U.S. patent application number 10/664032 was filed with the patent office on 2004-06-17 for container for housing frozen sushi, packed frozen sushi unit, and distribution method of frozen sushi.
This patent application is currently assigned to Nippon Suisan Kaisha, Ltd.. Invention is credited to Maeda, Tomoko, Takami, Koji, Uchida, Yoshihiro.
Application Number | 20040112786 10/664032 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 32500689 |
Filed Date | 2004-06-17 |
United States Patent
Application |
20040112786 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Takami, Koji ; et
al. |
June 17, 2004 |
Container for housing frozen sushi, packed frozen sushi unit, and
distribution method of frozen sushi
Abstract
A frozen sushi housing container of simple and less cost
demanding construction with which the sushi-rice portion can be
unfrozen to body temperature and sushi-neta portion to a cold
temperature and on the other hand the unfrozen sushi can be served
to be tasted utilizing a part of the container, is provided. The
container comprises a main housing body having one or plurality of
sushi housing parts protruding upward matching the shape of the
sushi, the main housing body being open downward, and a bottom
cover which can be engaged with the fringe face of the opening of
the main housing body and is provided with one or plurality of
sushi retaining parts. The bottom face of sushi-rice portion of the
sushi housed in the sushi housing part contacts the bottom end
cover. The main housing body and the bottom cover are made of
material permeable to microwaves. A microwave shielding film is
formed on each of the protruding sushi housing parts at the part
the sushi-neta portion is positioned.
Inventors: |
Takami, Koji; (Tokyo,
JP) ; Uchida, Yoshihiro; (Tokyo, JP) ; Maeda,
Tomoko; (Tokyo, JP) |
Correspondence
Address: |
CROWELL & MORING LLP
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY GROUP
P.O. BOX 14300
WASHINGTON
DC
20044-4300
US
|
Assignee: |
Nippon Suisan Kaisha, Ltd.
Tokyo
JP
Mayekawa Mfg. Co., Ltd.
Tokyo
JP
|
Family ID: |
32500689 |
Appl. No.: |
10/664032 |
Filed: |
September 17, 2003 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
206/562 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D 1/36 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
206/562 |
International
Class: |
B65D 001/34 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Sep 18, 2002 |
JP |
2002-270967 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A container for housing frozen sushi consisting of shaped
sushi-rice and sushi-neta put thereon such as nigiri-sushi and
bo-sushi, wherein the container comprises a main housing body
having one or plurality of sushi housing parts protruding upward
matching the shape of the sushi, the main housing body being open
downward, and a bottom cover which can be engaged with the fringe
face of the opening of said main housing body and is provided with
one or plurality of sushi retaining parts with each of which can
contact the bottom face of sushi-rice portion of the sushi housed
in said sushi housing part or parts; said main housing body and
bottom cover are made of material permeable to microwaves; and a
microwave shielding film is formed on each of said protruding sushi
housing parts at the part the sushi-neta portion is to be
positioned.
2. A packed frozen sushi unit wherein nigiri-sushi or bo-sushi is
housed in the frozen sushi housing container according to claim 1,
wherein the sushi-neta portion is positioned in said sushi-neta
portion positioning part, said bottom cover is fitted in to the
main housing body so that each of said sushi retaining parts
matches with the bottom face of sushi-rice of each of the sushi
housed in each of said sushi housing parts and sealed, and the
sushi is frozen in this sealed state.
3. The container for housing frozen sushi according to claim 1,
wherein the wall of each of the-protruding parts of said main
housing body is broadening toward the end.
4. The container for housing frozen sushi according to claim 1,
wherein each of the sushi retaining parts to be contacted with the
bottom face of the sushi-rice portion is formed concave, and the
concave is shaped to match the shape of the bottom part of the
sushi-rice portion.
5. The container for housing frozen sushi according to claim 1,
container being for nigiri-sushi and capable of housing a peace of
nigiri-sushi in each of a plurality of the sushi housing parts,
wherein the main housing body is formed in a rectangular shape in
the plan view, the protruding parts are arranged in two rows
parallel to the long sides of the rectangle, each sushi housing
part being parallel to each other and oblique to the sides of the
rectangle.
6. The packed frozen sushi unit according to claim 2, a peace of
nigiri-sushi being housed in each of a plurality of the sushi
housing parts, wherein the container is formed in a rectangular
shape in the plan view, a piece or pieces of nigiri-sushi with
sushi-neta of non-raw fish such as cooked conger eel, fried egg,
cooked clam, etc. are accommodated in one or plurality of
protruding parts located in the corner parts of the rectangle, and
pieces of nigiri-sushi with sushi-neta of raw fish, shellfish are
accommodated in a plurality of the remaining protruding parts not
located in the corner parts.
