By preheating temperature raising unit of a steam and hot water generating device beforehand to a predetermined temperature, and supplying water in an amount equal to or more than predetermined amount V (per unit time) to the temperature raising unit, a large amount of steam is instantaneously generated. At this time, hot water adhered to the temperature raising unit rises along with the steam, and the steam and hot water flowed through a steam hole, a relay tube, and a steam chamber are caused to eject instantaneously with accumulated steam pressure from a steam and hot water discharging port. The steam and hot water then hit and heat food products accommodated in a cooking chamber. Thus, a heating cooker capable of promptly heating a food product with steam can be provided.

An air fryer system is disclosed which comprises a base having a heating source and an air source located therein, both sources being supplied power for operation by an AC power cord. A cooking chamber is defined within the base and a cooking drawer fits securely within the cooking chamber to substantially seal the chamber against heat loss during use. A handled food basket which detachably secures to the cooking drawer is configured to facilitate even distribution of heated air within the cooking chamber. A digital, touch screen user interface attached to a surface of the base is electronically coupled to a controller for powering on the fryer system and setting cooking conditions. The preferred system also includes infrared heating, time and temperature controls, and an automatic safety shutoff mechanism.

An air fryer system is disclosed which comprises a base having a heating source and an air source located therein, both sources being supplied power for operation by an AC power cord. A cooking chamber is defined within the base and a cooking drawer fits securely within the cooking chamber to substantially seal the chamber against heat loss during use. A handled food basket which detachably secures to the cooking drawer is configured to facilitate even distribution of heated air within the cooking chamber. A digital, touch screen user interface attached to a surface of the base is electronically coupled to a controller for powering on the fryer system and setting cooking conditions. The preferred system also includes infrared heating, time and temperature controls, and an automatic safety shutoff mechanism.

In an embodiment, an automatic food preparation and serving method comprises: releasing, from one or more magazines in a storage apparatus, a plurality of food canisters, each loaded with a different ingredient of a human consumable dish or meal, onto a canister transportation mechanism under program control by one or more digital electronic processors; transporting, using the canister transportation, the plurality of food canisters to a food dispensing mechanism under program control of the one or more processors; retrieving, using a bowl placement apparatus, a bowl from a bowl dispensing apparatus and placing the bowl on a bowl orientation mechanism below the food dispensing mechanism under program control of the one or more processors; dispensing, using the food dispensing mechanism, the ingredient of the human consumable dish or meal from the plurality of food canisters into the bowl under program control of the one or more processors; removing the plurality of food canisters using a canister removing apparatus into a bin using gravity.

In an embodiment, an automatic food preparation and serving method comprises: releasing, from one or more magazines in a storage apparatus, a plurality of food canisters, each loaded with a different ingredient of a human consumable dish or meal, onto a canister transportation mechanism under program control by one or more digital electronic processors; transporting, using the canister transportation, the plurality of food canisters to a food dispensing mechanism under program control of the one or more processors; retrieving, using a bowl placement apparatus, a bowl from a bowl dispensing apparatus and placing the bowl on a bowl orientation mechanism below the food dispensing mechanism under program control of the one or more processors; dispensing, using the food dispensing mechanism, the ingredient of the human consumable dish or meal from the plurality of food canisters into the bowl under program control of the one or more processors; removing the plurality of food canisters using a canister removing apparatus into a bin using gravity.

A system and method are provided and include an equipment controller for operating a piece of kitchen equipment. The equipment controller has a memory storing an initial menu of food items each having associated operating parameters for operating the kitchen equipment when preparing the associated food item. The system also includes a supervisory controller in communication with the equipment controller and in communication with a remote monitor that receives an updated menu for the kitchen equipment from a remote terminal. The updated menu includes at least one of a food item modification and an operating parameter modification. The supervisory controller receives the updated menu from the remote monitor and communicates the updated menu to the equipment controller for installation by the equipment controller.

A system and method are provided and include an equipment controller for operating a piece of kitchen equipment. The equipment controller has a memory storing an initial menu of food items each having associated operating parameters for operating the kitchen equipment when preparing the associated food item. The system also includes a supervisory controller in communication with the equipment controller and in communication with a remote monitor that receives an updated menu for the kitchen equipment from a remote terminal. The updated menu includes at least one of a food item modification and an operating parameter modification. The supervisory controller receives the updated menu from the remote monitor and communicates the updated menu to the equipment controller for installation by the equipment controller.

Disclosed is a method for evaluating cooking quality that includes: in response to receiving evaluation information of a food sent by a terminal, retrieving an assessment result corresponding to the food, the assessment result being an assessment result of the cooking quality of a cooking appliance; and determining an evaluation result of the cooking quality of the cooking appliance based on the assessment result, the evaluation information, and a preset evaluation rule. Also disclosed is a device for evaluating cooking quality. With this disclosure, both the assessment result and the evaluation information are weighted in computing the evaluation result of the cooking quality of the cooking appliance. Such an evaluation result not only reflects users' subjective evaluation of the cooking quality, but it also reflects an objective and tenable evaluation of the cooking quality, making the evaluation of the cooking quality more reasonable.

Disclosed is a method for evaluating cooking quality that includes: in response to receiving evaluation information of a food sent by a terminal, retrieving an assessment result corresponding to the food, the assessment result being an assessment result of the cooking quality of a cooking appliance; and determining an evaluation result of the cooking quality of the cooking appliance based on the assessment result, the evaluation information, and a preset evaluation rule. Also disclosed is a device for evaluating cooking quality. With this disclosure, both the assessment result and the evaluation information are weighted in computing the evaluation result of the cooking quality of the cooking appliance. Such an evaluation result not only reflects users' subjective evaluation of the cooking quality, but it also reflects an objective and tenable evaluation of the cooking quality, making the evaluation of the cooking quality more reasonable.

A method for controlling a food processor is disclosed. During a heating process of the food processor, a temperature in a cup of the food processor is obtained at a predefined time interval. Whenever the obtained temperature in the cup reaches a current preset temperature threshold, the food processor starts a stirring operation for a first preset time period and stops after that, until the obtained temperature in the cup is greater than an upper limit of the preset temperature threshold. The preset temperature threshold is adjusted and defined as the current preset temperature threshold every time before the food processor starts the stirring operation. A heating control device for controlling the food processor is further disclosed, with the heating control method thereof to solve a problem of a low accuracy in heating control that is caused by an unbalanced temperature in the cup of the food processor during the heating process.