitled "m e Science of Meat and Meat Prcducts"
(compiled by Price/Schweigert-1978) with its extensive,
authoritative, and updated bibliographies is oPen evidence of
this fact. This work is proof that in the past the heaviest
pressure from the market has been for answers on the problems
of cooked meat tenderness; and the problem of cooked juice loss
has been practically ignored. Nbw for the first time, to the
best of my knowledge, this invention presents an analytic review
showing causal relationship between the structNral and functional
characteristics of beef mLscle and the juice loss activated and
incurred by the pract-ces of prior-art hamburger cookery, and then
making it a specific objective of this invention to substantially
reduce this juice loss based on a knowledgeable understanding of ; ;
this causal relationship.
SunnEry of. "DeveloFment of-t~e I~vention"
This concludes my brief description of the physical laws and their
mechanical applications as they influence the cellular contractions
and juice losses of hamburgers oaoked under prior-art practices.
This brief description of the sciences, and their specific phenomena,
influencing the behavior of a cookiny hambNrger is given for the
sola purpose of providing kn~wledgeable references for "Understanding
the Problem" of this invention. And then, in turn, to give ~ull
recognition to the need for obeying the requirements of the sEecific
physical laws, their applications, and the resident biological structures
as they bear on hamburger juice losses. I can now reiterate that
the sole objective of this inve~tion was to discover, via a knowledgeable
approach, a scientifically-acceptable system for ccoking hamburgers
that w~uld substantially reduce the juice losses e~perienced in
the prior-art.
`3~9~ ~:
-40-
CIRCU~ACENT AND ANCILLARY PR~BLEMS
Because the solution to my one objective on juice loss also ~-
automatically cured a large number of other hamburger problems
that have been present in the prior~art, I will list them and
claim their solutions as a-posteriori objectives; i.e., they became
objectives after thelr solutions had been discovered. I call these
pr~blems circumjacent and ancillary because they surround and are
subservient to my central problem and objective. Their solutions
are 100% bonus benefits of this invention In a true and literal
sense they are pure discoveries of the most surprising nature
because they were unsought, unexpected, gratuitously granted
beneficiaries of the solution to the juice-loss ~roblem. The
problems were long-standing and festering unti:L they were
accidentally covered and cured by the blanket that spread over
them uFon disoovery of the answer ~o the juice-loss problem. ~ N~
There are t~eLve of these anc Llary problems; all of them with
,
their accompanying a-posteriori objectives. They fall into three ~ ~
groups kased on the nature of the proble~s, as follows: 1. Quality ~ ~'
and Health Problems. 2. OperationaL Problems of Fast Fbod.
3. Heat-Use Problems from the Cboking System. -'
1. QuaIity and He~lth'Problems with'Prior-A~t Ha~burgers
a. m e problem of flàvDr-loss through evaporat~on
There is no argument that when juice-weight is lost,
flavor and health-giving nutrition is lost with it. `
But it may be argued that the 50% b~v volume water
11~399~ -41-
content Or beef ~ulce that may be lost through
evaporation by steam does not carry with it the
flavor- and nutrition-produclng solids-content
i cr the Julce; that this solids content remains ln the
meat. It i5 true that evidences Or, and tests for,
flavor ioss vla steam are not as ob~ective and as
measurable as the evidence and tests for size and
weight loss. However, the presence and amount Or
, flavor lost by evaporation can be partially seen and
measured, and additionally detected by the sub~ectlve
human senses Or taste and smell. These methods Produce
the rollowlng evidence, some of which admlttedly derles
accurate measurement:
1. . ~ ` .
(1) The presence Or dehydrated and/or carmellzed proteln,
salt, and other ~uice solids that adhere to the
searin~ly hot metal sur~aces Or rrying and broilin~
,1 equipment that are in contact ~ith the cooking
,¦ hamburger. These solids are the baslc rlavor~supply
,l and nutrltion-givin~ in~redients of bee~ ~ùlces, most
,~ Or ~hlch have been forced and carrled out Or the meat
1l by steam pressures.
il
(2) The aroma Or ~uice flavors in the atmosphere in ~hlch
I the ham~urgers are cooked. This aroma is part o~ the
Ijl vaporized (steam-~as) phase of the ~uices thet are
excreted ~rom the meat by steam-producing heats. It
I ls well recognized in the cooklng and aromatlc arts
¦ that the aromas ln the atmosphere in which cooklng ls
done can identlfy the flavor of the cookln~ products;
and thus too the flavor of cooked beef ~ulce from cooking
hamburgers is ldentl~ied.
1''1
,;
.11 . .. . .
97
, ~42-
i (3) Actual taste comparlsons between ~ulce, condensed from
I vapor and reconstituted rrom solids, captured outside
the cooking hamburgers with that taken from the inside
of the coo~lng hamburgers. The flavors of the two
¦ are quite comparable, indicatln~ again that when the
~uice exits from the cooking meat vla steam-produced
' evaporatlon it does so wlth a substantial percentage -i:
i of lts ln~redlent-flavor composltlon intact.
Il . .
¦I This problem Or rlavor and nutrition loss via
! evaporation has been ever-present ln prior-art
1 hamburger cookery, the solution of which now
became an a-posteriori ob~ective Or this invention.
¦b. The roblem of ~lavor per se
! `
Re~ardless o~ how much ~uice-flavor is lost or retalned
in a hamburer, there ls a continulng problem Or the
, flavor of the meat per se. It is customary ror consumers
I' :
to add rlavor to their meat with various spices and
condiments, such as salt, pepper, mustard, catsup, etc.
Such flavorln~s are normally added to the outside Or the
, meat af~er it has been cooked. Some restaurants do thls
i for their customers before the hamburger patty is cQoked
by rubblng or sprln~ling the ~lavorlngs on the surfaces Or
the hamburgers. At best thls is an unsatisfactory procedure.
The amounts so a?plied are not uniform, and some is lost
during the fr~vir.~ or brollin~
i'
, A more unirorm distribution Or flavorings could be perrormed ;
if there ~'25 a practical way to accom?lish this on ~he inside
of the mea~ be~ore it has been cooked. But in the prior-art
this is a di~ficult and uncertain venture; one ~hich, ror
practical purposes~ the prior-art has not been able to accompllsh.
I :
1;1
, ' 7
3'3"37
Il lt ls thererore a rurther ancillary ob~ective Or thls
invention to provide a simpleJ easy, and effectlve
method ror unirormly distrlbuting added rlavorlngs to
. the meat during the cooklng process.
.
c. The ~roblem Or colla~en losses
1, _~ .
Collagen ls a protein Or unusual complexity in both
chemlstry and structure; that ror the purposes Or this
invention does not require analysis. For this invention
, lt need only be noted;that (1) collagen ln all stages of
hydrolysis ls 2 ma~or proteinaceous component Or all
; cellular and intercellular beef tissues and (2) thus a
1 ma~or nutrltional component Or ground beef ln whlch (3)
!. lt also runctions as a sort, semi-fluid, franglble,
,.
adhesive blnder Or the hamburger pattles (4) that
undergoesquite rapld shrinkage under rlslng cooklng
temperatures; (5) that lt is converted in large part
to soluble gelatln under the hi~h and/or prolon~ed
temperatures above its thermal shrinkage level; and (6)
in that state it becomes in lndeterminate percentages â
dellcate rlavored, sli~htly coagulatlng, yet hi~hly
rluld, component o~ hambur~er ~uice.
ll ~' , ,
Under the prior-art hamburger cooking temperatures high
above 212 with thelr hydrolysis-oegenerating ~uice-
dissipa~lng heats, much Or the collagen rlavor, welght,
nutritional, and soft ~frangible and loose) tlssue-
bindlng values are lost.
'11 . .
.1 .
,
. I . . .
1~ ~ 7
-44-
I The problem of collagen losses has also been ever-present
in prlor-art hamburger cookery, the cu~e Or whlch is now
an ob~ective Or th~s invention.
1,1 . ' ~ .
; d. The problem of tenderness
I . .,
It is well known in the meat-cookery art that the amount
Or Julce in cooked meat has a dlrect inLrluence on the
meat's tenderness. The greater the quantity Or ~uice,
the greater the tenderness ana, vice versa, the lower the
quantity of ~uice the tougher the meat.
, . ' . ',
It is thererore, another ancillary ob~ectlve of this
invention to inc.ease Yia increased J ulce retentlon the
tenderness of cooked hamburgers, steaks, and other items
covered by this invention.
e. The problem Or carcinogens when hamburger cooker~
produces heats over 212
1~, . ,
Carcinogens are chemical compounds of known or unknown struc-
tures that produce tumors which can be mallgnant
(cancer-causlng) ln multicellular organlsms. Such
compounds could cause mutagens (genetic changes) in
¦' bacteria tha~ disrupt normal cellular functions and
¦ create cellular mutations that ~unction and grow ~ithout
ll regard for the needs of ~he host organism.~ Widespread
il and unchecked growth (metastasis) of such carclnomata
eventu~lly hlll Iclll the nost or~anism.
