A beverage supply apparatus includes cooling device 6, milk tank 5 in storage chamber 6a of cooling device 6, and detection device 7 that detects the milk. Detection device 7 has first light guide body 7c to penetrate partition wall 12 having a multilayer box body that partitions storage chamber 6a, second light guide body 7d to penetrate partition wall 12 which faces first light guide body 7c, light projection unit 7a attached to partition-wall outer-surface-side end of first light guide body 7c to project light via the body 7c, and light receiving unit 7b attached to the partition-wall outer-surface-side end of second light guide body 7d to receive light transmitted through milk tank 5 via second light guide body 7d. The detection device detects the presence or absence of or the remaining amount of milk based on a light reception state in the light receiving unit 7b.

A beverage producing apparatus capable of producing a plurality of types of beverages, includes: a display unit configured to display levels of a plurality of types of characteristics concerning a beverage of a type instructed by a user; and a control unit configured to control a producing operation of the beverage of the type selected by the user.

A system and method for storing, preserving and cooking meals using the sous-vide technique. The system and method of the present invention is designed to automatically cook, upon request a meal having various ingredients by immersing bagged food in temperature-controlled liquid. The cooking time may be manually or automatically programmed from downloaded cooking direction associated with the food. The cooking request may be given by a user from the physical apparatus or using a mobile device application.

Described is a container for heat treatment of foodstuff in a liquid in a pot and it is characterised by a manufactured cup (10) with a base and a wall (24) comprising through going holes (70) for the free flow of liquid (fluid) into and out of the inner volume of the cup, and the cup wall (24) comprises at least one first set of marks (A1-A4) and a second set of marks (B1-B4), where the first set of marks (A1-A4) is set up in a lower part of the cup wall to show a predetermined amount of foodstuff in the cup (10) while the second set of marks (B1-B4) is set up above the first set of marks (A1-A4) to show the in-cup level of liquid supplied, where the ratio of the first set of marks (A1-A4) to the second set of marks (B1-B4) in the cup wall (24) is predetermined based on which foodstuff that shall be heat treated. A method for cooking/simmering rice is also disclosed, by the application of the inventive container.

An automatic meal preparation apparatus is provided which has a top section with compartments for raw food and at least one spice/sauce cartridge; a middle section with a cooking vessel; and a bottom section with a heating element. The sections are stacked in series within a housing. The compartments of the top section are disposed above the cooking vessel. The cooking vessel is in communication with the heating element. A controller receives a selection of a recipe from a user, and executes instructions of the recipe to selectively heat the heating element at certain times, and selectively dispense at least a portion of the raw food and a pre-determined measure of spice/sauce. The apparatus stirs and cooks the food and the spice/sauce in the vessel for a specified duration, in accordance with the recipe.

Apparatus, method and storage medium associated with a beverage dispensing apparatus are disclosed herein. In embodiments, a beverage dispensing apparatus may include a dispenser to dispense a beverage into a beverage container placed underneath the dispenser; one or more sensors to sense and collect depth data associated with the beverage container; and a controller coupled to the dispenser and the one or more sensors to control the dispenser's dispensation of the beverage, in accordance with a capacity of the beverage container inferred based at least in part on the collected depth data associated with the beverage container. Other embodiments may be disclosed or claimed.

An accessory for a kitchen appliance, particularly in the form of a measuring cup, for being attached to a cooking vessel, as well as to a correspondingly equipped kitchen appliance, wherein a sensor arrangement is arranged in the accessory and is capable of determining operating states, which are transmitted wirelessly to the kitchen appliance.

A ruler for mixing the ingredients of a selected beverage is slidably received in a vertical slot formed on the inside wall of a pitcher. The beverage ingredients for mixing are listed on each side of the ruler. The list of ingredients for each beverage is color coded to distinguish one beverage from another. The amount and order for mixing the ingredients in the pitcher are identified by parallel spaced measuring lines extending from the bottom to the top of the ruler. The lowermost measuring line on the ruler identifies the first ingredient added to the pitcher. The remaining ingredients are sequentially added to the pitcher to the level of the measuring line identifying each ingredient. The ingredients for mixing are added to the pitcher without requiring the volume of each ingredient to be separately measured and added. With the mixing ruler being releasably attached to the pitcher a set of mixing rulers for a collection of beverage recipes is available for use in mixing beverages in the pitcher.