Food Tray and Method

Abstract

A food tray adapted for holding previously cooked food items is provided. The food tray has one or more sidewall structure openings to allow venting of the interior volume of the tray through the tray sidewall structure openings. The food tray allows food items contained in the volume of the food tray to be stored over an extended period of time at an elevated temperature without significant deleterious effects to the appearance, taste and texture of the food. The food tray may also include a slide member for adjusting the amount of venting through the sidewall structure openings. Also provided is a method of storing food within a food tray to be contained in a heated compartment.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An apparatus for holding previously cooked food portions at an elevated temperature, comprising:
 at least one heated doorless compartment for holding the food portions, said compartment having an upper compartment surface;   a cabinet for housing said at least one compartment therein, said cabinet including at least one opening for inserting and removing the previously cooked food portions into and out of said compartment;   at least one tray having an interior volume for containing the cooked food portions, said tray being placeable into said compartment; said tray having a bottom, a top edge defining an open top and a sidewall structure extending upwardly from the bottom between the bottom and the top edge, the bottom and sidewall structure defining the interior volume for containing the cooked food portions;   at least one sidewall opening in the sidewall structure of the tray for providing an air passageway therethrough for venting the interior volume of said tray, and a movable member for adjusting the size of said at least one sidewall opening; and   a support for supporting said tray in said compartment so that the bottom of said tray is substantially horizontal and said top edge of said tray is spaced from the upper compartment surface a distance of from about 0 to about 0.09 inches.   
     
     
         2 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the sidewall openings have a total cross-sectional area and the tray has a volume, the ratio of the total cross-sectional area of the sidewall openings in square inches to the interior volume of the tray in cubic inches is in the range of about 1:2100 to about 1:13 and the sidewall structure of the tray includes a first end wall and a second end wall opposite the first end wall, the movable member for adjusting being a slideable member, and the slideable member having a first end proximate to the first end wall to allow the slideable member to be accessed from adjacent the first end wall to adjust the size of the air passageway. 
     
     
         3 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the tray has an amount of food contained therein and the sidewall openings have a total cross-sectional area and the tray has food portions contained therein having a weight, the ratio of the total cross-sectional area of the sidewall openings in square inches to the weight of the food portions contained in the interior volume of the tray is in the range of from about 1:30 to about 1:0.2. 
     
     
         4 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the sidewall structure of the tray comprises two opposed sidewalls and two opposed end walls that define with the bottom a generally rectangular tray, each of two opposed sidewalls having at least one of said sidewall openings, wherein movement of the movable member simultaneously adjusts the size of the sidewall openings in both of the sidewalls. 
     
     
         5 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the compartment has a first opening and a second opening opposite the first opening, the tray being insertable and removable from the first opening of the compartment and the tray being insertable and removable from the second opening of the compartment. 
     
     
         6 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the sidewall structure of the tray includes a first end wall and a second end wall opposite the first end wall, the movable member for adjusting being a slideable member, the slideable member having a first end proximate to the first end wall to allow the slideable member to be accessed from adjacent the first end wall to adjust the size of the air passageway, and the slideable member having a second end proximate to the second end wall to allow the slideable member to be accessed from adjacent the second end wall to adjust the size of the air passageway. 
     
     
         7 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the support supports the tray in a position wherein the top edge of said tray is spaced from the upper compartment surface a distance that is less than approximately 0.09 inches. 
     
     
         8 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the sidewall structure includes a first sidewall and a second sidewall opposite the first sidewall, each of the first and second sidewalls including a sidewall opening, wherein movement of the movable member adjusts the size of the opening in the first sidewall and the size of the opening in the second sidewall. 
     
     
         9 . A method of storing cooked food comprising:
 providing a tray having a bottom, a top edge defining an open top, and a sidewall structure extending upwardly from the bottom, the bottom and sidewall structure defining a volume, and the sidewall structure having one or more openings therein;   placing the cooked food in the tray to at least partially fill the volume of the tray;   adjusting the effective size of one or more openings in the sidewall structure of the tray prior to placing the tray in a heated compartment;   placing the tray having the cooked food therein into the heated compartment to maintain the temperature of the food in a desired elevated temperature range; and   venting the interior of the tray through the openings in the sidewall structure of the tray during storage of the tray and cooked food contained therein in the compartment.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9  wherein the sidewall openings have a total cross-sectional area and the tray has a volume; the ratio of the total cross-sectional area of the openings in the sidewall structure of the tray in square inches to the interior volume of the tray in cubic inches is in the range of from about 1:2100 to about 1:13. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 9  further comprising providing a slideable member for adjusting the effective size of one or more of the openings in the sidewall structure of the tray. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 9  further comprising selecting a type of cooked food to be placed in the tray and adjusting the effective size of one or more openings depending on the type of cooked food selected. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 9  further comprising:
 providing the tray with indicia for indicating at least one predetermined adjustment position for adjusting the effective cross-sectional area of at least one of the openings in the sidewall structure; and 
 selecting an adjustment position for one or more openings in the sidewall structure prior to placing the tray in the compartment. 
 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 9  wherein the sidewall openings have a total cross-sectional area and the tray has cooked food contained therein having a weight, further comprising:
 determining the weight of the cooked food in the tray, the ratio of the total cross-sectional sidewall opening area in square inches to the weight of the cooked food placed in the tray in pounds is in the range of from about 1:30 to about 1:0.20. 
 
     
     
         15 . A method of handling cooked food portions to be incorporated into a sandwich in a restaurant comprising:
 placing the cooked food in a tray having an open top, an enclosed bottom and a sidewall structure defining, in conjunction with the bottom, an interior volume for containing the cooked food portions, the tray having at least one sidewall opening in the sidewall structure for providing an air passageway therethrough for venting the interior volume of said tray;   placing and storing for a desired period of time the tray having the cooked food therein in a heated compartment having an upper surface, to maintain the temperature of the cooked food in a desired elevated storage temperature range;   maintaining the tray during said storing so that the top edge of the tray is in the range of between about zero and 0.09 inches below the upper surface of the compartment to restrict water vapor from evaporating from the cooked food during storage from the open top of the tray while in the compartment;   venting the interior of the tray through at least one opening in the sidewall structure during said storing; and   removing cooked food from the tray when needed for assembly into a sandwich.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15  further comprising adjusting the effective cross-sectional area of the at least one sidewall opening based on the type of cooked food to be stored in the compartment. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16  wherein the sidewall structure comprises four sidewalls that define, with the bottom, a generally rectangular tray, each of two opposed sidewalls having at least one of said sidewall openings, the sidewall structure openings being located in both the first and second opposed sidewalls of the tray, and the effective cross-sectional area of each of the sidewall openings is adjusted simultaneously by moving a slide member to at least partially cover or uncover the sidewall structure openings. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17  further comprising securing the slide member to prevent sliding of the slide member after adjusting the slide member to a position at least partially covering the sidewall openings. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 17  further comprising providing the tray with indicia to indicate a plurality of settings for positions of the slideable member, each setting corresponding to covering a different amount of the sidewall openings. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 15  wherein each of the at least one sidewall openings has a cross-sectional area and the total cross-sectional area of the sidewall openings consists of the sum of the cross-sectional areas of all of the one or more openings in the sidewall structure of the tray;
 the cooked food placed in the tray has a weight; and 
 the ratio of the total cross-sectional sidewall opening area in square inches to the weight of the cooked food placed in the tray in pounds is in the range of from about 1:30 to about 1:0.20.