.,
1'1 , . .
. I .
,1 ~ ,
.
-45-
In 1933 a polycycllc aromatic hydrocarbon known as
3,4-benzopyrene was identifled ~s a carcinogen that
will cause skin cancer in many specles when applied
in lo~ àosa~es. Slnce then, contlnuing evidence had
indicated that 3,4-benzopyrene is formed during
pyrogenation or incomplete burnin~ of almost any kind
f organic material. For example, this carcinogenic
hydrocarbon has been found in overheated (over the burnlng
point) fats, oils, broiled or fried (hamburgers) and
smoked meats, and other foods so cooked. The rate and
quantity Or the formatlon rapidly lncreases as thermal
levels escalate, especlally ln the absence Or 2 solvent
to dilute it and~or carry it a~ay. For this reason,
biochemists have become increasin~ly concerned oYer human
safety from the benzopyrene carcinogenic mutagens produced
by the heats of prior-art hamburger cookery.
The problem Or carcino~ens in burlit, cauterized, and
carmellzed hamburger meat has been ever present in prlor-
art cookery~ It is therefore another ob~ective of this
invention to prevent the fo~nation of carclno~ens during
hambur~er cooking.
''I . `: i ~ .
2.'l O~erational ~roblems o~ the Fast-~ood Hambur~er Chains ~j
¦ There are four such problems. They are: speed, simpliclty,
uniformity, and doneness determination. These four constitute
I the very heart of à successful fast-food system. Unless they
are fulrilled, a fast-food chain system has no reason to exist.
1, . .
', ! . . .
1. .,
'
3~7 -46-
I a. The problem o~ s~eed
1., .
One or the basic advanta~es and sources Or success Or a i~
a~t-rood chain system is, as the term lmplles, speed in
servln~ a customer; thus, speed in production Or a hamburger.
The customer patronl~lng a rast-food restaurant wants ~ast
servlce to reduce the time it takes to satisfy hunger and
the overall time required ror a meal. Such customers,
especially children, simply wish to eat and be on their
way. Restaurant mana~ement is also interested in the same
obJectives, but also an addltional one. It also want~s a ~
ast "turnover" of seat occupancy ln order to maximlze its
sales, prorits, and utilization Or physlcal facilities;
and then hold custome.s who do not wish to stan~ in a long
~aitin~ llne.
Thls problem is ever-present and requires constant
supervislon over cookin~ times, temperatures, and
operational movements if the rast--food chain wishes
ll to retain its position ln its hi~hly competitlve ; ~ ~-
i' lndustry. Any cookery system, there~ore that wishes to
comPete in the fast-rood hamburcer industr~ should also
~¦ ideally rul~ill this obJective Or speed. ~1
b, The problem Or sim~licity
1 _
~; Fast-rood hamburcer chalns ope~ate under a hi~h-volume
l low-prorit mar~ln policy. To oo thls the entire operation ;
i is streamllned for maximum efrlciency ~ith the lo~est
i,
1.
,'
'
I.j
:
3~ 7
!1 47
I posslble labor cost. To keep labor costs low, these
chalns hlre unskllled, low-educated, low-pay-scale labor,
~ and provide a slmple system that such labor can be tralned
i to operate with a minimum of schooling in operatlonal
ll methods, and that enables maximum output with minlmum
¦! time and physical movement.
1'
¦' Despite the simpliclty of' their systems, the f`ast-food
chains ~ind it necessary to maintain continuing training
i and rerresher programs. They all have rormal tralnlng
schools with te.~tbooks, model kitchens, examsJ and teaching
staf`~ in whlch restaurant personnel are schooled for
several months before enterin~ active service. The school
!! f` the lar~est ~ast-~ood chain has been so formallzed that
!
it is called Hamburger ~niversi'y and awards a Degree in
Hamburgerolo~y to its ~raduates.
i'
It is evident, thererore, that maintenance Or simplicity
~' in their operational system is another one Or the ~a~t-
, food chain problems. This too, theref`ore, is another
ob~ective o~ this invention.
~ilC. The proble~ of unif`ormity
'I - .
Z1 To malntain a reputation ror consistent rellability and
ood quality rood a ~ast-rood chain must maintain
conslstent unirormlty in the food and ldentical quality
in all its stores. A customer in New Yor~ expects, and
the chain constantly tries to dellver, identical quality
when the customer eats in San Francisco. This is an on-
I goin~ problem that requlres constant attention tomethod of` f`ood preparation and trainin~ Or its employees.
It is never rully accom?lished, because the human element
is ne~er uniformly reliable.
1 ,
. . ~ .
.1
9~ -48-
In an errort to attain and control a semblance Or product
unirormity the prior-art has devised various operatlonal
controls and procedures to provide their hamburgers with:
1~1 equal heat exposures, equal doneness levels, evenness,
intensity, and duration Or heat; reàuced dependency on the
human element. They have installed tlmers, thermostats,
¦ thermometers, speedometers, elevational spacers, guards
or shields to reduce air ambiency, etc.; and equipped such
instrumentation with push buttons, limlt s~itches, ll~hts,
bells, buzzers, etc., adapted respectively ror whichever
heat transmission method, conduction and/or radiant heat
is used. Since all their heats enter their hamburgers
i via a gaseous-phase and/or radiant-wave carrier exposed
wholly or partially to open ambiènt atmospheres,
hamburger uni~ormity is at best o~ a low-quality (i.e.,
¦ low-~uice retentlon) order.
. ~ :
The problem Or hlgh-quality unlrormity (l.e., hlgh-~uice
l unirormity) is a continulng challen~e and is thererore
¦ ¦ also an obJ ective o~ thls invention.
~ d. ?he Droblem Or visible determination Or interior doneness
! levels
¦ Accuracy in the desired level Or doneness is a constant
¦ operational problem. Because Or the cooking losses thls
roblem has produced, it ls considered by some to be
,1 next in importance to the problem Or ~uice loss.
: "I
Doneness levels in beef cookery are judged by the color
the cooked meat: rea is rare, pink is medium-rare,
l jl .. .
,jl :
' I .
i'l
3 9 ~ 7 -49- -
brown ls medium, and gray is well-done. It ls a ~ud~ment
I of the eye: yet a ~udgment the eye cannot make because the
interlor Or a cookin~ hambur~er is not vlsible.
ll
i~
, Some cooks compensate for this lack Or vlsibility by
pressing the cooking hamburger with a fork or spatula
to note the color ol the Juice that is thus squeezed out.
thers partially spllt open the center Or the cooking
hamburger in an erfort to see lts level Or doneness. But,
at best, any prior-art method Or ~udging lnterior doneness
levels of the coo~ing hamburger by the eye is a haphazard ~ ;
and inaccurate process.
1. . ~, .
It is thererore one Or the ~ncillary ob~ectives of thls
invention to provide a means for visibly ~ud~ing the
lnterior doneness o~ a cooking hamburger rrom evidence
provided by optical observation Or an exterlor phenomenon.
1. . . ~ .
3,i l Heat-Use Conservation and Reduc~ion o~ ~nergy Problems
he_Prior-Art Systems
ll
;~ Ene gy-heat costs are a maJor expense ln any cooking system. ;~
;l Because of the rapid and large increases in the price of
petroleum, ener~y-heat costs have tripled durln~ the past
ew years. The fast-rood hambur~er chalns now kee~ energy-
heat costs hlgh on their list o~ problems looking ~or
1¦ solutions. The mechanics of prior-art hambur~ers permits ~;
il separation of these problems in three areas as follows:
I'
11 a. O~eratlonalDroblems
1!l ` - - -- -
11 In the lnterest of speed, tne fast-food operators use heat
1 levels far in e~cess of those needed to simply cook a
i,
I!
ll ~ 97 : ~
- ll -50-
hamburger. A hambur~er can be cooked conveniently at
home where time is not of the essence, with temperatures
considerably under the level used by fast-~ood people; 1
namely under 250 vs. the 250 to 1200 temperatures used
i~ in various rast-food operations.
In addition, prior-art ~ast-food hamburger cooking~ls
done in an open~ atmosphere into which lar~e quantitles
l Or heat-energy not used for actual cooking are expended.
- , Take for example, the cooking systems used by the two
largest practitloners of fast-food hamburgers in the ~.S.
i (1) One of them uses open, electric or gas-heated
griddles or grills (flat metal sur~aces) on whlch ;~
hamburgers are cooked. There are at least slx
, areas where energy is lost.
