Microwave food product with vent for roasting

Abstract

Single-use pre-packaged frozen food products are described that are configured for roasting the food product in a microwave oven. In aspects, a sealed pouch is formed from a flexible material defining a plurality of inflatable segments to create an interface between a susceptor material and the food product. One or more vents are included through the flexible material to release moisture as the food product is subjected to the microwave process while retaining enough moisture to inflate the inflatable segments to interface the susceptor with the frozen food during microwave cooking, which can facilitate roasting, crisping, browning, or otherwise cooking of the frozen food.

1 . A single-use pre-packaged frozen food product configured for roasting the food product in a microwave oven, comprising:
 a plurality of frozen food pieces having a moisture content by weight from about 10% to about 90%; and   a sealed pouch containing the plurality of frozen food pieces positioned within an interior volume defined by the sealed pouch, the sealed pouch formed from a flexible material defining a plurality of inflatable segments in a rectangular array having a susceptor on an interior surface of the sealed pouch, the sealed pouch including
 a top panel sealed to a bottom panel via opposing first and second seals to form the interior volume, and 
 a vent positioned through the flexible material to permit release of moisture from an interior of the seal pouch during microwave cooking, the vent occupying a surface area from about 1.5% to about 2.5% of a total surface area of the interior surface, the vent positioned on the top panel with a spacing of at least about 14% of a length between the opposing first and second seals from each of the opposing first and second seals, the vent positioned with respect to the rectangular array of the plurality of inflatable segments such that at least two edges of the vent align with the rectangular array without intersecting an inflatable segment of the plurality of inflatable segments, 
   wherein the interior surface of the pouch is configured to contact at least a portion of the plurality of frozen food pieces as the plurality of inflatable segments inflate with moisture released from the plurality of frozen food pieces during microwave cooking to push the susceptor into contact with the food, wherein contact occurs from each of a top orientation and a bottom orientation during microwave cooking of the microwave food package while moisture is released through the vent to roast the at least a portion of the plurality of frozen food pieces through heating of the susceptor.   
     
     
         2 . The single-use pre-packaged frozen food product of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a vent cover removably affixed to the vent via a plurality of perforations through the flexible material, the vent cover configured to prevent passage of the plurality of frozen food pieces through the vent during storage of the pre-packaged microwave food product and configured to be removed from the vent prior to microwave cooking.   
     
     
         3 . The single-use pre-packaged frozen food product of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of frozen food pieces is included in an amount sufficient to arrange the plurality of frozen food pieces as a substantially single layer on the bottom panel during microwave cooking. 
     
     
         4 . The single-use pre-packaged frozen food product of  claim 1 , wherein the vent occupies a surface area from about 3.0% to about 5.0% of a surface area of the top panel. 
     
     
         5 . The single-use pre-packaged frozen food product of  claim 1 , further comprising a longitudinal seal extending between the opposing first and second seals. 
     
     
         6 . The single-use pre-packaged frozen food product of  claim 5 , wherein the vent is present in one of a longitudinal arrangement substantially parallel to the longitudinal seal or a lateral arrangement substantially orthogonal to the longitudinal seal. 
     
     
         7 . The single-use pre-packaged frozen food product of  claim 1 , wherein susceptor occupies at least about 80% a surface area of the interior surface of the sealed pouch. 
     
     
         8 . A single-use pre-packaged frozen food product configured for roasting the food product in a microwave oven, comprising:
 a plurality of frozen food pieces having a moisture content by weight from about 10% to about 90%; and   a sealed pouch containing the plurality of frozen food pieces positioned within an interior volume defined by the sealed pouch, the sealed pouch formed from a flexible material defining a plurality of inflatable segments in a rectangular array having a susceptor on an interior surface of the sealed pouch, the sealed pouch including
 a top panel sealed to a bottom panel via opposing first and second seals to form the interior volume, and 
 a vent positioned through the flexible material to permit release of moisture from an interior of the seal pouch during microwave cooking, the vent occupying a surface area from about 1.5% to about 2.5% of a total surface area of the interior surface, the vent positioned on the top panel with a spacing of at least about 14% of a length between the opposing first and second seals from each of the opposing first and second seals, 
   wherein the interior surface of the pouch is configured to contact at least a portion of the plurality of frozen food pieces as the plurality of inflatable segments inflate with moisture released from the plurality of frozen food pieces during microwave cooking to push the susceptor into contact with the food, wherein contact occurs from each of a top orientation and a bottom orientation during microwave cooking of the microwave food package while moisture is released through the vent to roast the at least a portion of the plurality of frozen food pieces through heating of the susceptor.   
     
