A popcorn popper having a heat source transferring heat to a heating surface and also having a reflective surface for focusing the heat radiated by the heat source toward the heating surface. The popcorn popper can include a mechanical stirrer on the heating surface for shifting the kernels during heating and evenly distributing the kernels across the heating surface. The popcorn popper can have a cover with an integrated reservoir for holding toppings for the popcorn, wherein the reservoir is adapted to drain the topping through the cover without fouling the cover air vents and evenly distribute the topping onto the kernels.

A cooking apparatus includes a cooking container, a heater, a driving unit, and a heat insulating member. The cooking container is configured to store food. The heater is configured to heat the cooking container. The driving unit includes a power generator configured to generate power for rotating the cooking container and a driving shaft extending in one direction and rotated by the power generator. The heat insulating member is provided between the cooking container and the power generator to prevent heat generated by the heater from being transferred to the power generator.

A heating cooker with a stirring function includes a stirring body configured to stir cooking materials that include liquid and a solid and are housed in a cooking container. The stirring body includes a housing rotatably mounted to a center of a bottom surface of the cooking container, and a lower blade that extends from an outer peripheral surface of the housing toward an inner peripheral surface of the cooking container and is configured to push at least one of the cooking materials that is positioned near the bottom surface of the cooking container toward the inner peripheral surface of the cooking container. The stirring body further includes an upper blade that extends from the outer peripheral surface of the housing toward the inner peripheral surface of the cooking container and is configured to cause at least one of the cooking materials that is near a liquid surface to sink toward the bottom surface of the cooking container.

Disclosed is a food preparation apparatus (100) comprising a food preparation compartment (101); a dielectric sensor (120) in said food preparation compartment, a data storage device (130) storing food seasoning data as a function of a dielectric constant of the food product, said food seasoning data relating to a plurality of condiments to be added to the food product; and a processor arrangement (110) coupled to said dielectric sensor. The processor arrangement is adapted to determine a dielectric property of a food product in the food preparation compartment from sensor data provided by said dielectric sensor; retrieve food seasoning data for the food product corresponding to the determined dielectric property from the data storage device; and, for each condiment of said plurality generate a seasoning instruction signal for adding an amount of said condiment of said plurality to the food product based on the retrieved food seasoning data until all condiments of said plurality have been added to the food product. A method of automatically generating seasoning instructions for adding a plurality of condiments to a food product during preparation of the food product is also disclosed.

A stirring body of the present invention includes housing rotatably mounted to a center of a bottom surface of a cooking container, and blade that extends from an outer peripheral surface of housing toward an inner peripheral surface of the cooking container and curves convexly toward a downstream side of a rotating direction in a plan view. Blade has front edge positioned on the downstream side in the rotating direction, and rear edge positioned on an upstream side in the rotating direction relative to front edge. A leading end portion of blade curves along the inner peripheral surface of the cooking container in the plan view and slopes upward toward the upstream side in the rotating direction. Front edge is positioned below rear edge near housing and is positioned above rear edge near leading end portion.

An automatic cooking machine includes: an upper portion provided with a connection port thereon; a control interface arranged to operably generate control commands based on a user's manipulations to control operation of the automatic cooking machine; a base; a heater arranged on the base; a supporting portion coupled between the upper portion and the base, and arranged to support the upper portion; a hopper for receiving materials and having a hollow feeding tube, wherein the feeding tube is detachably inserted into the connection port; a cooking pot capable of being heated on the heater; and a strainer capable of being placed in the cooking pot and receiving materials. The strainer is provided with holders and the side walls and the bottom of the strainer are provided with multiple filter pores. When the strainer is placed in the cooking pot, the holders expose outside the cooking pot.

A food processor is provided. The food processor comprises a base, a container removably mountable on the base for receiving food, a rotatable mixing member disposed within the container for processing the food, an induction coil enclosing at least a portion of the container, and an electrically conducting member removably receivable within the container in a substantially parallel relationship with a surface defined by at least a portion of the induction coil.

A cooking device includes a cooking chamber configured to provide a space in which food is cooked; a tray located at a bottom surface of the cooking chamber, and connected to a drive member generating rotational force; and an agitating cooking assembly supported by the tray and rotatable with the tray. The agitating cooking assembly, having an improved structure configured to cook food while simultaneously agitating the food, includes: a cooking container configured to store food therein; an agitating member configured to agitate the food while simultaneously relatively rotating in the cooking container with respect to the cooking container; and a stopper located at a rotation path of the agitating member in a manner that the agitating member relatively rotates with respect to the cooking container.

An automated, computer-controlled, cooking system for use with user selectable ones of a plurality of different pre-sealed computerized cooking containers containing dry contents (PSCCCCDC) useful in preparing corresponding different food products, the system including a microwave heater, a PSCCCCDC support for supporting a user-selected one of the plurality of different PSCCCCDCs during cooking, a computer-controlled liquid supply subsystem for supplying liquid to the user selected one of the plurality of different PSCCCCDCs, a computer-controlled stirrer subsystem for producing stirring of the dry contents of the PSCCCCDC together with the liquid and a computer controller operative to control operation of at least the computer-controlled liquid supply subsystem, the computer-controlled stirrer subsystem and the microwave heater in a predetermined sequence corresponding to and specifically adapted for cooking the contents of the user-selected one of the plurality of different PSCCCCDCs.

Provided is a food cooking appliance comprising: a bowl having a side wall; and a blade, the bowl and blade being designed to have a relative rotary movement about an axis of rotation. The blade includes a lifting means shaped so as to lift the food with which it comes into contact, and a means for pushing the food toward the lifting means. The appliance is characterized in that: the aforementioned side wall includes a widened section, the lifting means extends directly vertically above the widened section, and the respective projections of the lifting means and of the widened section overlap in a single plane parallel to the axis of rotation. The invention can be used in the field of cooking appliances.