(a) During the pre-heat perlod ~hen thelr grllls
are coming up to required heat.
(b) The lay-down tlme during which the entlre grlll
is not used until the last hamburger has been
., - ~ ~
iii laid dohn on it.
; (c) Tne open spaces between round-shaped hambureers
that account for about 20C OL the total grill
area. Thus at least 20~ o~ the ener~y releasèd~
!i on the sur~ace of the grill ls wasted.
1,
:
~ ` :
-51-
(d) During the rlip-over perlod when one hamburger
at a time is flipped.
~' .'
¦' (e) Durlng the removal of one hamburger at a tlme,
leaving large areas of the grill temporarily unused,
because they can't be removed simultaneously.
(f) During the period when sales do not require use
Or the entire surface Or a single grlll.
It is estimated that upwards Or cO~ 01 the total heat
ener~y used by this system of cooking ls lost; i.e.,
¦ is not actually utilized directly and solely for
cooking hamburgers.
'.,
(2) The other one uses gas heat with ro~s Or gas ~ets
located above and/or below an open-mesh movin~ chain
(wire gridiron) belt on which the hamburgers are
conveyed through the rows o~ ~,as rlames. Being ln
an open atmosphere it is imposslble for any more than
a small percentage Or the total heat ener~y to enter
¦ into the hamburgers themselves. It has been estimated ~ ;
that less than 20~ Or the actual heat ener~y used by
~¦ this system ls actually used to cook hamburgers. The
rest is lost into the a~mosphere. It is estimated
that up~ards Or 80~ of the total heat-ener~y with ~his
system of cooking thererore is ~asted.
These samples o~ heat-energy losses are representatiYe of
energy problems in hamburger cookery; problems which require
lll
''I
'9'~ -52-
I constant operational attention to curtail high-priced energy
j losses. The reduction and~or elimination Or such energy loss
problems due to operational mechanics also became a speciric
ob~ecti~e of this inventlon.
. ~ '
I b. System problems l~
~l ' ' '.
Systems for exchanging cooking heats have been descrlbed
in prevlous paragraphs ln connectlon wlth the Mechanlcs
j Or Heat Exchange. The same method Or classl~icatlon ls
used here in connection wlth the efriciency Or heat-
energy utlllzatlon. I~ ls lnterestlng to note that in
I each of the three systems described below there is no
i liquid im~ermeable barrier between the meat and the
¦ encompassing or contacting heat source. Presumably,
or the sake Or maximum heat-ener~y utllization meat and
heat are in direct contact.
,1 .
(1) Liauid heat encom~assin~ hambur~er
, ~
I By surrounding and encompassln~ the food from all
I sides in direct contact wlth a hot liquid as, ror
I example, by deep-fat rrying in liQuid oil. This
I would be tne most elflclent Or the three pr or-art
. ~
,I systems ror heat utilization because practically all
i~ the heat would be used for cooking; lt is actually
pressed in,on, and agalnst, the ha~burger from all
I sides, and not dissipated and~or lost in the
¦ atmosphere. Thererore, practically all the heat- -
energy lnput would be used .or actuel cooking o~
'
.1
. .
-53-
! the meat. This method has been re~ected by the
prior-art for cooking hamburgers because under
prior-art methods it produced unpalatable flavors.
li . :
l¦ (2) Gas (hot alr) heat encomDassln~ hamburger ~
ll
By surrounding and encompasslng the food from all
sides and all angles with hot gas (air) ln direct
physical contact wlth the cooking hamburger as,
1l for example, by baking-ln a radlant-heat oven. This
would be the second most efficlent user o~ heat ~ `~
output into the hamburger. It's heat ls confined
within an oven but much Or it still is lost ln
the oven's atmosphere. This method is not used
or cooking hamburgers because it is too slow,
dries the meat, and is operatlonally cumbersome.
ll
(3) Gas (hot air) heat not encom~)assin~ hamburger
~:
This is a non-~encompassln6, open-atmosphere, direct
! physical heat-source contact with the hamburger at a
¦ high~heat; the heat comlng from only one or two
;~
sides at a time; as ror e~ample, w1th rlame broillng
or hot metal grilling or rrying. Thls classirlcatlon
¦ embraces the cookery systems used by all present-day
¦ practitioners Or fast-food hamburger cookery. These
¦ systems are the most wasterul Or heat-energy because
l~¦ the total heat output cannot be completely confined
il around the cooklng hamburger. ~rlost of it is lost in
I the surrounding atmosphere.
, 1 '
:i ~
.,
3~3 ~ 7
il _54_
In addltion, lt is also acknowledged within the
prior-art that this thlrd classification creates
numerous problems arising from the uncértainties
heat penetration into the hamburger; problems
for which the prior-art has not found satisfactory
solutions. These problems include most of those
outlined above under "Ancillary Problems."
I'. ' ' ' ' ~
It is evident that the fast-food systems use the
third classlfication almost solely ln the interest
of speed, and for this interest they have been
willing to live ~rith the low heat-use efflclency and
i the quality and operational problems created by this
1~l classification.
1.
Thus the e'iminatlon of the problems created by a system ;
per se also became a specific ob~ective of thls invention.
Il.
c. Holdin~ problems
l l
¦ Regardless of~the s~stem used for cooklng hambur~ers,
all f`ast-food restaurants are confronted with ?roblems
ln connectlon with holding the cooked product untll lt~
l~ is sold. ~en sales are fast and continuing there is~
i' no holdin~ problem. But when sales are slow and/or
inter~l~tent, 2 fast-food operation has a problem
in maintaining heat and ~uice in the hamburger, and
speed in its service. To maintain its reputatlon
Il for speeà, a fast food operatlon normally hoiàs â : I
I small lnventory of cooked hamburgers so that lf there
¦ is a su~den influx of customers the product ls
! :
!, , ' ~.
-55-
imm~diately available. But it must maintain its
~ormal level of heat and juice if it wishes to ~ -
maintain its quality. If the sudden influx of ~ ~
customers fails to materialize, the product -
~radually cools and dries to the point of being
unsaleable.
For most of the fast-food operators; this holding perio~
is the source of constant heat loss and drying within the
oooked hamburger. It therefore requires constant vigilance
and judgment on the cook's part to judge how much cooked ;
invent~ry to keep in readiness. Even the best cook, with
the best judgment, is not infallible. Therefore, these
fast-food operators have a constant pro~lem of their product
cooling and drying during their hamburger holding periods
to the point of being unsaleable.
One of the leading fast-food operators holds his hamburgers
Ln a hot (close to the koil mg point) liquid after
they have been cooked. This prevents cooling but the high
heat can continue to leach and purge juice out of the
hamburgers so that this operator's hamburgers consistently
show the highest juice loss (33%) in the fast-food industry.
rrherefore~ the after-ocoking ~olding period is an un=b~ted
problem, ever present in the hamburger industry and as such
its' solution is another ancillary objective of this invention.
Summary of Circumjacent and Ancilla~y Problems
~one of these problems were initially objectives of this invention. I
was aware of their presence but none of them, individually and/or
collectively, were of a monetary, nutritional, and/or social-loss
magnitude ccmparable to the juice loss problem. So my research was
directed solely to the objective of solving the juice-loss problem.
,~,,. :
~3~'~7 -56-
~,
But then, as will be noted later under "Description of the
Discoveries," all of these problems became legitimate hindsight,
and therefore pure surprise objectives and discoveries of this ;
invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE D SCOVERIES
A description of the discoveries of this invention would not
be complete without (A) a preface describing the historical ;
stubbornness of the juice-loss problem, and then (B) the three
: -:
major discoveries that ensured from a solution to the juice-loss
problem per se; after which (C) a fourth major, but collective,
discovery grouped under the twelve ancillary discoveries, resulting ; ~ -
from the solution of the juice-loss problem.
A. Preace on the stubbornness of the juice-loss problem. ;
This stubbornness was characterized by an irritating
non-ob~viousness of the obvious; i.e., the failure to ind
the simple solution that should have been obvious long
ago. To a researcher the final solution then beoomes not
only a surprising, but also a frustrating, discovery; frustrating
because a problem ~hose solution turned out b3 be simple an~
therefore should have been obvious makes the researcher
appear incompetent when he doesn't immediately see the
obvious. Plbiet, what appeared simple and obvious in hindsight
certainly appeared neither simple nor obvious during the long
gestation p~riod preceding the initial discovery.
During the early research several physical and organic laws
bearing on the juice-loss problem began indicating the need
:::
3~7
-57-
i, ror a heat-exchange system that would (1) exchange cookin~
, heats on a like-phase basis (?) at temperatures that would not
break and/or shrink muscle-cell structures nor (3) pressure
~ cellular ~uice out cr the meat. But the ouestion remained:
i ~here and how to r~nd such a system? Noth~ng in the prlor-
art polnted out a direction. In ~act, everythin~ in the
accepted conclusions Or the art pointed away from my rinal
solution. The empirical evidence Or the prior-art practitloners
¦~ had ~lrmly closed the door to what rinally became the answer
1, to-the problem.