7. A container for housing frozen maki-sushi which has ingredients
in the center, the ingredients are surrounded by sushi-rice, and
the outer surface of the sushi-rice is covered with a dried laver
sheet, wherein the container comprises a main housing body having a
sushi housing part protruding upward and opened downward matching
the shape of the upper circumference of the maki-sushi and having a
microwave shielding film formed thereon so that the film has a
plurality of interrupted portions along the cross-sectional
circumference thereof; a bottom cover having a sushi retaining part
to support the maki-sushi, the bottom cover being able to be fitted
in to the main housing body in the fringe part of the main housing
body, the bottom cover having no microwave shielding film formed
thereon; and microwaves can penetrate the bottom cover and the
interrupted parts of the microwave shielding film to reach the
sushi-rice portion.
8. A packed frozen sushi unit wherein the container for housing
frozen maki-sushi according to claim 7 is used, maki-sushi is
accommodated in the sushi housing part protruding upward, then the
bottom cover is fitted in to the main housing body in the fringe
part of the main housing body to support the maki-sushi, and the
maki-sushi is frozen in this state.
9. A container for housing and freezing sushi-rice topped with
ingredients (bowl article), the ingredients including raw fish,
shellfish, etc. and being placed on top center part of the
sushi-rice, wherein the container comprises a main housing body
having a sushi housing part opened downward for covering the top of
the sushi-rice with topped ingredients, a microwave shielding film
being formed on the surface of the sushi housing part at least in
the part facing the ingredients; a bottom cover having a sushi
retaining part to support the sushi-rice, the bottom cover being
able to be fitted in to the main housing body in the fringe part of
the main housing body having no microwave shielding film formed on
the surface thereof; and microwaves can penetrate the bottom cover
to reach the sushi-rice.
10. A packed frozen sushi unit wherein the container for housing a
bowl article of sushi according to claim 9 is used, ingredients
topped boiled rice such as chirashi-sushi is accommodated in the
main housing body so that the topped ingredients face the portion
thereof where the microwave shielding film is formed, the bottom
cover is fitted with the main housing body in the fringe parts of
the main housing body to retain the sushi-rice, and the ingredients
topped boiled rice such as chirashi-sushi is frozen in this
state.
11. The container for housing frozen sushi according to claim 1,
wherein said microwave shielding film is formed on the outer or
inner surface of the main housing body by metal evaporation.
12. The packed frozen sushi unit according to claim 2, wherein said
microwave shielding film is formed on the outer or inner surface of
the main housing body by metal evaporation.
13. The packed frozen sushi unit according to claim 2, wherein a
picture image of a piece of sushi having sushi-neta put on top of
the sushi-rice portion and housed in each of the protruding part of
the main housing body so that the sushi-neta faces the upper part
and the sushi-rice part faces the sides of the protruding part, is
formed on each of the protruding part which houses the sushi
corresponding to the picture image.
14. The container for housing frozen sushi according to claim 1,
wherein the periphery part of said bottom cover can be fitted in to
the peripheral fringe part of the main housing body and the
peripheral skirt part of the bottom cover is extended downward
lower than the sushi retaining part, and microwaves can intrude
passing through the peripheral skirt part to the underside of the
sushi retaining part.
15. The container for housing frozen sushi according to claim 1,
wherein said main housing body and bottom cover are made of heat
insulating material permeable to microwaves.
16. The container for housing frozen sushi according to claim 1,
wherein the periphery part of said bottom cover can be fitted in to
the peripheral fringe part of the main housing body and the
peripheral skirt part of the bottom cover is extended downward
lower than the sushi retaining part, an image of the grain of wood
is formed on the peripheral skirt part, and microwaves can intrude
passing through the peripheral skirt part to the underside of the
sushi retaining part.
17. A method of distributing frozen sushi such as nigiri-sushi or
bo-sushi consisting of shaped sushi-rice and sushi-neta put
thereon, wherein a picture image of each piece of sushi housed in
each of the protruding part of the main housing body so that the
sushi-neta faces the upper part and the sushi-rice part faces the
sides of the protruding part, is formed on each of the protruding
part corresponding with the housed piece of sushi so that the
picture image can be visually recognized in the process of
distribution.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the invention
[0002] The present invention relates to a container for housing
frozen sushi, a packed frozen sushi unit, and a distribution method
of frozen sushi, specifically to a container with which, when
thawing the frozen sushi housed therein in an electronic oven and
so on, the sushi-rice (boiled rice with vinegar) portion can be
unfrozen to body temperature, the sushi-neta (Sushi items) can be
unfrozen in a cold state without thermal denaturation, and the
unfrozen sushi can be served to be tasted as is retained on the
bottom cover of the container; packed frozen sushi unit; and a
method of distributing the frozen sushi as a packed unit.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] There are several kinds of sushi; nigiri-sushi(or
edomae-suahi) is prepared by forming a mouthful-sized oval piece of
sushi-rice(boiled rice with vinegar and seasoning mixed therewith
to give flavor to and hereafter referred to as sushi-rice), putting
a piece of fish, shellfish, shrimp, etc. thereon, and then
adjusting the overall shape by lightly gripping them; oshi-sushi
(or bo-sushi) is prepared by filling a rectangular wooden frame of
about 20 cm.times.10 cm with sushi-rice, putting a piece or pieces
of fish, shellfish, shrimp, etc. on the rice, pressing the
resultant food from above with a wooden lid for shape adjustment,
and then cutting the food into mouthful-sized pieces;
maki-sushi(rolled-sushi) called norimaki or futomaki is prepared by
surrounding a piece or pieces of fish, baked egg, cucumber or like
vegetables with sushi-rice of predetermined thickness with a dried
laver sheet surrounding the outermost circumference to form a
rolled sushi having a circular cross section, (The difference
between norimaki and futomaki is that norimaki has a single kind of
ingredient in the center compared with that futomaki has a plural
ingredients in the center, and the former is about 3 cm in
diameter, while the latter is about 5 cm in diameter.);
chirashi-sushi is prepared by scattering on top of sushi-rice
several kinds of sliced raw fish, shellfish, processed vegetables,
etc.; and a bowl article are prepared by putting on top of
sushi-rice filled in a bowl a cluster of salmon roe, sea egg,
etc.
