A cooking system that utilizes vibration to improve the convenience of preparing food and the quality of the finished product. The system uses a vibrating device coupled to a cooking vessel with a pad and/or isolation blocks disposed between the vibrator and the vessel. The cooking system can be adapted to prepare specific foods in specific quantities, such as popcorn in pre-packaged containers.

A cooking system including a housing having a hollow interior, a heating element associated with said housing, a support body for supporting the food within said hollow interior such that the food is positionable on a support surface of said support body, and a guard located between at least a portion of the support surface and said heating element. The guard is permissive of convective airflow between said hollow interior and said heating element, and is generally impermeable to projectile matter generated during a cooking operation.

A cooking appliance includes a base, a cover body pivotally mounted at the base, a pivot spring provided at a pivot connection member between the base and the cover body, and an attraction assembly including a first attraction member provided at the base and a second attraction member provided at the cover body. The first attraction member and the second attraction member are configured to attract each other to lock the cover body to the base.

A cooking system that utilizes vibration to improve the convenience of preparing food and the quality of the finished product. The system uses a vibrating device coupled to a cooking vessel with a pad and/or isolation blocks disposed between the vibrator and the vessel. The cooking system can be adapted to prepare specific foods in specific quantities, such as popcorn in pre-packaged containers.

A method of cooking a food item in a cooking appliance having a cooking chamber and a user interface with a selector that allows a user to set a target degree of browning includes imaging, by an imaging device for capturing a real-time image, the food item inside the cooking chamber. A computing device in communication with the imaging device, and having a software module that receives the captured image, receives the captured real-time image from the imaging device.

A method includes inserting a food item into an inner volume of a thermal container. A liquid circulating through a liquid jacket at least partially surrounding and fluidically isolated from the inner volume of the thermal container is cooled such that thermal energy from the food item is transferred to the cooled liquid. After the cooling, thermal energy from a first heating element is transferred to the liquid circulating through the liquid jacket such that thermal energy from the heated liquid is transferred to the food item. Thermal energy from a second heating element is transferred to the food item in response to a criterion being satisfied. The second heating element is different from the first heating element and is disposed in the inner volume of the thermal container.

A cooking rack system for placement in a container or kitchen sink, the cooking rack including spaced hollow members with openings therealong and spaced support members extending between the spaced hollow members along the lengths of the hollow members.

A cooking accessory receivable within a cooking chamber of an oven appliance includes a base plate to receive a food item thereon, an enclosing lid disposed over the base plate, the enclosing lid defining a main inlet and an access opening, the main inlet being defined along the vertical direction and the access opening being defined along the transverse direction, and a guide plate attached to an interior surface of the enclosing lid above the base plate, wherein the base plate and the enclosing lid form a high temperature chamber for the food item, the high temperature chamber being in fluid communication with the cooking chamber.

An integrated multifunctional vacuum cooking machine includes a cooking machine body, a heat conducting container, a vacuum pump set, a heating assembly, a temperature measuring assembly, and a control system. The cooking machine body includes a base and a top cover, a chamber recessed downward is formed in a top surface of the base, and the top cover is configured to open and close the chamber. The heat conducting container is disposed in the chamber, and defines a vacuum cavity with the top cover when the top cover closes the chamber. The vacuum pump set is communicated with the vacuum cavity. The heating assembly is configured to heat the vacuum cavity. The temperature measuring assembly is configured to measure a temperature of food materials. The control system is electrically connected to the vacuum pump set, the heating assembly, and the temperature measuring assembly.

A cooking apparatus may include a housing having an open top surface and having a cooking space formed therein; a door provided on a top of the housing to open and close the cooking space; a container inserted into the housing, the container having an open top surface to receive food to be cooked therein; and a heating unit provided in the housing and contacting a bottom surface of the container to heat the container. The heating unit may include a heating unit body defining a support surface that supports the container; a heater provided in the heating unit body; and a rib that extends downward from the heating unit body to prevent water or foreign material from entering between the heating unit and a bottom of the housing.