Cooker/baker utensil for microwave oven

Claim 1

A utensil adapted for baking individual food bodies in a microwave oven, comprising: a metallic pan having a bottom and highly thermoconductive partitions separating said food bodies into respective compartments; a layer comprising ferrite bonded to the underside of said bottom of said pan, said layer absorbing microwave energy to provide heat for conducting through said bottom and said partitions to enter the sides of said food bodies; a microwave transparent base for supporting said pan in an elevated position in said oven, said base contacting a peripheral region of said pan spaced from said layer; a metallic cover supported by said base, said cover and said pan being positioned in substantially fixed horizontal alignment with respect to each other wherein a gap is defined between substantially parallel surfaces, said surfaces being the outer perimeter of said pan and a region of the inner surface of said cover; and said cover having at least one aperture for venting steam from the interior defined by the combination of said pan and said cover.

Claim 7

The method of baking individual food bodies in a microwave oven, comprising the steps of: positioning said food bodies in respective individual compartments formed in a metallic pan by substantially radial highly thermoconductive interior partitions, said pan having a ferrite layer bonded to at least a portion of the underside surface; supporting said pan on a microwave transparent base wherein said base contacts a peripheral region of said pan spaced from said layer, said pan having a substantially fixed horizontal alignment with said base; positioning a metallic cover over said pan, said cover being supported by said base wherein said cover is in a substantially fixed horizontal alignment with said base and said pan wherein a gap is defined between a peripheral region of said pan and the inner surface of said cover; and exposing said utensil to microwave energy wherein heat is generated in said layer by microwave energy absorption, said heat conducting through said pan and said partitions to said food bodies for cooking, said pan and said cover shielding said food bodies from said microwave energy.

Claim 8

The method of baking individual food bodies in a microwave oven, comprising the steps of: positioning said food bodies in respective individual compartments formed in a metallic pan by substantially radial highly thermoconductive interior partitions, said pan having a ferrite layer bonded to at least a portion of the underside surface; supporting said pan on a microwave transparent base wherein said base contacts a peripheral region of said pan spaced from said layer, said pan having a substantially fixed horizontal alignment with said base; positioning a metallic cover over said pan, said cover being supported by said base wherein said cover is in a substantially fixed horizontal alignment with said base and said pan wherein a gap is defined between a peripheral region of said pan and the inner surface of said cover; and exposing said utensil to microwave energy wherein heat is generated in said layer by microwave energy absorption, said heat conducting through said pan and said partitions to said food bodies for cooking, said pan and said cover shielding said food bodies from said microwave energy.