[0005] Recently, food-service industries prevailed and a great
variety of frozen food is dealt in large quantities. As to sushi
also, it became popular in that prepared sushi is wrapped and
tasted by removing the wrapping, or that the prepared sushi is
quickly frozen to be preserved. Frozen sushi have advantages that,
foodstuff in season can be used, it is superior in a sanitary point
of view, is matured in taste, therefore a high value-added article
is obtained, and industrial production is possible resulting
reduced cost. Therefore, it is desired that, frozen sushi can be
shipped in correspondence with demand to be retailed to individual
customers or supplied to restaurants, can be unfrozen just before
the time the articles are handed over to the customers or served to
the customers at the restaurants, or the purchasers themselves can
thaw when they want to eat them.
[0006] As in the past, frozen sushi has been unfrozen in room
temperature (natural thawing), unfrozen using flowing water, steam,
or heated air, unfrozen putting in hot water, or unfrozen by
high-frequency electromagnetic microwaves in an electronic oven in
which the sushi-rice portion and sushi-neta portion of the sushi
are exposed to the microwaves without distinction. However, when
the sushi comprising sushi-rice and sushi-neta is heated evenly,
the sushi-rice is scarcely deteriorated in quality, but the
sushi-neta is cooked if its temperature exceeds an adequate
temperature and reduced in quality resulting in reduced flavor. In
addition, there has been a case when temperature difference exists
in the sushi in the thawing stage, it often perished the freshness
of the sushi.
[0007] Several arts are known in which sushi is unfrozen in an
electronic oven with its sushi-netaportion covered by material
capable of preventing the penetration of electron beam or
attenuating it so that the sushi-rice portion is heated to body
temperature and the sushi-neta which is a piece of raw fish,
shellfish, etc., is unfrozen in a cold state for preventing the
reduction in flavor due to warmed sushi-neta. For example, in
Japanese patent Laid-Open Publication No. 5-184314 (cited reference
1) is disclosed a thawing method in which frozen sushi is contained
in a container of which the whole part is formed of material
capable of preventing the penetration of electron beam or
attenuating it, the frozen sushi is heated in an electronic oven so
that the sushi-rice portion is heated to 10.about.20.degree. C. and
the sushi-neta is unfrozen by the remaining heat of the sushi-rice
portion. However, with this prior art it is difficult to effect
discriminated heating of the sushi-rice portion from the
sushi-neta.
[0008] In Japanese patent Laid-Open Publication No. 9-149768 (cited
reference 2) is disclosed a thawing method in which a frozen sushi
comprising sushi-rice and sushi-neta is placed in an electronic
oven in the range irradiated with the high-frequency waves radiated
from the high-frequency wave generator of the oven such that, the
lower face of the sushi-rice portion faces toward the
high-frequency wave generator in order to allow the high-frequency
waves to act on the sushi-rice portion, while covering the parts of
the sushi-neta running off the edges of the sushi-rice portion with
reflective plates in order to alleviate the action of the
high-frequency waves on the sushi-neta. By this, it is realized
that a balanced unfreezing of boiled rice and sushi-neta can be
achieved with the discriminated heating of the sushi-rice portion
from the sushi-neta. However, this prior art is limited to the case
the sushi is laid with the sushi-neta side down, and is not
applicable to bo-sushi (or bar-like sushi) and to the case the
sushi-neta does not runoff the edges of the sushi-rice portion,
since the parts of the sushi-neta running off the edges of the
sushi-rice portion must be covered with reflective plates in order
to alleviate the action of high-frequency waves on the sushi-neta.
In addition, as the sushi is unfrozen in the state it is
upside-down, it may happen that the sushi gets out of its shape
when it is turned over for serving to the customer after
unfreezing.
[0009] Further, in Japanese patent Laid-Open Publication No.