So my initial experlments began by simply usln~ the grlddle
and brollin~ heat exchanbe s~stems Or the prior-art. Sinc~
it is well-knoh~n that low cooking heats a~e helprul in ~uice
retention I started with radical reductions ln cooklng hea~s.
I even used heats below the 212 mark; heats which the prior-
art had not previously used. I kept lowering the cookin~
temperatures all the way down to the lS0 medium-doneness
internal heat-level ror cooked beer; the lowest doneness
level the ~ast-food operators have found to be acceptable
by the general public. This was a 40~ reouction below the
250 lowest cookin~ temperature used by the prior-art. But
this brought about a 400~ increase in cook1n~ time, from
about 5 mlnutes to 20 minutes; obviously no lon~er a ras~-
food operation. At this low temperatu.e the ~uice loss ~as
substantially reduced, about 15 percenta~e points; ~rom the
previous 25~ to now about 10". But lr the rast-food operators
had to choose between the commercial value Or reducing ~u~ce
loss by 15 percenta~e points versus quadru?lin~ their cooking
time, there ls no questlon that they would rellnqulsh the
.
- 1 ~
37
- 5 8-
15-point Julce saving in ~avor Or the shor~r cookin~ time.
Operational cooking speed ls more vital to a rast-food
hambur~er system than is a 15-point reduction in ~uice loss. i
., I . . .
Il Ho~Yever, this 15-point ciecr~se in 1ulce loss woul~ contribute
'l some positive, and very si~niricant, inrormation for ~y
¦ research. It indlcated that lowered temperature alone was
not the cure ror the rast-rood ~uice-loss problem. Apparently
something was inherently obstructive within the prlor-art
cookin~ systems; somethln~ that was basicall~ prohiblted by
the ]aws of both conservatlon and heat exchange. It was
now obvious that a more e~:tensive study ~as required.
Therearter, I e~amined and tested all the basic rererenees
l and data that impin~ed on hambur~er cookery. These have
'¦ been brie~l~ summari~.ed ln the precedin~ paragraphs under
"Development of the Invention~ 'ith such rererences ln
hand all the basic causes tha~ theoretically had a bearin
on ~luice-loss rinally became vislble. '~
But a cure for the problem still did not come into ~ocus.
It was obscured by the ract that some prior-art had tried
and cliscarded, ~or what 2ppeared surricient and ~alid
~, reasons, the deep-rry method that the basic references
I a~peared to recommend. I retr2ceQ anc' retested prior-art
'I procedures, and the apparent ~alidit~y o~ their conclusions
I was conrlrmed. Thus, what appe2red good and open ln
',1 princlple and theory .;as blocked by what appeared fa~lty
¦ and closed in practice.
Incredible as it ap~ears in nindsight, my ~inal simple
disc.over~y was held in abeyance for ~everal ~years b~ my own
mental blindness, ~ust as it h2d been held in 2beyance for
clecacles in the history of ~ne ?r10r ar' by the same mental
blindness. No better illus'ravion of such blindness can be ~ '
;, ,.
~3~397 -59- ~ ~
given then the current practice by one of the leaders in fast-food
hamburgers of using a hot au jus for holding hamburgers after they have
dry-fried. It may appear incredible that such a close working association
(i.e., of p~ior-o~oked hamhurgers held in a hot au jus) had not prcdded
som~eone's mind into the following two associated discoveries: ~1) that
such a li~uid could also be used for both deep (liquid) frying and
holding and then (2) in the particular sequence and combination of first
liquid frying and afterwards liquid holding. These are two of the
principal discoverles of my invention.
'
Hcwever, out of courtesy to prior-art practitioners, when one considers ;~
the prior-art's close-to-boiling po~nt heat of its au jus, and the
continued shrinkage of its pre-cooked hamburgers in its liquid, it is
understandable that everyone would be blind to the possiblity of my
radially different shrink results, at my radically lowered liquid heats,
and my radically new processing se~uence and combination of cooking
functions.
The key to the cure of the problem made its initial appearance suddenly
and un~xpecte~ly. It came while I was sippmg hot beef broth during a
si~k-convalescent period: Suddenly this question surfaced: ~hy not deep
fry in hot bee broth? The answer appeared to be "yes." Here was the ;
possibilit~v for a hambuxger cooking system that offered an exchange of
heats on a true like-phase for like-phase basis with the liquidity, flav~r,~
and color like that of the original, natural meat juice. It was a system -
that could conform to all the laws of conservation and heat exchange.
And conform it did. Lakoratory testing validate~ the fact that the key
to the problem had been discovered~ Thereafter, the cure to the juice-
loss problem proceeded expeditiously an~ infull conformity with the
true, and now-known, scientific causes.
It is reasonable to assume, h~wever, that this sudden discovery would not
have occurred if I hadn't previously studied and tested the basic refer-
ences (the laws of conservation, heat exchanges, and muscle function),
-60-
against the prior-art practices. It would be psychologically appropriate
to assume that the discovery was the result of this previously deposited
knowledge and suddenly fertilized by a germ of new information. Only
after this fertilization did it become possible to piece together
practical operating embodiments around my theoretically-acceptable
e~bryo of a viable like-phase heat-exchange system for retention of
juice in ccoked meat.
'~he three major discoveries of the invention ensuring from the solution
of the juice-loss problems per se.
In piecing together ~mbodLm~nt of the like-phase heat exchange system
tw~ new and significan~ discoveries in addition to the like-phase heat -
exchange itself were made in areas within the juice-loss problem per se.
These two are to be considered major discoveries along with the deep-
fry like-phase heat exchange discovery. Thus, this invention produced
three major juice-retention discoveries.
They are described as follows:
1. Deep-frying hamkurgers, in a liquid of like-phase and a~Lvximate
flavcr and color equivalents as their own oooked juices, with the
cooking heat exchange tak mg place via convection.
This discovery is the key thkat solved all problems, acoGmplished
all the objectives, and led to all the other disooveries of this ~ ;
invention. It made possible the use of full and true convection in
the primary mass-energy heat exchange in hamburger cookery. It
provided a direct physical contact (no barrier) between the ham~
burger and the cooking li ~id.
For the first ti~e in hamkurger oookery an exchange of heat between
the cooking meat and the heating medium is now primarily
accomplished on a true-like phase for like-phase basis; an actual
physical original meat-juice exchanged with a like-phase meat-like
liquid. This is accomplishable with said meat-juice that is
relatively free (not cellular-~ound) within the hamburger mass.
To the extent that said meat-juice is still cellular-bound the
remaining heat-exchange takes place via oonduction and/or radiation~
i ~ 3 ~3 7
l -61-
i In this description it is germane that "like-phase"
, cookery be clearly derlned. The llke-phase ln this
invention is not derined simply as a liquid ln exchange
l~' ror a liquld. Rather it is a specific kind Or liquld:
~ (a) One that fier1nes the 11quid1ty, rla~or, and color
I desired in the cooked product. Prererably this is the
liquidity, rlavor, and color equivalent Or the
cooking-meat's own ~uices. Thus the precise quality
l Or the generic llquid phase ~ill vary partlcularly
¦' in rla~or and color rrom meat to meat and ~rom
one level Or doneness to another level Or doneness. .
! But it will always be rixed in its ~eneric liquid
i phase, and specl~ic principally in the flavor and `~
¦ color prererred ror the speci~ic meat that is being
cooked. Thus the speci~icity Or the rlavor and
color Or the liquid cooking ~nedium may dirrer rrom
i that o~ the liquid in the cooking meat. It may be
a flavor and color designed to enhance and/or control
the natural cooked ~lavor and color Or a Specirlc
meat. The derinition o~ like-phase hamburger coo~klng
,11 in this invention thererore includes specirlcity
on the rlavor and color Or the cooklng liquid; ~lavored
and/or colored by either natural and/or arti~lcial
lavors and colors. The definition specifically ~ ~
excludes cooking in water, vegetabie o~ls, and/or ~ -
~l liquid fats. ; ~`
'~
I
.
,;
1 ~ 3~7
-62-
(b) One that defines speclric heat parameters, never
before used by the prior-art in deep rrylng, within
1 which my ha~nburger must be cooked. In the prlor-art
! the term "deep frying" historically has three legs
~ in its definition: (1). Immersion of ~oods ln (2)
i~ liquid rats or oils at (3) boillng heats (over 212).
