Cooking bag
A retort pouch is usually made of heat-resistant plastic film existing bag , can be cooked in the food or warmed.
history
The invention of the cooking bag cannot be clearly dated. Ingredients for beverages (tea, wine) cooked in hemp or linen bags have long been known (see tea bags # history ). The invention of the modern cooking bag can be traced back to the origins of industrial rice production, which was mainly driven by the parboiled process , which was further developed in 1943 . The patent with the title "Kochbag", which was applied for on December 17, 1975 by Uncle Ben's , was released in 1976.
species
A distinction is made between tubular cooker bags , which are made up of the following three layers: polyamide , an intermediate bonding agent for connecting to the next layer, and polyethylene . In the order listed, these layers have material thicknesses of approximately 90 µm, 20 µm and 70 µm. Cooking bags of this type are temperature-resistant from −40 ° C to 115 ° C. This cold resistance is important if the finished product is to be frozen immediately after cooking .
Koch shrink bags are for cooked ham used and have similar -shrink the property to shrink in the heat supply. This means that they always lie close to the food that is becoming smaller.
Sealed edge cook-in bags are made of oriented polyamide, an adhesion promoter and polypropylene . Oriented polyamide is one in which the molecular chains of the polymer are oriented in a highly ordered manner. This ensures a high tear resistance even with a thin film. Sealed-edge cook-in bags are usually 85 µm polyamide, 15 µm adhesion promoter and 70 µm polypropylene and are temperature-resistant from -40 ° C to 120 ° C. Sealed edge pouches can also be used to sterilize food.
Inclusion of the food
The food is vacuum-sealed in the bags and only removed after cooking. Cooking takes place in a sealed bag, which means that the contents do not come into contact with the cooking medium water. With rice or spelled , it is essential to let water in the bag so that the food can swell. In this case, the pouch must have a fine perforation that lets in the water.
When designing the bag, it must be taken into account that on the one hand it has to be very resistant during the cooking process, but on the other hand it should also be easily opened after cooking in a hot state. So that you don't burn your fingers, z. T. tear-off tabs attached, or it is recommended to pierce a certain point with a knife.
In some cases, food that has already been prepared is frozen in boilers and sold. The food then only needs to be warmed up briefly.
Advantages and disadvantages
The advantage of the cooking bag is that the taste and aroma of the food are largely retained, as nothing can be lost with the vacuum bags in particular. The food does not dry out and cannot burn or stick, rice remains loose and grainy and there is no need to "sieve" it in (often too coarse-grained) pasta or tea strainers.
The disadvantage is that incorrect use (e.g. too little water or use in the microwave with the grill accidentally switched on) may get plastic into the food. In any case, it is very important to follow the preparation instructions exactly and to put the boiling bag in a sufficient amount of water so that it can swim well. Otherwise, it could touch the hot pot, which would lead to the permissible temperature being exceeded and, in extreme cases, to the destruction of the plastic film and its contents. The bag also creates additional, non-biodegradable packaging waste.
See also
literature
- Günter Bleisch: Lexicon of packaging technology , Hüthig-Verlag, Heidelberg 2003, ISBN 3778529161
Individual evidence
- ↑ History of the cooking bag. Retrieved August 19, 2018 .