9-252945 (cited reference 3) is disclosed a cooking container which
has concaved parts, in each of which a peace of nigiri-sushi is to
be accommodated, and a flat plate-like cover laid thereon is made
of material capable of shielding the microwaves of the electronic
oven for allowing the sushi-neta not to be directly heated.
[0010] However, with the prior art like this, as only the cover
facing the sushi-neta is made of shielding material, the microwaves
intrude from the side face of the sushi-neta and part of the
sushi-neta may be cooked.
[0011] In Japanese patent Laid-Open Publication No. 10-56995 (cited
reference 4) is disclosed a thawing method of frozen sushi, in
which a plurality of pieces of frozen nigiri-sushi are accommodated
in concaves formed in a container, the concaves being arranged
obliquely, with their sushi-neta on top, and a magnetic shielding
material formed in a shape to be used as a cover is supported on
the fringe of the container to close the opening of the same. When
heating the sushi in the container, the upper side and flank side
of sushi-neta portion is shielded by said shielding material, and
the sushi-rice portion is unfrozen to be a little higher in
temperature than that of the sushi-neta portion. However, the
magnetic shielding part for covering the sushi-neta portion is
formed by placing on the container the magnetic shielding cover
having a concave a little larger than the perimeter of the fringe
of the container so that the bottom of the concave is supported by
the fringe of the container, that means periphery of the container
is shielded and the flank sides of each individual sushi-neta may
or may not be shielded. Therefore, it is inevitable that microwaves
intruding from the sushi-rice side accidentally heat the sushi-neta
portion.
[0012] In all of above-mentioned housing containers of prior arts,
the pieces of nigiri-sushi are received in the deep concaves formed
in the container, so that it is somewhat difficult to pick up a
piece of unfrozen nigiri-sushi from the container. Therefore, it is
necessary to take it off from the container and spread on another
plate or the like to be prepared. This is very troublesome and on
the other hand may cause troubles in sanitary aspect in some cases.
Further, with the prior arts shown incited references 3 and 4,
flank sides of each individual sushi-neta are not shielded and
there remains a possibility that the sushi-neta portion is unfrozen
by the microwaves diffracted to or reach indirectly the sushi-neta
portion, resulting in damaged flavor.
[0013] There are disclosed apparatuses for unfreezing sushi apart
from such containers as mentioned above. For example, in Japanese
Patent No. 3264244 (cited reference 5) is disclosed an apparatus in
which pieces of nigiri-sushi are arranged on the apparatus
comprising a plate body to be placed in an electronic oven and the
sushi-rice portion can be heated to body temperature while the
sushi-neta is unfrozen in cold temperature. This is not contrivance
of a sushi housing container itself but contrivance of a heating
apparatus and is beside the point of the present invention.
[0014] Further, in Japanese Patent No. 3201933 (cited reference 6)
is disclosed a wrapping structure of bo-sushi. According to the
disclosure, a piece of bo-sushi with a slice of mackerel or a
conger eel placed on top of the sushi-rice formed in a large
rectangular shape is wrapped such that, the piece of sushi is
wrapped with a first wrapping film in a state degassed and closely
contacted with the film, the sushi-neta portion is covered with a
sheet of aluminum foil from over the film, the sushi wrapped with
the first wrapping film and covered with the sheet of aluminum foil
on the portion of the sushi-neta from over the first wrapping film
is wholly wrapped with a second wrapping film in a state degassed
and closely contacted with the second wrapping film, and the whole
is frozen. When the whole is unfrozen in an electronic oven, the
sushi can be unfrozen to a state the sushi-rice portion is warm
while the sushi-neta portion is cold.
[0015] However, with this prior art every piece of bo-sushi
comprising sushi-rice and sushi neta portion must be wrapped with
wrapping films and covered with a sheet of aluminum foil, so it is
troublesome and results in high cost. Further, when serving the
sushi to be tasted, the films and a sheet of aluminum foil must be
removed, and the removing is very troublesome.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0016] The present invention is made in light of the
above-mentioned circumstances, and the challenge of the invention
is to provide a frozen sushi housing container of simple and less
cost demanding construction with which the sushi-rice portion can
be unfrozen to body temperature and sushi-neta portion to a cold
temperature and on the other hand the unfrozen sushi can be served
to be tasted utilizing a part of the container, a packed frozen
sushi unit composed using the container, and a method of
distributing frozen sushi.
[0017] To solve the problems mentioned in the forgoing, a container
of the present invention is the one, for housing frozen sushi
consisting of shaped sushi-rice and sushi-neta put thereon such as
nigiri-sushi and bo-sushi, characterized in that the container
comprises a main housing body having one or plurality of sushi
housing parts protruding upward matching the shape of the sushi,
the main housing body being open downward, and a bottom cover which
can be engaged with the fringe face of the opening of said main
housing body and is provided with one or plurality of sushi
retaining parts with each of which can contact the bottom face of
sushi-rice portion of the sushi housed in said sushi housing part
or parts; said main housing body and bottom cover are made of
material permeable to microwaves; and a microwave shielding film is
formed on each of said protruding sushi housing parts at the part
the sushi-neta portion is to be positioned.
