Method for reconstituting frozen food

Claim 1

THE METHOD OF RECONSITUTING FROOZEN FOOD TO A READY TO SERVES STATE WHICH COMPRISES THE STEPS OF, DELIVERING HEAT TO THE FOOD AT AN AVERAGE RATE WHICH IS IN EXCESS OF THE RATE AT WHICH HEAT WILL PASS INTO THE FOOD, BY SUPPLYING HEATED AIR TO THE FOOD AT A CONTROLLED VARYING TEMPERATURE AND IN A PREDETERMINED DIRECTION, PERIODICALLY REVERSING THE DIRECTION OF AIR FLOW AT PREDETERMINED INTERVALS, AND VARYING THE TEMPERATURE OF SAID HEATED AIR BETWEEN A MIXIMUM TEMPERATURE FOR THE FOOD BEING TREATED AND A LOWER TEMPERATURE BY CYCLICALLY RAISING THE

Claim 2

THE METHOD OF RECONSITUTING FROOZEN FOOD TO A READY TO SERVES STATE WHICH COMPRISES THE STEPS OF, DELIVERING HEAT TO THE FOOD AT AN AVERAGE RATE WHICH IS IN EXCESS OF THE RATE AT WHICH HEAT WILL PASS INTO THE FOOD, BY SUPPLYING HEATED AIR TO THE FOOD AT A CONTROLLED VARYING TEMPERATURE AND IN A PREDETERMINED DIRECTION, PERIODICALLY REVERSING THE DIRECTION OF AIR FLOW AT PREDETERMINED INTERVALS, AND VARYING THE TEMPERATURE OF SAID HEATED AIR BETWEEN A MIXIMUM TEMPERATURE FOR THE FOOD BEING TREATED AND A LOWER TEMPERATURE BY CYCLICALLY RAISING THE

Claim 7

The method of reconstituting frozen food to a ready to serve state in an oven having a heating cavity defined between a pair of opposed air supply chambers having perforated walls respectively located on opposite sides of said cavity, said oven including an air plenum chamber outside said cavity and communicating with said air supply chambers thereby to define a recirculating path of travel for air between said chambers through said cavity, said method comprising the steps of placing said food in said cavity in vertically spaced layers whereby air moving laterally through the heating cavity between said perforated walls passes uniformly between said layers; delivering heat to the food in said cavity at an average rate which is in excess of the rate at which heat will pass into the food, by continuously recirculating heated air through said cavity along said flow path and between said perforated walls; periodically reversing the direction of said air flow along said flow path at predetermined intervals of between 3 and 7 1/2 minutes in duration; maintaining the temperature of said heated air within a predetermined range by cyclically increasing the temperature of said heated air to a maximum temperature selected according to the food being treated and allowing the temperature of the air to drop to a lower temperature on the order of 25*F lower than said maximum temperature to allow heat on the surface of the food to pass inwardly thereof, while the air is continuously supplied to the food and its flow direction is periodically reversed.

Claim 8

The method of reconstituting frozen food to a ready to serve state in an oven having a heating cavity defined between a pair of opposed air supply chambers having perforated walls respectively located on opposite sides of said cavity, said oven including an air plenum chamber outside said cavity and communicating with said air supply chambers thereby to define a recirculating path of travel for air between said chambers through said cavity, said method comprising the steps of placing said food in said cavity in vertically spaced layers whereby air moving laterally through the heating cavity between said perforated walls passes uniformly between said layers; delivering heat to the food in said cavity at an average rate which is in excess of the rate at which heat will pass into the food, by continuously recirculating heated air through said cavity along said flow path and between said perforated walls; periodically reversing the direction of said air flow along said flow path at predetermined intervals of between 3 and 7 1/2 minutes in duration; maintaining the temperature of said heated air within a predetermined range by cyclically increasing the temperature of said heated air to a maximum temperature selected according to the food being treated and allowing the temperature of the air to drop to a lower temperature on the order of 25*F lower than said maximum temperature to allow heat on the surface of the food to pass inwardly thereof, while the air is continuously supplied to the food and its flow direction is periodically reversed.