In this lnvention "deep frylng" also has three legs I
' ln lts definltlon: (1) Immersion Or me2t ln (2~
i me2t-like ~ulces (3) at temperatures under 212. The -
I definition of "deep ~rying" used by the prlor-art and
I the definltlon used in this invention are slmllar in only ~ i
i ` one O'L their three legs; l.e.,.immersion Or the cookine`
food ln a liquid; ln the other t~o le~s (i) the ;
coo~.in~ llquids and (2) the cooklng heats, they are ~
radically difrerent and mutually exclusive. ThUS ~ -
specifications for the cooking liquids and heats
draw clear lines of demarcatlon ~lth the prlor-art.
The lmportance Or~ and the radlcally dlfrerent results.
ach1eved by, these lines o~ demarcation may be seen
in these comparisons~
i The Cook~ng Liaulds-
, . ' ; ~
I;
, ~he prior-art's lloulds (llquld .ats and oils) produce~
I fatty flavors and o~ly appearances ln hamburgers. My 1`~
i liquids (meat-like ~uices) produce meat-~uice flavors
and aopearances that are natural and normal to
consumers' customary sensory preception of the cooked
meat. It should be noted in passin~ that cooking ln
water produces a bland, flat, water flavor; baslc211y ~ ¦
flavorless. I
I
:; !
., 1
.. . , :
~ 63-
m e Cooking Heats: ,
P~s noted pre~iously, the prior-art's hamburger cooking
temperatures abo~e 212 produce juice-weight losses that
are normally in the 25~ to 33% range. In my invention
juice-weight losses are normally from 0~ (or less) to
10%. The ~ollcwing table compares juice-weight losses
produced by -the prior-art with those of this invention.
the comparison is made by using standard fast-~ood 1~4-lb.
raw weight hamburger of 20% fat oontent and 1/4-inch thick-
nesses. They start frying from the standard frozen state.
' '' - ' 'J'U'I C E' 'L O'S'S'E'S' '''''' ' '' '' '
._. _ .
Results wi~ Prior-ArtResults w;th this Inve~tion
_ ..... _ .... _
D~p-fry Time: Less than
' -Griddled or Br~iled _ 5 Minutes'
Frying time depends on done- _
nèss levèl desir~d
Heats Aprox.
Above 212 ~ry Aprox. % Cboking Aprox. % Aprox. %
Doneness (Usually TimeJuice Heats - Juice Less Than ~ ~'
Levels about-400)'(mi~ osses ' Under 212- 'losses - Prior-Art
. .. _ _ .
Well-done " 6 30% 170~ 10% 66%
Medium~well " 5 25 160 7 70
Medium " 4 20 150 5 75
Medium~rare " 3 15 140 1 95
Rare " 2 10 130 0 100% to
(+ 1 to 9%) 190%
It will be no~ed from the preceding table that at the 170 (42 under
212) heat level (my t~ell-done level) my juice weight loss is approximately
66% less than that of the prior-art's well-done level, namel~ at 10% loss
versus a 30% loss with the prior-art. Then after that there is a steadily
greater reduction co~pared with the prior-art, so that around the 130 '~
rare-heat level I discovered: (1) that juice loss was reduced to zero,
and then (2) that there was an actual juice-weight increase.
,
~3~97
-64-
These were reductions that represented 100% to 190% impro~ements over
the prior-art. m is dual phe~Kmenon produced the second and third
major discoveries of this invention, nam~Ly:
2. Reduction of juice weight loss in hamburgers to zero.
~ust below the 135 temperature a whole new oooking
wDrld appeaxed. In the 7 heat zone between 128 and
135 I discovered that juice loss can be reduced to zero.
And then, even more surprising that:
3. Increases in hamburger juiceJweight over pre~cooked weight
are achieved.
m e most surprising phenomenon of my :Like-phase ccokery
in the 1~8 to 135 heat zone is that juice-weight of
hamburgers actuaLly can be increased. This was "most
surprising" because I considered it unreasonable and
illogical to th.ink that ceLluLar structures of c~oking
meat even co~Ld anq/or would accept aclditional juice under
any kind of cooking system.
2~ The (2) and (3~ discoveries demDnstrate that a mass-
energy exchange is actually in progress with like-phase-
juice cookery. But more importan~Ly that hamburger beef
nNscle structures in the 128 and 135 heat zone are
sufficiently relaxed, and/or hydroLyzed b~Low capacity,
that they will, temporarily at least, actually accept
additional juice while immersed in like-phase cooking
juice. Below~capacit~ hydrolysis of cellular tissues
may account ~or this phenomenon because the percentage
of juice-absorption varies with different batches of
hamburgers~ the normal extrel~es ranging fram plus 1% to
9~.
3~ 65_
i~ The like-phase cooking phenornena discovered in the
128 to 135 heat zone evldences the importance o~ this
zone not only for this invention, but for the general
advancement o~ the art. This zone deflnes the temperature
~ parameters within which beef muscle cells will change from
i a state Or relaxation and intactness to a beginning state
; of contraction and break-up.- I say "beginnlng" because
I¦ under prolonged holding temperatures within this zone
i' the process of contractlon and break-up will gradually start
I taking place. I say "contraction" and "break-u?" because
in this zone the stronger, low hydrolyzed, connective-type
muscle tissues will contract and remain intact, and the
,l weaker intercellular, highly hydrolyzed, collagen-type
! tissues will gradually expand, dissolve~ and/or disintegrate.
.~
The lmportance Or this 128 to 135 heat ~one therefore
Il lies in recognizing it as the last o~portunity, within
I the heat-time parameters for rast-food cookery under my
1~ deep-~rying system ~or hamburgers to engage ln an equal
mass-energy exchange with the cooking media, before
¦ ~uice-weight losses again start increasing.
C. A fourth discovery Or a ma~or nature, in a collective sensé,
because a collectlon OL ancillary discoveries ensued from
¦ the solution o~ the ~uice loss problem. ~ ~;
i.,1
~¦ All the circum~acent and ancillary problems listed and
described above had common causes in the high-heat plus non-
il convectlon heat transmissions of the~prior-art. My deep-
i frying discoverles also cured these problems by eliminatin~i their common cause. To ~it:
,!
ll ':
~1
.
,1 ~
.
~ 7
I -66
1 Five QualitY and ~ealth Problems with Prlor-Art_Hambur~ers
l l . ~ , :
I
I ~a) The problem 0r rlavor loss through evaporatlon 0r Julce
I by steam was cured because my hamburgers are deep-rried
ln a llquld at temperatures below the 212 level at
which water turns to steam.
ll
(b) The problem 0r flavor per se was cured because my
hamburgers are cooked lmmersed, and heats are
exchanged vla liquid-phase convection, in a flaYorrul
liquid, the equlvalent 0r cooked hamburger ~ulce
, ~lavor~ Thus llquld flavor both inside and outside
ll the hamburger is practlcally identical, remains approximately
! unchanged, and thus the hamburgers' flavor remains
relatlvely constant. Also, 1~ deslred, the flavor o~
ll this llquid could be enhanced with varlous added
1~ rlavorlngs, and have them carrled lnto the-lnside 0r
¦~ the hamburger durln~ cooklng via the convection heat~
~' exchange system Or thls invention.
Ii . ; ~ .
(c) The problem of valuable proteln collagen losses was
substantially cured because all the cookln~ heats of ¦~
¦ this inventlon are below the 212 hydrolysis break-up
~I point Or collagen. The losses are lncreasingly reduced
¦ as cooklng temperatures are lo~!ered, and then virtuaîly ~ I
elimlnated as hamburgers are cooked at or near the
I lowest 128 to 135 level used ln one Or my exemplary
embodlments. Thls lowest temperature level is still
within the highest heat-tolerable relatively non-
àestructive levels 0r beer cellular structures and also
within the lowest temperatures allowed for toxic sar~ty.
.
~3,~3~7
- 6 7 -
(d) The problem o~ tenderness was cured because the
l prlncipal dlscovery Or thls lnvention produces a
¦ hamburger in which most, or all, of the original ~uice- -
content has been retained. And thus most, or all, Or
the ori~inal tenderness has been retained.
ll
(e) The problem Or carclnogens when hamburger cookery
produces the prior-art heats over 212, wlth
resultant burnt organic matter~ was completely cured
because under my particular liquid immersion cookery,
. plus heats under 212,it is impossible to burn the `
tissues Or hamburger meat.
I, .,
l 2. ~our Operational Problems or_th _Fast-~ood Hambur~er
I Chains
1 ~ .
¦; (a) The problem Or speed was also solved because the
I liquid-immersion true-convection cookery of my
I system, with heat bearing in on the hamburger from
¦ all sides, and under the slight displacement pressures
from the encompassing liquid heat, produces the
speeds required by raSt food operators at their
present time ran~e o~ ~our to six mlnutes.
