Systems and methods for shaping food items are provided. The systems and methods can shape the food items into taco shapes. A system can include a basket, a tool, and an insert. The basket includes troughs and a handle. The tool includes guides that receive patties made of, for example, potatoes, meat, and/or other food items. The insert includes wedges sized and shaped to fit through the guides and into the troughs of the basket. The tool is assembled with the basket in use, and frozen patties are placed in the guides. The insert is assembled with the tool such that the wedges contact the patties. The assembly is placed in hot oil to cook the patties. As the patties cook and soften, the insert moves downward relative to the tool and basket, and the wedges urge the patties into the troughs and into a taco shape.

A removable cookware handle is disclosed for connection to a piece of cookware. The removable cookware handle can attach to an attachment member that is secured to the cookware piece. To facilitate locking and unlocking of the attachment member to the removable cookware handle, a plurality of button mechanism are present on the housing of the removable cookware handle. A first button mechanism of the plurality of button mechanisms is slidable in a longitudinal direction while the second button mechanism is depressible in a lateral direction. When unlocking the removable cookware handle from the attachment member, a user may depress the second button and manipulate the first button backward to allow the attachment member to be released from a locking cavity within the housing.

A cooking container includes a bowl that includes a base, a side wall and an energy recovery device intended to engage with an induction heating system, the energy recovery device including a rigid holder that is separate from the bowl, is in the shape of a loop and is arranged on the base, and at least one electrically insulated conductive element attached to the holder by deposition, in particular by screen printing, pad printing, thermal spraying, decalcomania or laser sintering. The holder includes an open loop including two free ends and two extensions that extend radially and without touching one another, starting at the two free ends, from the base towards the side wall, and the conductive element is attached to the open loop and to the two extensions by deposition.

The present application discloses an automated cooking system comprising: a cooking apparatus comprising a cooking container configured to hold food or food ingredients and a stirring motion mechanism configured to produce a motion in the cooking container as to stir, mix or distribute the food or food ingredients held in the cooking container; a plurality of ingredient containers each configured to contain food ingredients; an dispensing apparatus configured to turn an ingredient container to dispense the food ingredients from an ingredient container into the cooking container; a transfer apparatus configured to move an ingredient container; a plurality of food containers each configured to hold a cooked food; a cooking container unloading mechanism configured to turn the cooking container to dispense cooked food from the cooking container to a food container which is positioned near to the cooking container; a receiving apparatus configured to hold a plurality of food containers; a transfer apparatus configured to grip and move a food container; a cyclic transport apparatus configured to move a plurality of food containers which are placed on container holders in the cyclic transport apparatus; a lid apparatus configured to limit the food or food ingredient held by the cooking container from jumping out of the cooking container, wherein the lid apparatus may also be configured to limit heat leakage during a cooking using a heater; and, a cleaning apparatus configured to wash or otherwise clean the cooking container after a cooked food is produced.

Moreover, a cooking system may comprise a computer system with algorithms configured to control these mechanisms and apparatuses.

The present invention relates to an overboil protection device removably couplable to a cooking utensil. The overboil protection device includes blower fan(s) configured to provide forced air to food items placed on a cooking surface of the cooking utensil, an electrical power source providing electric power to the blower fan(s), a clip element or an attachment element that couples the overboil protection device to the cooking handle of the cooking utensil, a mount element positioned between the blower fan(s) and the clip element. The overboiling protection device prevents food item from being overboiled and reaching overspill stage. The overboiling protection device does not make any physical contact with the food item placed in the cooking utensil.

An automatic seasoning adding apparatus applicable in a fully automated cooking machine comprises a machine frame (100), a wok lid (200), a hollow shaft (31), a wok lid controlling assembly (3), and a seasoning pumping assembly (40). The wok lid is provided with an opening to be fixedly connected to and in communication with the hollow shaft. The wok lid controlling assembly is provided on the machine frame and is slidingly engaged with the hollow shaft to control the wok lid to cover/uncover a wok (20). The seasoning pumping assembly comprises a plurality of peristaltic pumps (41). All the peristaltic pumps are connected to a master control device (7) to receive a command issued by the master control device on the basis of a preset recipe program, and pump, on the basis of the command, an appropriate amount of the liquid seasoning.

A cooking splatter guard is provided that includes a surface extending up from a top edge of a cooking implement at an angle. The angle formed between a plane defined by a top edge of the cooking implement and the surface is greater than 90 degrees. The surface forms a friction fit with the top edge of the cooking implement. A lip of the cooking implement formed by the top edge the cooking implement is a same size or slightly smaller than a bottom edge of the cooking splatter guard.

A cooking device includes a base, a housing, partition walls, a lid, a control module, an exhaust module, a connecting electrode and a heating module. The exhaust module includes an air-filled element, an air-extraction element, an inlet passage and an exhaust passage. The air-extraction element is used to exhaust fog or oil fume generated in the plurality of inner pots. The connecting electrode is arranged in a middle position of the base. The heating module includes: bottom heating units disposed different locations inside a storage compartment of the housing respectively and connected with the processor individually; second heating units arranged on the partition walls and connected with the connecting electrode by wires inside the partition walls; and third heating units arranged on the inner wall of the housing.

A cooking device includes a base, a housing, a lid, a control module, a heating module and an exhaust module. The heating module includes bottom heating units disposed at different locations inside a storage compartment of the housing. The exhaust module includes an air-filled element, an air-extraction element, an inlet passage, and an exhaust passage used to exhaust fog or oil flume generated in an inner pot(s). An inner surface of the lid is provided with multiple first sealing units, a second sealing unit and a third sealing unit. The third sealing unit is arranged corresponding to an opening of the storage compartment. The second sealing unit is connected with the third sealing unit to divide a region surrounded by the third sealing unit into sub-regions with different sizes. The first sealing units are arranged corresponding to the bottom heating units and in the sub-regions with different amounts.

Provided is an appliance for cooking and/or reheating food, which includes: a housing having a cooking vessel arranged such as to receive the food to be cooked and/or reheated, and a circuit for heating by ventilation including an air duct arranged such as to channel and direct a flow of hot air onto the food to be cooked and/or reheated, wherein the air duct has at least one cross-section in which a geometric size of the channeled air flow is limited such as to reduce a turbulence of the air flow flowing downstream from said at least one section of the air duct.