[0018] A packed frozen sushi unit characterized in that
nigiri-sushi or bo-sushi is housed in the frozen sushi housing
container according to the present invention so that the sushi-neta
portion is positioned in said sushi-neta portion positioning part,
said bottom cover is fitted in to the main housing body so that
each of said sushi retaining parts matches with the bottom face of
sushi-rice portion of each of the sushi housed in each of said
sushi housing parts and sealed, and the sushi is frozen in this
sealed state, is also proposed for allowing distribution of frozen
sushi as is packed in the container.
[0019] With the invention, frozen sushi is retained in the sushi
retaining part of the bottom cover and surrounded with the sushi
housing part with a microwave shielding film formed thereon and
protruding upward matching the shape of the sushi, so the
microwaves in an electronic oven, etc. can intrude through the
bottom cover and reach the sushi-rice portion to unfreeze the
portion without striking sushi-neta. The sushi -neta can be
unfrozen by the remaining heat of the unfrozen sushi-rice and the
retention effect of the sushi retaining part and housing part.
Therefore, it is possible to serve sushi in the most preferable
state in which the temperature of the sushi-rice portion is at body
temperature and the sushi-neta is cold without undergoing thermal
denaturation. Further, as the frozen sushi is retained on the sushi
retaining part of the bottom cover, when the packed frozen sushi
unit is unfrozen and served up on the table, the sushi can be
tasted by removing the main housing body, the bottom cover serving
as a dish.
[0020] That is, sushi can be served without replacing, for the
bottom cover can be used as a dish, and drying or adherence of
germs accompanying the replacement can be prevented.
[0021] As the bottom cover on which the sushi-rice portion is
supported is made of material permeable to microwaves, good
unfreezing is possible in a short time and breeding of sundry germs
can be prevented.
[0022] Further, the frozen sushi housing container according to the
present invention can be produced with low cost as only a microwave
shielding film is formed on the main housing. Therefore the packed
frozen sushi unit also can be offered at a low price, and on the
other hand it is sanitary and convenient in handling as the sushi
is housed in the container and frozen as is housed.
[0023] The same effect as the above-mentioned invention can be
obtained in the case of maki-sushi by providing a container for
housing frozen maki-sushi which has an ingredient in the center,
the ingredient is surrounded by sushi-rice, and the outer surface
of the sushi-rice is covered with a dried laver sheet, wherein the
container comprises a main housing body having a sushi housing part
protruding upward and opened downward matching the shape of the
upper circumference of the maki-sushi and having a microwave
shielding film formed thereon so that the film has a plurality of
interrupted portions along the cross-sectional circumference
thereof; a bottom cover having a sushi retaining part to support
the maki-sushi, the bottom cover being able to be fitted in to the
main housing body in the fringe part of the main housing body, the
bottom cover having no microwave shielding film formed thereon; and
microwaves can penetrate the bottom cover and the interrupted
portions of the microwave shielding film to reach the sushi-rice
portion; and also by providing a packed frozen sushi unit using the
frozen maki-sushi container, wherein maki-sushi is accommodated in
the sushi housing part protruding upward, then the bottom cover is
fitted in to the main housing body in the fringe parts of the main
housing body to retain the maki-sushi, and the maki-sushi is frozen
in this state.
[0024] In this case, said maki-sushi (rolled sushi) is retained in
the sushi-retaining part of the bottom cover and covered with the
sushi housing part protruding upward matching the shape of the
maki-sushi and having a microwave shielding film formed thereon
such that the film is interrupted in a plurality of portions, so
that the microwaves in an electronic oven, etc. can intrude through
the bottom cover and also through the interrupted portions of the
microwave shielding film and reach the sushi-rice portion
surrounding the ingredients in the center to unfreeze the
sushi-rice portion. The ingredients in the center can be unfrozen
by the heat of the unfrozen sushi-rice and the-retention effect of
the sushi retaining part and housing part. Therefore, it is
possible to serve sushi in the most preferable state in which the
temperature of the sushi-rice portion is at body temperature and
the ingredient in the center is cold. Further, as the frozen
maki-sushi is retained on the sushi retaining part of the bottom
cover, when the packed frozen maki-sushi unit is unfrozen and
served up on the table, the maki-sushi can be tasted by removing
the main housing body, the bottom cover serving as a dish. As
maki-sushi is housed in the container and frozen as it is, it is
sanitary and convenient in handling.
