It is important to have a safe cooking environment when cooking outdoors and this is particularly important when heating cooking oil on an uneven ground surface. This device will support a cooking pot on a platform that is elevated above the ground and allow the oil to be heated while also insuring that the pot remain level and prevent the structure from tipping. In the event that the structure tips or allows any of the oil to splash outside the container personal injury may occur and this device prevent that occurrence.

A system for measuring the state of degradation of cooking oil in a deep fryer is provided. The system includes a filter system with a filter vat, a filter media, and a filter pump. A sensor is disposed with respect to the vat or the piping associated with the filter system, the sensor being adapted to measure an electrical property that is indicative of total polar materials of said cooking oil.

An apparatus for the automated preparation of cooked food products has a food container for holding the food product during preparation, a dispensing station. for controllably dispensing the food product to the food container, a cooking device designed for at least partially accommodating the food container and for heating the food product held by the container; a dumping station, to which the cooked food product is dropped from the food container and a conveyor mechanism for controllably conveying the food container between the dispensing station, the cooking device, and the dumping station.

The invention relates to a self-cleaning deadweight holder configured to hold a deadweight within a cooking apparatus. In some embodiments, the holder may comprise a top plate, an exhaust cylinder, a bottom plate, a plurality of support plates, and a plurality of guide plates. The top plate may include a through hole disposed at substantially a center of the top plate and configured to allow at least one of liquid and steam to pass therethrough. An outer diameter of the bottom plate may be less than an outer diameter of the top plate and an outer diameter of each of the plurality of guide plates, and the plurality of guide plates may be configured to permit movement of the deadweight therethrough. In some embodiments, the cooking apparatus may comprise a cooking chamber, a steam box, a vent tube, an exhaust tube, a drain tube, and a pressure relief tube.

Systems, apparatus, and methods for heating food. In one embodiment, an oven includes a heating compartment sized for receiving food to be heated. A heater system of the oven heats gas for heating the food. A blower system of the oven blows heated gas into the heating compartment. A gas flow inlet and a gas flow exhaust are arranged for providing a flow of heated gas in the heating compartment. In one embodiment, a filter is used for filtering gas from the heating compartment.

Systems, methods and apparatuses for making fryers and deep-fryers safer and/or more energy efficient are disclosed. Different embodiments generally comprise a cover, having a number of flaps, doors or plates that open upwardly or downwardly. Flaps/doors may be solid, perforated or the like. The cover can be maintained in a suitably rigid closed locked position, for example, by a locking mechanism, preventing the basket(s), body parts, or other items from unintentionally being placed in the fryer. In such embodiments, the cover also prevents the loss of heat from the oil. In various embodiments, the cover and/or the door may be maintained in a closed position, though not necessarily locked, preventing heat loss from the oil. In such embodiments, the cover may be vented. In various embodiments, the cover and/or the door may include an attachable or an integrated fire extinguishing mechanism.

Method of collecting used cooking oil includes extracting used cooking oil from at least one deep fryer to a container, storing and separating said used cooking oil within the container which is located within the cooking area. The oil from the deep fat fryer is periodically pumped to the container and allowed to settle. The unwanted sludge is then tapped off into a portable container and the wanted oil is pumped to an exterior transportation container. The container is triangular shaped with rear walls converging into a corner of the cooking area and a diagonal front face with side flanges and a bottom flap such that it is located in the corner of an interior wall of a building and contains the pipes and plumbing.

The present invention is related to a method for controlling a fryer (1) comprising a vat (3), a logic unit (9) and a manual validation interface (70, 72), the method comprising the following steps: S.1) carrying out a learning frying run, in its turn 1 0 comprising the following steps: S.1.1) placing a first batch of food to be fried in a cooking medium contained in the vat (3), the food to be fried being of a predetermined kind; S.1.2) when the food to be fried reaches a desired frying condition, communicating to the logic unit (9) through the manual validation interface (70, 72) that the food has reached said desired frying condition; S.2) carrying out a successive frying run comprising the following steps: S.2.1) placing a second batch of food to be fried in the cooking medium contained in the vat (3), the food of the second batch being substantially of the same kind as of the food of the first batch; S.2.2) frying the second batch of food for a frying time determined by the logic unit (9) depending on the desired frying condition signalled through the manual validation interface (70, 72) during the learning frying run. The invention is also related to a fryer (1) programmed or however arranged for carrying out the method and comprising a vat (3), a logic unit (9) and a manual validation interface (70, 72), and to a computer program arranged for enabling the fryer (1) to carry out the method

A system for measuring the state of degradation of cooking oil or fat includes at least one fryer pot. A conduit is fluidly connected to the fryer pot for transporting cooking oil from the fryer pot and returning the cooking oil back to the fryer pot. A pump is provided for re-circulating cooking oil to and from the fryer pot. A sensor is disposed in fluid communication with the conduit and measures an electrical property of the cooking oil as the cooking oil flows past the sensor and is returned to the at least one fryer pot.

Methods for managing basket workflow at an automated cooking system. One method includes: illuminating a visual indicator to communicate that a fryer vat is available; identifying, by a camera and an image processor, a food product in the basket; initiating, by a fryer controller, the correct cooking cycle for the identified food product; and illuminating the visual indicator to communicate that the food product in the basket is fully cooked. Another method for managing basket workflow at an automated cooking system includes: detecting, by the camera and the one image processor, that a maintenance operation is required in the fryer vat; illuminating the visual indicator to communicate that the fryer vat is unavailable to be used due to the maintenance operation; and initiating, by the fryer controller, the maintenance operation. An automated cooking system and a method of cooking food products with an automated cooking system are also provided.