A heating device for a food item in a food container includes the food container that contains the food items, a cooking container that contains the food container, and a steam generation device that supplies steam into the cooking container. The food container has an opening hole that communicates with an internal space and an external space, and at least one of a food surrounding space provided between an inner wall of the food container and the food items, and between the food items. The food surrounding space and the external space are communicated with each other through the opening hole, and steam is supplied into the cooking container to heat the food items by the steam. Thereby, the heating device for a food item in a food container that can subject the food item in the cooking container to steam heating can be provided.

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.

Provided are systems and methods for producing, packaging and dispensing cooked chunky food that may be a low acid, high water activity food having high organoleptic (e.g., flavor, texture, aroma, color, etc.), and nutritive (vitamins, nutrients, etc.) quality, and an extended refrigerated shelf-life relative to prior art refrigerated prepared foods. Example methods combine hot-filling (e.g., into microwavable self-venting hand-held pouches) immediately after cooking using low-shear transfer at suitable transfer temperature and rate through a fill/dispensing portion sized to provide for substantially unimpeded flow without textural degradation of the chunky food, followed by immediate post-fill chilling and storage under refrigerated and/or frozen conditions. Also provided are chunky foods produced by the methods, and packaging containers (e.g., microwavable self-venting hand-held pouches) suitable for easy, mess-free directed dispensing of the packaged chunky food composition from the pouch by hand, including by children, or adults.

A package for storing or preparing food or other products includes a flexible pouch within which the product can be sealed, and a box or other container sized to hold the pouch. To seal the product in the pouch, the pouch includes a peelable seal that seals a portion of a first thermoplastic film to a portion of a second thermoplastic film, such films optionally forming walls of the pouch. The package, including the container and the pouch, is configured for beating the sealed product m a microwave oven, in a heated state, pressure inside the pouch increases to expand the pouch, and the container constrains or limits expansion of the pouch in some places but not at an expansion region of the container. A portion of the peelable seal is proximate such region, producing a separation in such peelable sea! portion such that the pouch self-vents through the separation.

Carbon dioxide, such as may be used for a carbonated beverage, is produced by microwave thermal decomposition of a starting material. An apparatus for the process includes a microwave generator, a microwave chamber, a capsule received in the chamber containing starting material(s) and one or more channel(s) for recovering CO.sub.2 generated in the process.

A packaged food product and methods of making and using it. In some embodiments. The packaged food product may comprise a cup containing multiple ingredients in sealed pouches suitable for use in making an omelet or other egg-based entres, with the cup being suitable for microwave cooking of an egg-based entre. The ingredients may include vegetable components that offer organoleptic properties similar to those of fresh vegetables after an extended period of time. Ideally, time required for processing, shipment, storage, etc., which may be, e.g., several weeks, may pass without unacceptable degradation of taste, texture, mouth feel, flavor, aroma, color, nutritional content or other important qualities. In some embodiments, the ingredients may also include additional components, such as, for example, one or more meats, and/or one or more varieties of cheese.

Carbon dioxide, such as may be used for a carbonated beverage, is produced by microwave thermal decomposition of a starting material. An apparatus for the process includes a microwave generator, a microwave chamber, a capsule received in the chamber containing starting material(s) and one or more channel(s) for recovering CO.sub.2 generated in the process.

A meal kit for microwave cooking of a multi-component food product is provided that includes at least two sealed packages of ingredients for the multi-component food product. One of the sealed packages of ingredients contains a liquid component of the multi-component food product. The meal kit also includes a cooking tray formed of a microwave-safe material having a bottom wall with an upstanding sidewall extending around the periphery thereof to define an interior of the cooking tray. Outer packaging is provided to contain the sealed packages of ingredients and the cooking tray.

An ovenable cooking apparatus for facilitating the cooking of food components while maintaining the separateness thereof may include a first container for holding a first food component, and a second container for holding a second food component. The separation of the first food component from the second food component maintains the surface area for the first and second food components to facilitate heating of the first and second food components. The first food component may have a liquid based content for producing steam when heated, and one or both of the first container and the second container may define a passage for providing airflow and steam flow for contacting the second container and/or the second foodstuff and heating or steaming the second food component. Additionally, the second container may be steam impermeable for cooking bread and the like.

A packaging bag including a polyester-based multilayer film. The multilayer film includes at least: an innermost layer formed of a biaxially stretched polyethylene terephthalate film; a layer formed of polybutylene terephthalate; and/or a layer formed of a blend of polyethylene terephthalate and polybutylene terephthalate. The biaxially stretched polyethylene terephthalate film has a heat sealing portion that is amorphized or low-crystallized by laser light irradiation. The packaging bag is formed by allowing the innermost layers of the polyester-based multilayer film to be opposed to and superimposed on each other, and heat sealing the heat sealing portions.