I (b) The problem of simpliclty was also solved because my
! llquid-immerslon system requires no manual m2nipulation
!
by ~he hamburger cook such as pressing against and
turr.ing over on a ~rlll or monitorin~ the heats and
time over a broiler. Thls kind Or manual manipulation
is reduced to zero, and simplicity is at the ultimate.
Furthermore, my liquid-cookir,g system completely
encompasses the hamburger with heat; this, and the
11
I !
,1 .
., .
. .1 .
3 ~ ~'7
-68-
212 heat level at which my liquid changes to a
~aseous phase, provides built-in natural controls
over the heat and time parameters. Thus dependency
on the human ractor ror operational ouallty is
minimized, and simplicity is maximized.
(c) The problem Or unirormity, particularly high-~uice- ~ `~
retention uni~ormity, in the cooked hamburgers, was
also sol~ed because Or the po~ltive ~uice-retention
method Or deep-rry cooking discovered by this
l invention~ the details Or which have been described
I heretorore.
1.
(d) The problem Or visible determination Or interior
doneness levels.
Il ~ :
ll A phenomenon Or hamburger cookery is the appearance
il o~ unique vlsible excretions that will exude in
i considerable numbers, ir not obstructed, rrom
l` the interior to the exterior surraces Or cooking
,1 hamburgers. They have the appearance Or sm211
purfy polyps or warts. They are actually inrlamed
,j membranes (sort spon~y tissues) that have exuded
I to the surrace under pressure rrom heat-produced
expanslons (inflâmmations) Or interior celluiar
i tissues. They pop up quite rapidly once the ;
ll interior cellular complex has reached a point
!, Or heat-induced ex~ansion at which it can no lon~er
: 1i
!1 contain itsell within its ori~inal cellular
ii
i~ walls.
!
Il ''~
`1 :.
1 .
,
3 ~ ~ ~
-69-
This expansion is temporary and transltory; it
occurs during the brie~ tlme-temperature period that
1 begins when the raw meat has reached the 130 rare-
¦! doneness level and ends around the 150 medlum-
doneness level. The evidence o~ this level cf
doneness shows itselr in the brown-to-gray color
i Or these polyps. Thereafter the polyps usually
i will break loose rrom the meat under their own gross
exDen ion and/or we1ght.
Because o~ their delicate rrangible nature these
polyps can show themselves only on cooklng
hamburger surraces that are ~ree rrom exposure
to dehydrating levels o~ heat, pressures rrom
grill contacts and/or spatula manipulatlons, and/or
obstructions by crusty or cauterized surraces.
Being very delicate and ~ranglble, they will rapldly
shrivel, collapse, and/or be crushed under very
li~ht mechanical pressures (less than 1/32-oz. psi)
and/or dehydrate rrom heats in excess of 212. Thus
in griddle and broiler cookery they are never really
¦~ visible and there~ore not available to the prior-art a~s
an operational tool to determine internal doneness
levels.
~'' . .
However, ~ith the liquid-immersion deep-rrying Or
thls lnventlon, with its low temperatures and liquld
pressures surrounding the cooking meat, the polyps
will emerge and gro~ erect and undisturbed on all
I ~,
l ~3~3~C3~
Or the sur-aces Or the cookln~ hamburgers. hhen the
! polyps have reached a size of approximately 1/16"
Il height and 1/8" diameter in a ~" thick hamburger,
and are a bro~n-gray color, then the interior Or the ~ ~-
, hamburger is at the medium-to-well level of doneness.
I Such polyps are clearly visible on the surraces o~
hambur~ers cooked in the`liquid ~uices Or this
lnvention. If desired, the hamburgers can be lirted
by the wire platforms on which they were immersed to
l~ the surrace Or the cookin~ liquid for closer visibillty
¦~ ~ Or the undisturbed top-surface-polyps. ~j~
l ` :,
Thus this invention has provided a practical
operational tool ~Yhereby the internal, invisible,
, doneness level Or a cooking hamburger may be determined
by observin~ an outward visible phenomenon; a phenomenon
that ls a natural runction Or a cooking hamburger. ~ut
a function that in the prior-art does not have the
~reedom to exercise itself as a visible exhibition
Or a hambur5er's inner doneness level. By contrast,
under the runctional reatures Or my invention (i.e.,
1 like-phase convection exchange Or mass-energy coupled
¦ with low heats and pressures) I provide a functional
I cllmate in ~hich the natural functlonin~ o~ polyp
rormations ~akes place without physical obstruction, ~ ~
pressure, or disturbance. ; ; 1,,
I' ' !~ ~
l By virtue o~ this I have discovered a solution to
! the problem o~ determlning the internal doneness
levels from the externally visible polyp-formation ;
. '~
i' : `'
I! '
i ~
-71-
phenomenon Or cookinz hamburgers. From an
operatlonal standpoint this is a unique and
important discovery.
,j3. Three Heat-Use (Co~servation anà Reduction Or Ener~y)
il Probiems o- the Prior-Art Svs'ems
l ..... _ ~ ~
(a) ODerational_problems causlng ener~y losses, such as
the estlmated 60~ to 80~ losses with the prlor-art
¦ systems, have been considerably reduced by my liquid
immersion system because my loh cookin~-heats keep
~¦ the cooking liquid at such a low heat level that heat
,l via gaseous evaporation is Or an extremely low order.
This,plus the con~inement Or the cookin~ liquid in an
Il insulated-walled vessel that is open at only one o~
Ij its six sides, brln~s the energy losses down to about 10
Il compared with the estimated 60C to 80~ of the prior-
¦i art systems. Thls, in turn, means that energy used
il for cookin~ h~bur~ers under m~ system is about 90
efficient compared wlth only 40~ - or less erriciency
under the prior-art systems. Or, an~ther ~ay of
statin~ this ad~anta~e is to say that my system could
cut ener~y costs by at least 50
'i (b~ System ~roblems Or the prior-art causin~ heat losses
have been listed and described in the comparable
j preced'n~ pa a~raph under ob~ecti~es. or the three
systems available to prior~art practitioners thoy
,
ll
.. 1
~I .
.
. '' ' ' '' ' ' ~
-72-
rejected the one ~hat is the most effid ent in conserving
energy, namely deep-fat ~rying. It was rejected because
deep-frying in liquid fat produces objectionable flavors.
By eliminating the fat and substituting a liquid c3mparable
to the juice of the meat being coo]ced, I eliminate the
flavor objection and thereby n~ce possible the use of the
most efficient energy-oonservation system presently known
for hamburger cookery.
(c) ~olding problems of the prior-art systems caus mg losses
of both energy and product due to ccoling, drying, and
oonsequent disposal Qf cold, dry, u~aleable hamburgers,
are eliminated by my liquid-immersion ccokery system.
~amburgers can be held, at their coolcin~ te~peratures
(130 or more, but substantially under 212) after being
fully cooked, for 15-m m utes (and lol~ger if necessary)
wi~h no cooling, or drying, and only a few p~rcentage
p~ints m~re juice loss from the juice level at the time of
finished oook. Thus losses due to holding are very simply ~ ;
and easily reduced to a practical zero.
Summary of Circumjà~ent and Ancill~r~ Problem Solutions
~n summarizing these circumjacent and ancillary ~solutions, it should ~ -
be noted again that when I arrived at a solution to the juice-loss
problem, I suddenly discovered to my surprise that all these other
problems had one important thing in com~on: In varying degrees all of
them had a common causal origin in the ~hird classification of heat
exchange syst~ms; i.e., the "non-eno~mpassing heat" exchanges with their
conduction-radiation tran~mission systems, used by the prior-art fast-
food practitioners.
-73-
The disco~ery actually produced this double surprise: (1) that
so m~ny different problems could have roots in the same common
cause; and (2) that a single new system, invented to cure an
entirely different problem, could become the common cure for
such a large number and diversity oE problems. m e solutions
for all these circumjacent and ancillary problems are therefore
claimed as hingsight (unpremeditated, unsought, a-posteriori,
and therefore of a surprise-nature of the highest order) objectives
of this invention.
Description of Specific Eh~odimint
`
The description of this invention has been oriented toward the
fast-food se~nent of the hamburger industry. The specific
embodiments detailed below will follow the same orientation.
These embcdiments describe the preparation of hamburgers from the
frozen raw meat to the hot (under 212) aooked state within the
5-minute time limitation desired by fast-food operators.
