Food Holding Device, Method of Making, and Method of Storing Cooked Food

Abstract

A food holding device includes a holding bin and an optional heating component. The holding bin has a specified average surface roughness Ra on at least a portion of the surface intended to be contacted with food during storage of the food.

1 . A method of storing cooked food in a food holding bin, comprising:
 placing cooked food in a food holding bin having a food-contacting surface, at least a portion of the food-contacting surface having an average surface roughness Ra in the range of from about 0.5 μm to about 3 μm;   directing radiant energy onto the food while in the holding bin and onto at least a portion of the surface of the food holding bin having the average surface roughness Ra.   
     
     
         2 . The method of storing cooked food of  claim 1 , wherein the average surface roughness Ra is in the range of from about 0.75 μm to about 2 μm. 
     
     
         3 . The method of storing cooked food of  claim 2 , wherein the average surface roughness Ra is in the range of from about 0.75 μm to about 1.75 μm. 
     
     
         4 . A method of making a food holding device comprising:
 providing a sheet of material suitable for a holding bin, at least a portion of the sheet of material having an average surface roughness Ra in the range of from about 0.5 μm to about 3 μm;   forming at least a portion of a food holding bin from the sheet of material having a food-contacting surface wherein at least a portion of the food-contacting surface has the average surface roughness Ra.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4  further comprising bead blasting the sheet of material to provide the average surface roughness Ra. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the average surface roughness Ra is in the range of from about 0.75 μm to about 2 μm. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the bead blasting comprises bead blasting with glass beads. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the average surface roughness Ra is up to a maximum of about 1.2 μm. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1  wherein at least a portion of the food-contacting surface comprises a bottom surface of the food holding bin. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the bottom surface comprises a plurality of openings, the method further comprising separating the placed food from oil by allowing the oil to drip through the openings. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 9  wherein the bottom surface has an average surface roughness Ra between the perforations of between approximately 0.75 μm and approximately 2 μm. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 9  further comprising heating the bottom surface to an average temperature in the range of from about 165° F. to about 175° F. by the radiant energy. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising forming a thin film of cooking oil on the surface having the roughness. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1  wherein placing cooked food in the food holding bin comprises placing French fries or chicken nuggets in the food holding bin. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 4  wherein the material of the food holding bin is stainless steel. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 5  wherein the bead blasting comprises bead blasting with glass beads having an average grit size of 6 to 80. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein all of the food-contacting surface of the holding bin has an average surface roughness Ra in the range of from about 0.5 μm to about 3 μm. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein at least substantially all of the food-contacting surface of the holding bin has an average surface roughness Ra in the range of from about 0.5 μm to about 3 μm. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the food is selected from the group consisting of French fries, chicken nuggets, hash browns, onion rings, fried mushrooms, hamburgers, chicken and mixtures thereof. 
     
     
         20 . A method of storing cooked French fries comprising:
 placing cooked French fries in a food holding bin having a food-contacting surface, at least a portion of the food-contacting surface having an average surface roughness Ra in the range of from about 0.5 μm to about 3 μm;   directing radiant energy onto the cooked French fries while in the holding bin and onto at least a portion of the surface of the food holding bin having the average surface roughness Ra.