COOKING DEVICE AND COMPONENTS THEREOF
A cooking system includes a housing having a hollow interior including a cooking zone for receiving food to be cooked, a heating element associated with said housing, and a grill plate having a support surface for supporting food within said hollow interior. The grill plate has a thermal mass sufficient to maintain a temperature required to achieve a Maillard reaction of said food At least a portion of said cooking zone is disposed between said support surface and said heating element. Said heating element is operable to heat said support body to impart contact cooking from said support surface to food supported thereby in said cooking zone.
1 . A cooking system comprising:
a housing having a hollow interior including a cooking zone for receiving food to be cooked;
a heating element associated with said housing; and
a support body with a support surface for supporting food within said hollow interior, said support body having a thermal mass sufficient to maintain a temperature required to achieve a Maillard reaction of said food, wherein at least a portion of said cooking zone is disposed between said support surface and said heating element;
wherein said heating element is operable to heat said support body to impart contact cooking from said support surface to food supported thereby in said cooking zone.
2 . The cooking system of claim 1 , wherein a bottom of said cooking zone is defined by said support surface.
3 . The cooking system of claim 1 , wherein said support surface in integral with said support body.
4 . The cooking system of claim 1 , wherein said support surface is located separately from said support body.
5 . The cooking system of claim 1 , wherein a top of said cooking zone is defined by said heating element.
6 . The cooking system of claim 1 , further comprising a guard positioned between said heating element and said cooking container, said top of said cooking zone being defined by said guard.
7 . The cooking system of claim 1 , wherein a side of said cooking zone is defined by said housing.
8 . The cooking system of claim 1 , further comprising an accessory mounted within said cooking container in contact with said support body, wherein a side of said cooking volume is defined by said accessory.
9 . The cooking system of claim 1 , wherein said heating element is operable to heat said support body via radiation.
10 . The cooking system of claim 1 , wherein said heating element is operable to heat said support body via convection.
11 . The cooking system of claim 1 , further comprising an air movement device operable to circulate an air flow through said hollow interior to impart non-contact cooking to said food.
12 . The cooking system of claim 11 , wherein said non-contact cooking and said contact cooking occur simultaneously.
13 . The cooking system of claim 1 , further comprising a lid movable relative to said housing, wherein said lid and said housing cooperate to define a cooking volume of the cooking system, said food being receivable within said cooking volume.
14 . The cooking system of claim 13 , wherein said heating element is positioned within said lid adjacent an upper extent of said housing.
15 . The cooking system of claim 1 , further including a food container receivable in said hollow interior, wherein said support body is positioned within an interior of said food container.
16 . The cooking system of claim 15 , wherein said heating element is positioned adjacent an upper extent of said housing.
17 . The cooking system of claim 1 , wherein said support body includes a grill plate.
18 . The cooking system of claim 1 , wherein said support body has a thermal mass between about 200 g and about 3 kg.
19 . The cooking system of claim 1 , wherein said support surface includes a diffusing structure.
20 . The cooking system of claim 1 , wherein said contact cooking includes conductive cooking.
21 . The cooking system of claim 1 , wherein said contact cooking includes inductive cooking.
22 . The cooking system of claim 1 , further comprising a second heating element operably coupled to said support body, said second heating element being operable independently of said heating element.
23 . The cooking system of claim 1 , wherein the cooking system is operable in a plurality of modes including a first cooking mode and a second cooking mode, wherein in said first cooking mode the cooking system is operable as an air grill and in said second cooking mode, the cooking system is operable as a convection cooker.
24 . The cooking system of claim 1 , wherein the support body includes a plurality of openings through which a fluid is configured to flow.
25 . A method of cooking food using a cooking system, the method comprising:
heating a support surface of a support body arranged within a hollow interior of a housing of the cooking system using a heating element located remotely from said support body;
positioning a food item in said hollow interior such that the food is supported by said support surface between at least a portion of said support surface and at least a portion of said heating element; and
imparting contact cooking to the food via said support surface.
26 . The method of claim 25 , further comprising positioning a support body within said hollow interior of said housing.
27 . The method of claim 26 , wherein positioning said support body within said hollow interior of said housing further comprises positioning said support body in contact with a cooking container arranged within said hollow interior.
28 . The method of claim 25 , further comprising imparting non-contact cooking to the food via said heating element.
29 . The method of claim 28 , wherein imparting non-contact cooking to the food via said heating element and imparting contact cooking to the food via said support surface occur simultaneously.
30 . The method of claim 25 , further comprising maintaining a temperature of said support surface above a minimum threshold for achieving a Maillard reaction with the food.