International Appliance Manufacturing 2008 - (Page 57) grills for the residential and commercial foodservice markets. The National Restaurant Association and others have given the company’s Searmaster II line of grills for the commercial market awards for its infrared technology. While its residential products, the Sterling models, haven’t received the same laurels, the technology is the same when it comes to the heart and soul of the products: the infrared cooking system. The company’s system has been in use since at least 2000, but has undergone repeated upgrades and now uses 100 percent primary air and cooks with 100 percent radiant energy. Radiant heat, i.e. infrared energy, can be generated with gas, electricity, and wood. Glowing charcoal is an example of radiant heat that cooks food with little drying effect. The difference between the two is that TEC grills reach full cooking capacity in about five minutes while charcoal takes about 30 minutes. Furthermore, the TEC grills can distribute heat uniformly, whereas charcoal grills can have hot and cold spots. The heart of the grill is the burner unit that generates the infrared energy. Each grill may have multiple burners. The Searmaster II uses 24,000 BTUs per hour; the Sterling 17,000 BTUs per hour. The burners were upgraded from partially ceramic parts to an all-metal system that reduces the chances of being broken or suffering water damage. The burners are a non-mesh steel plate, which Bill Best, CEO, says is superior to a screen that is made from woven material. He says that weaving the metal material can generate stresses, and stresses can cause failures. The burners, powered by natural or LP gas, consist of high-temperature perforated combustion plates. The plates are interposed between stainless steel plates through which the gas and air flow. The perforated plates release thousands of tiny flames that bring the burner to a flameless glow, and emit the energy to a second panel on top. This radiant infrared glass panel is placed less than 1 inch above the burner tops. It emits 100 percent infrared energy to the cooking grid that rests directly on top of it. Because there is no airflow between the panel and the grid, it acts as The evolution of infra-re How TEC has lead th Food Stainless Steel Grate Rising Infra-Red Energy Glass Panel Blocks Hot Air Tiny Flames Infra-Red Ceramic Burner Food TEC’s Radiant Glass Infra-Red Grills used glass panels to allow the passage of infra-red energy while almost entirely blocking rising hot, dry air. This grill allowed food to remain more moist and tender while the glass panels protected the ceramic. Infrared Grill Stainless Steel Grate Rising Infra-Red Energy In 1980 Thermal Engineering Corporation, TEC, introduced the world’s first under-fire burners it had many benefits over conventional grills. As the patents covering this pro infra-red. Building on its 25-year head start, however, TEC continues to invent. And all-metal radiant burners, TEC proudly leads the way into a new century of outdoor c Glass Panel Forces Hot Air Away From Food Ultra Small Flames Durable Infra-Red Metal Burner Plenum waves instead of hot air, cooking times are TEC’s New energy is saved. Reducing reduced andFlare-Proof System, With cookAll-Metal Radiant Burners is by ing time reduces moisture loss. far the “We do tests where we It uses mulitple most sophisticated ever invented. take burgers that are all the same size, and all the same thicklayers of metal to produce infra-red energy. These ness, and are cooked to the same level of new burners and the burgers far more doneness, are more efficient and cooked on the convectionceramic. Placement of theless and be durable than grills will weigh grates, smaller in size,” Best total heat uniformity glass and burners provide says. Conventional Grill and eliminate flare-ups. Cooking in overdrive As with TEC products that can be found in both residential and commercial applicaSteel Grate tions, so too are ovens from Atlanta-based TurboChef. It too had a well-known comRising Hot Air The Infra-Red Experts, Since 1961 U.S. Patent Nos. 6,114,666 and 4,321,857 and 4,886,044 and other patents pending that has been recently Dries Food Out mercial product extended to the residential market. Lava Rocks In the fall of 2006, TurboChef began Large Flames shipping the residential version of its Tornado ovens. With the introduction, Simple Burner consumers could now use the technologies These two graphics compare conventional that professionals chefs use to reduce cookgrills to infrared grills. Food ing times and increase flavors. The Speedcook is a 30-in. double wall Stainless Steel Grate oven that uses multiple technologies to preRising Infra-Red a shield between the food and the hot air pare meals 15 times faster than conventional Energy created by the burners. This arrangement methods. A 12-lbs. turkey that might take Rising Hot Air four hours in a traditional oven can be done prevents flare-ups. TheTiny Flames fuel consumption is about 50 per- in 42 minutes. A steak can be cooked in 4 cent less per unit area of cooking surface minutes; a chocolate soufflé in 2 minutes. Infra-Red Steve Beshara, chief branding officer of than convective-type grills and the cookCeramic Burner ing times are usually faster, Best says. The TurboChef, says that when a new leaderPlenum burners operate on 100 percent primary ship team started in 2003, it felt that the combustion air, an improvement over past technology had more applications than Food models that operated at 50 percent prima- just the commercial marketplace. The resiry air and needed a secondary air source. dential oven business is a growing market Stainless Steel Grate “That is the key to the burner, because if segment that is four times the size of the youRising Infra-Red secondary air the efficiency commercial market, he says. had to use Energy But, the company couldn’t just plug in the is greatly reduced,” says Best. Glass Panel Blocks Because it cooks with 100 percent infra- commercial product. The product had to Hot Air red energy, the Searmaster II and the Sterling look more pleasing and be easier to use. To models cook without drying out the food. sell to the residential marketplace, company Tiny Flames By retaining more moisture, the cooked food designers created a user interface intended Infra-Red items experience about 30 percent less shrink- to be simple and intuitive. “The residential Ceramic Burner age than with standard charboilers that rely on oven is designed to allow any user to cook convective energy, says Best. Convective is heat anything in the oven without reading a transferred Food which has a greater tenden- manual,” Beshara says. by air, The oven’s controller gives the user mulcy to dry out foods during cooking. Stainless Steel Grate Best says that the infrared energy passes tiple standard options while also allowing Rising a layer through Infra-Red of moisture that is on food the users to program desired cooking rouEnergy being cooked, which helps keep the food tines. The CookWheel controller has seven moist. With conventional grills, hot air must speed-cook modes: bake, roast, broil, air Glass Panel Forces Hot dry the layer of moisture to cook the crisp, toast, dehydrate, and favorites. firstAir Away From Food After a mode is selected, a navigation food, and, in doing so, the moisture inside the food Small Flames By cooking with the infrared tool, called the CookNavigator, provides a wicks out. Ultra Food Conventional Grills use simple, met flames that are too large and too few. B hot air, they have cool spots and dry foo are often a problem, and lava rocks are TEC’s First Infra-Red Grills used ti ceramic burners. These burners emitted i which cooked the food with far less dryin conventional grills. Still, the flames were cooking and protection of the ceramic cou TEC’s Radiant Glass Infra-Red panels to allow the passage of infra-red entirely blocking rising hot, dry air. This to remain more moist and tender while protected the ceramic. Durable Infra-Red Metal Burner Plenum TEC’s New Flar All-Metal Radia most sophisticated e layers of metal to p new burners are m durable than 57 ceram International Appliance Manufacturing 2008
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