[0025] In the case of chirashi-sushi or a bowl article, a container
is provided which comprises a main housing body having a sushi
housing part opened downward for covering the top of the sushi-rice
with topped ingredients, a microwave shielding film being formed on
the surface of the sushi housing part at least in the part facing
the ingredients; a bottom cover having a sushi retaining part for
supporting the ingredients topped boiled rice, the bottom cover
being able to be fitted in to the main housing body in the fringe
part of the main housing body having no microwave shielding film
formed on the surface thereof; and microwaves can penetrate the
bottom cover to reach the sushi-rice; and also a packed frozen
sushi unit is provided in which the container for housing and
freezing a bowl article according to the present invention is used,
ingredients topped on the boiled rice such as chirashi-sushi is
accommodated in the main housing body so that the topped
ingredients face the portion thereof where the microwave shielding
film is formed, the bottom cover is fitted in to the main housing
body in the fringe parts of the main housing body to retain the
sushi-rice, and the ingredients topped on boiled rice such as
chirashi-sushi is frozen in this state.
[0026] By composing as mentioned above the container for housing
frozen chirashi-sushi or a frozen bowl article or composing the
packed frozen sushi unit, sushi-rice is retained in the retaining
part of the bottom cover, and the raw fish, shellfish such as
salmon roe, sea egg, etc. or processed ingredient placed on the top
center part of the sushi-rice is covered with the sushi housing
part with a microwave shielding film formed thereon, so the
microwaves in an electronic oven, etc. do not strike the raw fish,
shellfish such as salmon roe, sea egg, etc., the microwaves pass
through the bottom cover and reach the sushi-rice to unfrozen the
same. The raw fish, shellfish, processed ingredient in the center
part can be unfrozen by the heat of the unfrozen sushi-rice and the
heat-retention effect of the sushi retaining part and housing part.
Therefore, it is possible to serve sushi in the most preferable
state in which the temperature of the sushi-rice portion is at body
temperature and the ingredient in the center is cold. Further, as
the frozen chirashi-sushi or bowl article is retained on the sushi
retaining part of the bottom cover, when the packed frozen sushi
unit is unfrozen and served up on the table, the chirashi-sushi or
bowl article can be tasted by removing the main housing body, the
bottom cover serving as a dish. As chirashi-sushi or bowl article
is housed in the container and frozen as is housed, it is sanitary
and convenient in handling.
[0027] By forming the wall of each of the protruding parts of the
main housing body for nigiri-sushi or bo-sushi such that it
broadens toward end, the removing of the main housing body is easy
when unfrozen packed sushi unit is served up on the table.
[0028] Further, it is preferable that each of the sushi retaining
parts to be contacted with the bottom face of the sushi-rice
portion is formed concave, and the concave is shaped to match the
shape of the bottom part of the sushi-rice portion.
[0029] By forming the bottom cover of the frozen sushi housing
container, only the lower part of the sushi placed on the sushi
retaining part sinks in the concave with large part of the sushi
exposed, it is easy to pick up the unfrozen sushi. Therefore it is
possible to serve the sushi to be tasted as is placed on the bottom
cover.
[0030] It is preferable in the case of a container for nigiri-sushi
capable of housing a peace of nigiri-sushi in each of a plurality
of sushi housing parts that the main housing body is formed in a
rectangular shape in the plan view, the protruding parts are
arranged in two rows parallel to the long sides of the rectangle,
each sushi housing part being parallel to each other and oblique to
the sides of the rectangle.
[0031] By arranging like this a plurality of pieces of
nigiri-sushi, the sushi can be served up on the table in good
appearance not only at home but also in a sushi bar. In addition
the container itself can be formed in a small size.
[0032] By forming the container in a rectangular shape in the plan
view, and by accommodating a piece or pieces of nigiri-sushi with
sushi-neta of non-raw fish such as cooked conger eel, egg, cooked
clam, etc. in one or plurality of protruding parts located in the
corner parts of the rectangle and pieces of nigiri-sushi with
sushi-neta of raw fish, shellfish in a plurality of the remaining
protruding parts not located in the corner parts, an effective
arrangement of sushi is achieved such that the frozen sushi with
sushi-neta of raw fish are retained in the central part of the
bottom cover and sushi with sushi-neta of not influenced by higher
temperature are retained in the peripheral or corner parts.
[0033] Thawing speed in an electronic oven is generally faster in
the peripheral part than in the central part. Therefore, by placing
the sushi with raw fish sushi-neta in the central part and the
sushi with sushi-neta not influenced by higher temperature in the
peripheral part in the housing container, the sushi-neta such as
egg, octopus, squid, etc. are unfrozen to a somewhat higher
temperature but the sushi-neta of raw fish placed in the central
part are unfrozen in a cold state, thus an effective unfreezing can
be achieved and the unfrozen sushi can be tasted with good flavor
of the raw fish retained.
[0034] It is preferable that the container is composed such that
the periphery part of the bottom cover can be fitted in to the
peripheral fringe part of the main housing body and the peripheral
skirt part of the bottom cover is extended downward lower than the
sushi retaining part, and microwaves can intrude passing through
the peripheral skirt part, to the underside of the sushi retaining
part.
[0035] With this construction of the container, the sushi retaining
part of the bottom cover and the sushi housing part of the main
housing body can be matched by fitting the peripheral part of the
bottom cover in to the peripheral fringe part of the main housing
body, and the attaching of the main housing body with the bottom
cover is easy.