It will be understood that other enbodirents than those
described kelow may use other specifications within the
basic parameters of this invention without departing ~rom
its sprifit an~ substance. These basic parameters are contained
in the abstract of this application as follows: (1) meat patties
and steaks cooked by (2) deep-frying the uncooked meat in (3)
liquid stocks of the same phase and selected flavor and color
e~uivalents as its own aooked juice (4) at temperatures under
212
The specific embodiments which follow are identical in the first
three of the four e-xemplary specifications used to describe the
basic parameters named above. Then with the fourth specification;
~7 -74- ;~
i.e., cooking at temperat~res under 212, the practitioner has
num~rous options depending mainly on the level of doneness desired
and the percent of juice loss he is willing to accept. Five of
these options are listed under the fourth specification. The four
basic specifications (parameters) are exemplified as follows:
1. An exemplary meat patty
:
The "quarter pounder" hamburger, of 4-oz. raw weight and 20%
fat oontent, is a popular size and quality sold by fast-fcod
operators. I chose it for my exemplary embodiments with the
understanding ~hat any other weight, size, shape and/or fat
content may be used, with whatever modifications in heats and/or
~coking times are necessary to produce better juice-retention
results than are obtaining under the prior-art. ; ~ ~
: .
3. Deep frying and its apparatus
Since the practice of this invention re~uires deep-frying by
immersion in a heated liquid that encompasses the ~mburger,
a practical operating vessel or apparatus must be proYided
for proper-ly holding the hamburgers and heating the liquid in
~: . .:
which the hamburgers are immersed. Such apparatuses are already
in use in most fast-food restaurants, namely the type used for
"deep-fat frying" of such foods as potato segments (french-fries)
fish, onion rings, doughnuts, etc. These apparatuses have
insulated walls and heat-conduc ing coils, tubes, or ducts
designed for Im~ersion in liquid and for heating and controlling
the temperatures of the oils and fats used in deep-frying said
foods. These apparatuses are also equipped with open-mesh ;
wire baskets or platforms in, or on, which said foods are ~ ;
held, and which pen~it the heated liquid to encompass and/or
move around the foods keing cooked.
::
~ 3 ~ 9 ~ -75-
These same apparatuses are easily adaptable for my preferred
w~y for deep-~r~in~ hamburgers. Only slmple modifications are
needed. Usin~ a flat wire-mesh platform on which hamburgers
can rest flat, I then add a second matchlng-slze platform
in spaced relatlonship above the flrst platform. The space
bet~een the two platrorms is slightly greater than the thickness
of the thickest hambur~er ~hat is to be cooked. For example,
The "quarter pounder" is normally ~-inch thick, and so, in
my preferred apparatus embodiment, I use a minimum space
elevation o~ about 3/8-inch between the two platforms in which
the resting hamburgers ~ill be (1) held completely submerged and
(2) prevented from o~erlapping each other and/or (3) being
physlcally distorted, twisted, or bent, while the two platforms
holding the interlined hamburgers are lowered beneath the surrace
of the cookin~ uid, and while the hamburgers are cookin~
:
The ~ire mesh is prererrably sized with ~-lnch square meshes
to permit (1) the sli~htest movement withln the liquid,
~enerated by heat inputs, to circulate ~reely around the
cookin~ hamburgers, and (2) permit a relatively unobstructed
~rowth of polyps of the lfl6-inch dlameter slze on the
hamburgers' surraces. The interlor horizontal dimensions
of the apparatus and the ~ire platforms may be Or any slze,
depending on the number Or hamburgers it is desired to cook
at one time. The lnterior vertical depth Or the apparatus
~ay be Or any size depending on how many platforms are used
to keep hamburgers immersed when stacked ln separated layers ~-
by the spaced-apart platforms on, and in, which the hamburgers
are held at any one time. A description Or the drawing of
an exe~plary apparatus follows:
- .
3~3~37
-76-
Description of the D_awing
The specific e~odiment of the invention will be explained in
conjunction with the accompanying drawing in which -- ;
Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an apparatus for cooking
meat in accordance with the invention; ;
Fig. 2 illustrates hamburgers being loaded onto an open~
mesh holding plat~orm;
FigO 3 shcws an open-mesh cover platform being lo~ered over
the hamburgers Oll the lower holding platform;
Fig. 4 shows both of the platforms and the hamburgers ready
to be immersed in the frying lig~ud; ~ `
Fig. 5 is a p~rspective view, partially broken away, showing
the platforms and the hamburgers imm~rsed in the frying liquid;
Fig. 6 shows the platform and the hamb~lrgers raised out of
the liquid;
Fig. 7 shows or~ of the deep-fried hamburgers being removed ~ -
from the holding platform onto a waiting hamburger bun;
Fig. 8 is a top view of the ap~aratus with the mesh cover
platform raised;
Fig~ 9 is a fragmentary plan view of the holding platform; ;
~ g ~ ~ -77-
Fig. lO is a cross sectional view of the apparatus taken
along the line lO-lO of Fig~ l;
Fig. 11 is a fragmentary p~rspective view of a portion of
the level linkage bet~een the bwo mesh platforms.
Fig. 12 is a cross sectional view of the apparatus with the ~ -
covered platform lowered i~to position over the holding platform;
cmd
Fig. 13 is a fragmentary perspective vie~ of a portion of
Fig. 12 showing the lever linkage. ~ -
In the drawing the number 15 designates a liquid-holding recept~cle
which includes a front wall 16~, right and left side walls 17 and 18,
a rear wall l9 (Fig. 5) and a kottom wall 20 (Fig. lO). Drain ko æd
21 extends upwardly from the left side 17 at a slight angle from
the vertlcal, and a control console 22 is m~unted on the rear wall.
A serpentine heating element 23 is positioned in the kottom of the
cavity provided by ~te receptacle and includes terminals 23a and
23b ~Fig. 12) which extend into the control console ~2. I~te control
console includes thermostat 24 with an on-off switch for controlling
the heatin~ element, a thermostat on-off light 25, and a switch-on
switch-off light 26. An open-mesh holding platfonm 28 is sized
to be lowered within the cavity of the receptacle, and an open-mesh
cover platform 29 whi~t has a sLmilar shape is hingedly secured
to the holding platform. Ref~rring to Figs. ll and 13, a channel-
shapsd bracket 30 is n~un~Rd on one side of the holding plat~orm
28, and an eye-bolt 31 e~tends outwardly from the channel. Link
32 is secur~d to the cover platform 29 and includes a hooked end
portion 32a which extends through the eye-bolt. Lever handle 33
is also secured to the cover platform for rotating the cover
platform from the raised position illustrated in Figs. l, 2, and
11 to the lowered position illustrated in Figs. 4 and 13.
3~97
-78-
When the cover plat~orm is in its raised position the end portion 32a
of the link 32 engages the shank of the eye-~olt as shown in Fig. ll.
A perforated rim 34 extends downwardly from the periphery of the
cover platform and engages the holding platform when the cover
platform is lowered so that the cover platform is spaced the desired
distance above the holding platform to accommcdate the height of the
hamburger.
Fig. 2 illustrates a plurality of hamburger patties 35 being loaded
onto the holding platform, and Fig. 3 illustrates the cover platform 29
being lowered over the hamburgers. The hamburgers are enclosed by the
holding platform and the cover platform in Fig. 4, and the hamburgers
are then lowered into the liquid 36 (Fig. S) in the receptacle. Four
somewhat U-shaped support posts, 37 extend upwardly from the kottom wall
20 of the receptacle for supporting the platforms akove the heating
element 23.
Fig. 12 illustrates the preferred dimensions for a receptacle designed
to hold a single layer of hamburgers. The depth of the cavity of the
receptacle is 4-1~2 inches and the depth of the liquid is 3-l/2 inches.
The space bet~een the holding platform and the cover platform is l/2 inch
and the distance from the cover platform to the surface of the liquid
is l inch.
Fig. 9 illustrates the use of the holding platform 28 with rectangular
patties 38 as well as round patties 35.
After the hamburgers æ e cooked to the desired don~ness, the platforms
and the hamburgers are raised out of the liquid as shcwn in Fig. 7,
the oover platform is rotated to its Fig. 7 position and each hamburger
35 can be removcd from the holding platform directly to an open
hamburger bun 39.
It is understood that this exemplary app æatus, or any other specific
deep-frying apparatus, is not claimed as p æ t of this invention.
~ '7 -79-
¦! 3. The exemplary liquid
The liquid in whlch my hamburgers are deep-fried is preferably
prepared rrom a natural beef stock base ha~ing approximately
the same liquidity, flavor, and color as the cooked ~uice Or
the hamburger meat. Since the commercial supply Or raw
~1 natural beer stock either liquid or condensed may not be
surficient to supply the quantity needed rOr deep-frying
the quantlties Or hambur~ers used by the rast-food operators,
there are many commercial preparations available as substltutes
ll ~or the natural beer stock. By using such lngredients as
¦l hydrolyzed vegetable protein, gelatin, monosodium gluta~.ate,
, sugar, caramel color, citric acid, yeast extract, salt,
tomatoes, and various food rlavorings~ the commercial
preparations ofrer several acceptable substitutes and/or
supplements ror natural beef ~uice. The important consideratlon
is that the exemplary liquid be either natural beef ~ulce
or its equivalent in taste, color, and liquidity made from
roods such as those mentioned above.
l :'
1, ~. Five exemplary cookln~ temperatures. ~ ~
`I . ~
There are fi~e levels Or doneness that the hamburger market
desires. They are, along with the approximate internal
temperatures that produce and control them, the follohing:
weil-done at,170, medium-well at 160, medium at 150
medium-rare at 140, and rare at 130.
