| Food products having handheld holders, food holders, and methods of serving foods -> Monitor Keywords |
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Food products having handheld holders, food holders, and methods of serving foodsRelated Patent Categories: Food Or Edible Material: Processes, Compositions, And Products, Packaged Or Wrapped Product, Having Consumer Oriented Diverse Utility, For Dispensing Or ServingFood products having handheld holders, food holders, and methods of serving foods description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20060210677, Food products having handheld holders, food holders, and methods of serving foods. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0001] This invention relates to food products, food holders, and more particularly to food products having food holders to facilitate their consumption. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] Sandwich products, such as pita bread sandwiches (e.g., gyro sandwiches), are popular handheld foods, which do not require eating utensils. Preassembled frozen sandwiches are often sold at retail locations and can be cooked or warmed up by customers on-site using a rapid heating oven, such as a microwave oven, provided at the same location. These retail locations include convenience stores having stand-up food preparation capabilities in which frozen foods can be sold, cooked onsite, and then eaten on-site or off-site by customers. Freezing the sandwiches increases the product's shelf life and helps preserve the freshness of the product until defrosted and cooked. Heating the sandwiches not only defrosts the food items but also makes them more savory for the customer. [0003] Frozen folded sandwich products often do not have a uniform thickness, and thus can be difficult to efficiently store in shipping boxes or in retail freezers provided on-site at retail locations as their shapes are not conducive to vertical stacking. Also, a consumer may find it uncomfortable to directly grasp a heated sandwich. In addition, a warmed sandwich may contain juices, fillings, or condiments, which are more apt to transfer or drip onto the consumer's hand if directly held. These problems may be aggravated if a consumer wants to transport and eat the cooked sandwich outside the retail location where it was purchased and cooked. [0004] There is a need for arrangements by which refrigerated or frozen sandwiches or other food items can be more conveniently stored and cooked, and, after being cooked, consumed by hand in a more tidy, comfortable and portable manner. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0005] The invention relates to food products and food holders useful with them. In one embodiment, a chilled food product comprises a generally flat holder, a foldable food comprising a generally flat dough-based material supporting at least one edible filling or topping wherein the foldable food is supported on the holder, and a removal wrap containing the holder and the food, wherein the holder comprises a base, first and second sides adjacent the base, and a pair of lines of weakness between the base and the first and second sides, respectively, and wherein the lines of weakness facilitate folding of the sides of the holder and the foldable food into a folded sandwich type product after cooking the unwrapped chilled product. The holder may be thermally insulative and may be made of an inexpensive disposable, recyclable material, such as corrugated paperboard. The foldable food item may be a pizza, or a sandwich, such as a gyros sandwich or other pita-based sandwich configured similarly to a frozen pizza in its unfolded flat position to facilitate storage, transport, handling and/or retail sale of both sandwiches and pizzas together. [0006] The holder is adapted to be reconfigured from an initial flat orientation into a folded orientation. The initial flat holder orientation is advantageous as a support surface upon which an open sandwich may be assembled thereon and as a support during freezing, packaging, storage and cooking. The folded holder orientation is advantageous as it concomitantly effects folding of the cooked food item and acts as a container allowing the cooked food item to be handheld in a comfortable and convenient manner during consumption. The need for a consumer to directly contact a hot food is eliminated, and transfer or drippage of food filling or topping material(s) to consumer's hand or clothes is reduced. Also, the chilled (e.g., frozen or refrigerated) food products comprising the flat holder and open food item assemblies of embodiments herein have a convenient shape for packaging and stacking during handling, storage and retail display of the chilled food products. [0007] In other embodiments, a holder is provided which can be used in the chilled food product, in which the holder has an integral flap portion and/or slot allowing a consumer to manually push or slide the folded food item towards the opposite end of the holder to increase the exposure of the food item while still held in the holder for added eating convenience. The holder also can have perforated fold lines which also can be manually torn, allowing a part or parts of the holder to be manually bent away from the folded food item, or manually removed from the holder, to increase the exposure of the folded food item contained in the remaining portion of the holder for added eating convenience. [0008] A method of serving packaged frozen or refrigerated food products incorporating the food holder is also provided. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0009] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a food product and holder according to an embodiment of the invention. [0010] FIG. 2 is a plan view of a food holder blank having fold lines according to an embodiment of the invention. [0011] FIG. 3 is a plan view of a food holder blank having multiple sets of fold lines according to another embodiment of the invention. [0012] FIG. 4 is a plan view of a chilled food product according to an embodiment of the invention. [0013] FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the food product of FIG. 4 taken along direction 5-5 thereof. [0014] FIG. 6 is a plan view of a food holder blank having fold lines according to another embodiment of the present invention. [0015] FIG. 7 is a plan view of food holder blank having fold lines according to yet another embodiment of the present invention. [0016] FIG. 8 is a plan view of food holder blank having fold lines and tear away features according to another embodiment of the present invention. [0017] FIG. 9 is a top view of a food item held with a food holder formed with the blank of FIG. 8 according to another embodiment of the present invention. [0018] FIG. 10 is a side view of the food item held with the food holder according to FIG. 9. [0019] FIG. 11 is a plan view of a food holder blank having fold lines according to another embodiment of the present invention. [0020] FIG. 12 is a side view of food product with a food holder formed with the blank of FIG. 11 according to another embodiment of the present invention. Continue reading about Food products having handheld holders, food holders, and methods of serving foods... 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