[0036] The microwave shielding film formed on the main housing body
can be formed by metal evaporation.
[0037] By forming the microwave shielding film by metal
evaporation, the film for shielding microwaves can be easily formed
on the main housing body made of any material.
[0038] The microwave shielding may be formed on the outer or inner
surface of the main housing body.
[0039] A picture image of a piece of sushi having sushi-neta put on
top of the sushi-rice portion and housed in each of the protruding
part of the main housing body so that the sushi-neta faces the
upper part and the sushi-rice part faces the sides of the
protruding part, is formed, that is a photo of the housed sushi is
attached, on each of the protruding part which houses the sushi
corresponding to the picture image.
[0040] By attaching the photo of the sushi on the protruding part,
consumers can recognize what kind of sushi is housed, and
consumer's buying inclination can be greatly stimulated.
[0041] The periphery part of the bottom cover can be fitted in to
the peripheral fringe part of the main housing body and the
peripheral skirt part of the bottom cover is extended downward
lower than the sushi retaining part, and microwaves can intrude
passing through the peripheral skirt part to the underside of the
sushi retaining part.
[0042] By forming the bottom cover to have peripheral skirt part,
which forms a vacant space inside thereof, to support the main
housing body, microwaves can intrude passing through the skirt part
to unfreeze the sushi-rice portion effectively, and further by
retaining unfrozen sushi on the retaining part of the bottom cover,
sushi can be served to be tasted in good appearance.
[0043] By making the bottom cover of heat insulating material
permeable to microwaves, the sushi-rice portion can be exposed to
the microwaves in an electronic oven to be unfrozen, and the heat
of the sushi-rice portion is difficult to escape through the bottom
cover after unfreezing and the sushi-rice portion can supply enough
heat to the sushi-neta.
[0044] In the case of maki-sushi, chirashi-sushi, or a bowl
article, by forming the bottom cover to have a concave as a sushi
retaining part for receiving the maki-sushi, chirashi-sushi, or
bowl article and determining the depth of the concave to correspond
to the volume of the sushi-rice, the amount of the microwaves which
strike the sushi-rice portion of the frozen maki-sushi,
chirashi-sushi, or a bowl article can be increased resulting in
more effective unfreezing.
[0045] A method of distributing frozen sushi such as nigiri-sushi
or bo-sushi consisting of shaped sushi-rice and sushi-neta put
thereon according to the present invention is characterized in that
a picture image of each piece of sushi housed in each of the
protruding part of the main housing body so that the sushi-neta
faces the upper part and the sushi-rice part faces the sides of the
protruding part, is formed on each of the protruding part
corresponding with the housed piece of sushi so that the picture
image can be visually recognized in the process of
distribution.
[0046] As has been described in the foregoing, since a variety of
sushi are packed in the container according to the present
invention just after preparation or production, it is sanitary
compared with when a variety of frozen sushi are replaced to be
accommodated in a container, and on the other hand, as sushi-neta
is frozen while it is fresh, its flavor can be retained. Further,
according to the present invention, unfreezing of sushi can be done
as is housed in the container in a short time and in a good
condition, so the breeding of sundry germs can be suppressed.
Furthermore, the shape of the container itself and the arrangement
of sushi in the container are carefully determined so that the
sushi can be served up on the table as it is on the bottom cover of
the container. Therefore, combined with the low cost of the
container, the present invention can provide an ideal distribution
method of frozen sushi.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0047] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the bottom
cover of the container for housing frozen sushi according to the
present invention.
[0048] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the
bottom cover of the container for housing frozen sushi according to
the present invention.
[0049] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the main
housing body of the container for housing frozen sushi according to
the present invention.
[0050] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the
main housing body of the container for housing frozen sushi
according to the present invention.
[0051] FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional schematic view when pieces of
frozen nigiri-sushi are accommodated in an embodiment of the
container according to the present invention.
[0052] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the bottom
cover of the container for housing frozen sushi according to the
present invention in the case the container is formed for housing a
bo-sushi.
[0053] FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the
bottom cover of the container for housing frozen sushi according to
the present invention in the case the container is formed for
housing a bo-sushi.
[0054] FIG. 8 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the main
housing body of the container for housing frozen sushi according to
the present invention in the case the container is formed for
housing a bo-sushi.
[0055] FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the
main housing body of the container for housing frozen sushi
according to the present invention in the case the container is
formed for housing a bo-sushi.
[0056] FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional schematic view when pieces of
frozen nigiri-sushi are housed in an embodiment of the container
according to the present invention in the case the container is
formed for housing a bo-sushi.
[0057] FIG. 11 is a view illustrating an example of arrangement of
pieces of nigiri-sushi accommodated in the container according to
the present invention.
[0058] FIG. 12 is a schematic block diagram showing the frozen
sushi distribution method according to the present invention.