,1,
It should be noted that my highest exemplary cooking temperature
Or 170 is 42 under the steam point Or 212. In my preferred
embodiments I stay as far as possible away from the cell-
rupturing temperature Or 212. The reason for this is ~hat the
cycling ranges o~ the thermostats that regulate most cooking
apparatuses are highly unpredictable and unreliable~ Some of
them,for exam?ie, that theoreticall~ have a range Or 10 over
, I .
! ¦
~3~3~7 -80-
and under their switch-on switch-off point, actually may have
a range of 40, or mor~, over and under the switch-point. So,
to keep my hamburgers from ever being subjected to temperatures
of 212 and over, I prefer to keep my highest deep-frying
temperature at 170.
It is the primary and principal objective of this invention to
reduce juice levels to a mlnimum while maintaining the fast- ~ '
food production ideals of speed, simplicity, and uniformity
as outlined heretofore. This objective is achieved for the
five exemplary levels of doneness by using a cook time of less
than 5-minutes with the five respectively acoompanying cooking
temperatures shown in the following table:
Heat o~ Aprox. percent
Doneness l'evelCboki~g Liquid Juice loss
.
Well-done 170 10%
Me~iumrwell 160 7
Medium 150 5
Mbdium~rare 140
Rare 130 0 to ~lus 1% to 9%
While these juice-loss results are proximate, they are fairly
representative of what may be expected under the variable
conditions (such as, fat-to-protein ratios, cooking-liquid
ingredient ratios, and precision in maintaining liquid heat
levels) contributing to finished hamburger results.
While in the foxegoing detailed description of specific emkodiments of
the invention were set forth, for the purpose of illustration, it is
to be understood that many of the details herein given may be varied
considerably by one skilled in the art without departing from the spirit
3~ and scope of the invention.
~ 3~
Method and ~eans ~or Frying ~leat
, OUTLINE ' . "
Pa~e l
l lABSTRACT- - - j
l l DEFINITIONS and LIMITATIONS
I BACKGROUND OF THE IN~ENTION
! Prlor-Art Methods and Means
9 l UNDERSTANDING THE PROBLEM - - '
11 1 DEVELOPMENT OF TXE INVENTION -- - .
ll lDerini~lon Or Matter ' -
12 lLaws o~ Conservation .
14 l Incidence Or Heat Exchanges
~4 Il. Heat-energy'exchange ,
16 ' 2. Mass-welght exchange , , ~
17 The Mechanics Or Heat Exchange , ~ . -
18 ll 1. The cooking temperatures
l9 ll 2. The heat exchange systems ¦
20 l a. Llquid heat encompassing hamburger
20 l b. Gas he'at encompassing hamburger
21 ! c Gas heat not encompassing hamburger j'
23 l 3. The heat transmission systems
24 l ' a. 'Conduction
26 i b. Radiation
27 l c. Convectlon ~ ;
l Summar~ Or Prior-Art Conduct Unoer the Mechanlcs o~
l Heat Exchange
32 l The Incidence of Beer ~uscle Cell-Structure ' , j ,~
37 ~ Hamburger Shrinkage in Size and Weight
39 ~ Summary Or: "Development of the Inventionl'
l CIRCUMJACENT AND ANCILLARY PROBLEMS
l l. Quality and Health P.oblems ~ith Prior-Art Hamburgers
40 l a. Problems Or rlavor-loss through evaporation
42 i b. Problem Or ~lavor per se
43 l c. Problem Or collagen losses
l~4 1' d. Problem Or tenderness
44 l e. .Problem Or carcinogens
~1 ; ~
~1 ~ .
~3~3~
! Method and Means ~or Frylng Meat
OUTLINE
Paf~Ze 1, , . ~.
45l~ 2. Operatlonal Problems Or Fast-Food Chains
46l . a. Speed
46l b; Simplicity
47ll c. Uni~ormity
481~ d. Interior doneness levels .:
49, 3. Heat-Use Problems
49 a. Operational :.
. 52 b. System .
54 i1¦ c. Holding
55 i Summary of Circum~acent and Ancillary Problems
56 1 DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCOVERIES
56l A. The stubbornness o~ the ~uice-loss problems
60~ B. The three ma~or dlscoveries Or the inventlon ensulng
. ~rom the solutlon Or the ~uice-loss problems per se:
601, 1. Deep-rrylng hamburgers
63l~ (Table showing Julce loss comparisons with prior art.)
64 ll! 2. ~eduction o~ ~ei~ht loss to ze~ro.
64 3 . Increases in hamburKer Juice weight,
65lljC. A rourth ma~or dlscovery; twelve ancillary problems
'I solved:
66, 1. Five Quality and Health Problems
67 Z. Four Operatlonal Problems
71,. 3~ Three Heat-Use Problems
72 ISummary Or Circum~acent and Ancillary Problem Solutions
73~'l Description O r Speclric Embodiments
74 'I 1. An exemplary meat patty~
74lll Z. Deep-rrying and its apparatus
76`.~ Description o~ the Dra~ing `~
li
771 3. The exemplary liquid
.l 4. Five exemplary cooking temperatures
81~l Claims
i ~2 :~
';~
,, ,1 , . ... ..
I OBJECTIVES
,, 1' .
ll Juice Ob~ectives
Page Il
8¦ 1. Prlmary ob~ectlve: to reduce and/or eliminate
¦ ~uice-weight loss.
13 ¦l 2. Overall ob,ectlve: to conserve the uncooked liquid~
li phase hamburger Julce-weight
¦l energy in the same phase and weight
ll in -the cooked hamburger.
15 li~ 3 Llmiting conductlon and radiatlon to roles that are
l~l benericlal to ~,uice retention. ~ ,
17 ¦ll 4. To provlde ~or the use of convection in hamburger
,.
ll coolcing. ;
18 11 5. A hea~-exchange mechanlsm th,at promotes an equal ~,
welght exchange o~ mass-energy between a hamburger ~ 1
and its cooking medlum.
6. To cook hambur~ers under 212.
23 ~ll 7 To provide a heat-exchange system to exchanOe heat~ -
; energy without losing mass.
251' 8. A heat-exchange system that wlll not obstruct the
laws o~ conservation.
27 I i 9. Prevent conduction o~ radiation rrom promoting
1 ~ulce loss.
29 I:l 10. To assls~ convection ln exerclslng a ma~or role
in the conservation o~ mass-energy in hamburger
1 cookery.
31,i 11. A heat-e~change system that enables a like-phase -
Il ~or a llke-phase exchange o~ mass-ener~y.
32 l ¦ 12. A system that enables the law o~ conserva~lon o~
ll mass to operate wlthin a cooking hamburger.
36l 13. Cookln~ heats that reduce contractions and ~uice-
!, expelling squee~lngs in hamburger muscle cells, and
conditions that promote a return of expelled ~uice.
l : .
'1 ~ .
,
.
~ ~3~3~7
OBJECTl~ES (cont'd) -2-
Page I
38 l 14. To reduce the shrinkage in size and weight.
39 ¦¦ 15. To use the relationship of muscle sturctures ln hamburger
cookery to reduce ~uice loss.
ll Ancillary ObJectives
¦l Quality and Health
42¦l 16. To prevent loss Or ~lavor and nutrltlon Yla evaporation.
43 17. To add flavor dur~n~ cooking.
44 l 18. To pre~ent loss!of collagen. .
44 l 19. To retain tenderness. j~;
20. To prevent ~ormation Or carclnogens. -
~'
li O~eratlonal '
!l _ 'I
46l 21. To provide the speed deslred by fast-rood - , ;
l operators.
47~l 22. To provlde the slmplicity desired by fast-~ood
I operators. ~;
481 23. To provlde high ~ulce-retentlon uniformity.
491~ 24. To pro~ide an exterior means for ~udgin~ internal
ll doneness.
' i
l~ Heat-Use Conservat1on ;
52l 26. Reduction of heat losses caused by operatlonal methods~
54li 27. Reàuction Or heat losses created by a system per se.
55~ 28. Reduction ol heat losses due to "holding" problems. ~ ;
, ''
I ~ : ~
l . ', .
i. ,
