An apparatus for heating a product includes a storage compartment for a product to be heated and a heater module physically and thermally coupled to the storage compartment. The heater module has a housing that defines a reaction chamber. A rigid barrier is inside the reaction chamber and defines first and second portions thereof. A first reactant is inside the reaction chamber, and a flexible bag (with a second reactant) is in the first portion of the first chemical reactant. The first and second reactants react exothermically upon contact. A piercing element can pierce the flexible bag. After piercing, the a fluid path and one or more fluid channels carry the second reactant to a section of the first portion of the reaction chamber away from where the flexible bag is located.

A package containing nuts and suitable for microwave heating is described herein. The package is configured to heat the nuts and provide an aroma reminiscent of traditional, freshly-roasted nuts. The freshly-roasted nut attributes include an aroma, temperature, texture and taste, which are reproduced with the microwave package. The package preferably, though not necessarily, incorporates one or more susceptors in order to provide additional heating, such as conductive heating, to the nuts. The package also preferably includes a sufficient headspace to allow for the aromas to develop.

A heating device having at least one package surrounding a hygroscopic salt and a heater mix having at least a metal reactant. The heating device may include a source of moisture positioned in the package, the source of moisture initially generating an atmosphere having nearly 100% relative humidity inside the package. The hygroscopic salt is spatially separated from the source of moisture within the at least one package and positioned so as to absorb moisture out of the atmosphere to form an electrolyte, and the hygroscopic salt is further positioned so that the electrolyte generated by the hygroscopic salt is in contact with the heater mix. Rather than have an internal source of moisture, the at least one package may be water vapor permeable to allow ambient moisture from the atmosphere to enter the interior of the package to combine with the hygroscopic salt to generate an electrolyte.

Methods of making printed flexible packaging material for retort applications include steps of digital printing on a flexible substrate material using polymeric ink and curing the printed ink. The printed ink on the material and packaging made therefrom exhibits resistance to blurring and discoloration under retort conditions.

Methods of making printed flexible packaging material for retort applications include steps of digital printing on a flexible substrate material using polymeric ink and curing the printed ink. The printed ink on the material and packaging made therefrom exhibits resistance to blurring and discoloration under retort conditions.

A phase change apparatus has a generally tubular housing with an open upper and lower end and a sidewall having inner and outer surfaces with a chamber defined therein. At least one of the surfaces is convoluted, and a phase change material is disposed in the chamber. The upper end of the generally tubular housing engaged the upper end of an insulated cup. At least one passage is defined between the inner and outer surfaces of the generally tubular housing to allow the flow of liquid when the cup is tilted. The phase change material disposed in the chamber absorbs thermal energy from the liquid and then releases the thermal energy back to the liquid to maintain the temperature of the liquid.

Pouches and assemblies for use in sous vide cooking, and associated systems and methods are disclosed. In several embodiments, a sous vide pouch includes a sealable chamber having a sauce for cooking with a food product. The chamber can have a partition that provides a boundary a boundary between a first and second portion of the chamber to receive two food products during a sous vide cooking process. In some embodiments, the sous vide pouch can further include a vacuum valve for removing air from the chamber.

Microwave cooking packages suitable for use as microwave popcorn packages include at least one panel (e.g., first and second panels) formed of a vertically rigid material. A flexible portion is attached to the panels. The flexible portion may be formed of a polyester film material such as a biaxially-oriented polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film, which may be at least partially transparent. The flexible portion (and panels) defines a bag construction configured to contain a popcorn charge and to be expandable between a collapsed configuration and an expanded configuration when the popcorn charge is subjected to a popping operation. The microwave cooking package may include a vent assembly configured to at least partially open when the bag configuration is in an expanded configuration to vent the bag construction. The vent assembly includes a first portion a second portion of the bag construction that is configured to be folded against the first portion.

A steam-releasing pouch includes two laminated sheets forming an accommodation compartment that accommodates a content, a sealing portion that seals the two sheets to form an opening that opens part of the accommodation compartment, and a steam-releasing sealing portion formed in the sealing portion to open as pressure of the accommodation compartment increases in a state in which the opening is sealed. The steam-releasing sealing portion includes a first sealant layer having at least a first base layer that faces the accommodation compartment and a second base layer laminated with the first base layer and a second sealant layer having at least a third base layer that faces the accommodation compartment and a fourth base layer laminated with the third base layer. The first base layer and the third base layer are joined together.

A steam-releasing pouch includes two laminated sheets forming an accommodation compartment that accommodates a content, a sealing portion that seals the two sheets to form an opening that opens part of the accommodation compartment, and a steam-releasing sealing portion formed in the sealing portion to open as pressure of the accommodation compartment increases in a state in which the opening is sealed. The steam-releasing sealing portion includes a first sealant layer having at least a first base layer that faces the accommodation compartment and a second base layer laminated with the first base layer and a second sealant layer having at least a third base layer that faces the accommodation compartment and a fourth base layer laminated with the third base layer. The first base layer and the third base layer are joined together.