Apparatus and method for canning food

Abstract

An apparatus for .Iadd.and method of .Iaddend.canning fruit and the like. The apparatus of the present invention comprises a platform having a plurality of legs thereon for placing it in a frying pan or other pan with the platform extending contiguous to the sides of the frying pan so that water placed in the frying pan will generate steam which will pass through holes in the platform. The platform is provided with a removable chamber which encloses a plurality of containers within the chamber and the chamber is provided with an outlet opening in the bottom thereof. The legs extending from the platform may also be passages for the admission of condensed steam back to frying pan and the holes in the platform may be provided with tubular passage means extending into the steam chamber.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. An apparatus for canning food and the like comprising a platform with openings in the bottom thereof for receiving steam therethrough, frying pan means for receiving said platform therein; leg means on said platform for supporting it in spaced relationship with said frying pan means and cover means forming a chamber above said platform and detachably supported on said platform for receiving a container of food to be canned, and outlet means in the bottom portion of said chamber to permit air and steam to escape therefrom, said leg means comprising pipes secured to some of said openings and having sloped cut lower ends to permit condensed steam to be carried back to said pan means and other pipes secured to other openings in said pan extending upwardly into said cover means adjacent the top thereof for carrying steam therein. 
     
     
       2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said pan comprises an electric frying pan. 
     
     
       3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said chamber is of substantially rectangular configuration. 
     
     
       4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said chamber, and frying pan are round. .Iadd. 5. An apparatus for canning food and the like comprising: pan means comprising a dish-shaped liquid tight horizontal bottom adapted to communicate heat therethrough, an open horizontal top and a narrow vertical dimension;   platform means carried horizontally within the pan means, the platform means having steam flow accommodating aperture means therein and comprising a thin planar top upon which containers of food to be steam cooked are adapted to rest, the peripheral edge of the thin planar top and the interior surface of the pan means between the top and bottom of the pan means defining a contiguously tight interface throughout;   the lower surface of the thin planar top of the platform means and the upper surface of the bottom of the pan means defining therebetween a vertically narrow water receiving reservoir;   vertically elongated cover means in part defining a chamber above the top of the platform means in which said containers of food to be steam cooked are placed, the cover means having bottom edge means contiguous with the lower part of the apparatus so that steam elevating through the aperture means in the platform means is substantially trapped within the chamber; and   air and steam discharge port means disposed immediately above the water receiving reservoir, the port means accommodating restricted discharge of (a) air under force of elevated steam and (b) thereafter steam directly from the chamber to the atmosphere. .Iaddend. .Iadd. 6. A method of steam cooking containers of food to be preserved comprising the steps of:   placing containers of food to be preserved upon a vented platform which platform is disposed above a pan a relatively small distance, the weight of the containers being transferred from the platform to the pan;   placing a thin layer of water in the pan below the platform;   placing a cover over the containers of food to be preserved so that gaseous communication between the interior of the pan and the interior of the cover is, during normal use, restricted to the vents in the platform;   applying heat to the pan causing vaporization of water contained within the pan, followed by elevation of the steam through the vents of the platform to the top of the interior of the cover, the elevated steam initially downwardly and outwardly exhausting air from within the cover to the atmosphere solely immediately above the platform and steam thereafter being discharged to the atmosphere solely immediately above the platform, the amount of steam discharged to the atmosphere being controlled and substantially restricted in magnitude; whereby   steam cooking the food of the containers housed within the cover above the platform is achieved. .Iaddend.