     
         9 . The single-use pre-packaged frozen food product of  claim 8 , further comprising:
 a vent cover removably affixed to the vent via a plurality of perforations through the flexible material, the vent cover configured to prevent passage of the plurality of frozen food pieces through the vent during storage of the pre-packaged microwave food product and configured to be removed from the vent prior to microwave cooking.   
     
     
         10 . The single-use pre-packaged frozen food product of  claim 8 , wherein the bottom panel is configured to rest against a support surface of a microwave oven during microwave cooking. 
     
     
         11 . The single-use pre-packaged frozen food product of  claim 8 , wherein the plurality of frozen food pieces is included in an amount sufficient to arrange the plurality of frozen food pieces as a substantially single layer on the bottom panel during microwave cooking. 
     
     
         12 . The single-use pre-packaged frozen food product of  claim 8 , wherein the vent occupies a surface area from about 3.0% to about 5.0% of a surface area of the top panel. 
     
     
         13 . The single-use pre-packaged frozen food product of  claim 8 , further comprising a longitudinal seal extending between the opposing first and second seals. 
     
     
         14 . The single-use pre-packaged frozen food product of  claim 13 , wherein the vent is present in one of a longitudinal arrangement substantially parallel to the longitudinal seal or a lateral arrangement substantially orthogonal to the longitudinal seal. 
     
     
         15 . The single-use pre-packaged frozen food product of  claim 8 , wherein the susceptor occupies at least about 80% of a surface area of the interior surface of the sealed pouch. 
     
     
         16 . A method for producing a pre-packaged microwave food product, comprising:
 forming a flexible material defining a plurality of inflatable segments in a rectangular array having a susceptor on an interior surface of the sealed pouch into a pouch defining an interior volume;   forming in the pouch a vent positioned through a top panel of the flexible material to permit release of moisture from the interior volume of the pouch during microwave cooking with a bottom panel of the pouch positioned on a support surface of a microwave oven during microwave cooking, the vent occupying a surface area from about 1.5% to about 2.5% of a total surface area of the interior surface;   introducing a plurality of frozen food pieces having a moisture content by weight from about 10% to about 90% into the interior volume of the pouch; and   sealing the pouch to form a sealed pouch holding the plurality of frozen food pieces within the interior volume between opposing first and second seals, the vent positioned on the top panel with a spacing of at least about 14% of a length between the opposing first and second seals from each of the opposing first and second seals, wherein the interior surface of the sealed pouch is configured to contact at least a portion of the plurality of frozen food pieces from each of a top orientation and a bottom orientation during microwave cooking of the microwave food package while moisture is released through the vent to roast the at least a portion of the plurality of frozen food pieces through heating of the susceptor.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the plurality of frozen food pieces is included in an amount sufficient to arrange the plurality of frozen food pieces as a substantially single layer on the bottom panel during microwave cooking. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the vent occupies a surface area from about 3.0% to about 5.0% of a surface area of the top panel, and wherein the susceptor occupies at least about 80% of a surface area of the interior surface of the sealed pouch. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the vent is positioned with respect to the rectangular array of the plurality of inflatable segments such that at least two edges of the vent align with the rectangular array without intersecting an inflatable segment of the plurality of inflatable segments. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 16 , further comprising
 forming a longitudinal seal extending between the opposing first and second seals.