[0059] FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the
present invention in the case of applying to kappa-maki,
sarada-maki(or Californian roll), etc.
[0060] FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the
present invention in the case of applying to chirasi-sushi, bowl
article, etc.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0061] A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be
detailed with reference to the accompanying drawings. It is
intended, however, that unless particularly specified, dimensions,
materials, relative positions and so forth of the constituent parts
in the embodiments shall be interpreted as illustrative only not as
limitative of the scope of the present invention.
[0062] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the bottom
cover of the container for housing frozen sushi according to the
present invention, FIG. 2 is a cross-section taken along lines A-A'
in FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the
main housing body of the container for housing frozen sushi
according to the present invention, FIG. 4 is a cross-section taken
along lines B-B' in FIG. 3, FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional schematic
view when pieces of frozen nigiri-sushi are accommodated in an
embodiment of the container according to the present invention,
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the bottom cover
of the container for housing frozen sushi according to the present
invention in the case the container is formed for housing a
bo-sushi, FIG. 7 is a cross-section taken along lines C-C' in FIG.
6, FIG. 8 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the main
housing body of the container for housing frozen sushi according to
the present invention in the case the container is formed for
housing a bo-sushi, FIG. 9 is a cross-section taken along lines
D-D' in FIG. 8, FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional schematic view in the
case pieces of frozen nigiri-sushi are housed in an embodiment of
the container according to the present invention in the case the
container is formed for housing a bo-sushi, FIG. 11 is a view
illustrating an example of arrangement of pieces of nigiri-sushi
accommodated in the container according to the present invention,
FIG. 12 is a schematic block diagram showing the frozen sushi
distribution method according to the present invention, and FIG. 13
is a cross-sectional of an embodiment according to the present
invention in the case of applying to kappa-maki, sarada-maki(or
Californian roll), etc.
[0063] In the drawings, similar constituents are indicated with the
same reference numeral. In FIGS. 1 and 2, reference numeral 1 is a
bottom cover made of polystyrene foam or the like and formed in
platform-like shape for nigiri-sushi, 2's are concaves formed on
the upper part of the bottom cover 1 for retaining frozen
nigiri-sushi, 3 is the peripheral skirt part of the bottom cover 1.
In FIGS. 3 and 4, reference numeral 4 is the main housing body made
of polypropylene and the like to be placed on and engaged with the
bottom cover 1, 5's are sushi housing parts formed to protrude
upward and match the shape of nigiri-sushi with their downsides
open for accommodating sushi, the concaves 2's on the bottom cover
1 being provided to correspond to the sushi housing parts 5's.
Reference numeral 6 is the peripheral skirt part of the main
housing body 4. In FIG. 5, reference numeral 7 is the sushi-rice
potion of nigiri-sushi, 8 is the sushi-neta of the same put on the
sushi-rice (boiled rice with vinegar) portion, 9 shows the surface
of the table in an electronic oven. In FIG. 6 and 7, reference
numeral 21 is a bottom cover made of polystyrene foam or the like
and formed in platform-like shape for bo-sushi, 22 is a concave
formed on the upper part of the bottom cover 21 for retaining
bo-sushi, 23 is the peripheral skirt part of the bottom cover 21.
In FIGS. 8 and 9, reference numeral 24 is the main housing body of
made of polypropylene and the like to be placed on the bottom cover
21, 25 is a sushi housing part formed to protrude upward and match
the shape of bo-sushi with its downside open for accommodating the
bo-sushi, 26 is the peripheral skirt part of the main housing body
24. In FIG. 10, reference numeral 27 is the sushi-rice potion of
bo-sushi, 28 is the sushi-neta of the same put on the sushi-rice
portion. In FIG. 11, reference numeral 30.about.37 indicate
nigiri-sushi with a variety of sushi-neta put on them; the
sushi-neta of 30 is egg, that of 31 is a slice of raw tuna, 31 a
boiled shrimp, 32 a slice of boiled octopus, 34 a slice of raw
squid, 35 a slice of raw flatfish, 36 a slice of raw salmon, and 37
a slice of cooked conger eel. In FIG. 12, reference numeral 40's
show peaces of nigiri-sushi, 41 is a packed frozen sushi unit, the
unit being composed of peaces of frozen nigiri-sushi received in
the concaves of the bottom cover and the main housing body of the
placed on the bottom cover to cover the sushi. Reference numeral 42
indicates freezing process of the unit 41, 43 indicates shipping
process, 44 is a sushi bar, 45 indicates unfreezing process in the
sushi bar, 46 is a store, 47 is a consumer, 48 indicates unfreezing
in consumer's home. In FIG. 13, reference numeral 51 is a bottom
cover, 52 is the main housing body, 53's are holes provided in the
main housing body 52 for allowing microwaves to pass through, 54's
are microwaves, 55 is a concave formed in the bottom cover 51, 56
is a protruding housing part of the main housing body 52, 57 is the
sushi-rice portion of maki-sushi (rolled sushi), 58 shows
ingredients such as egg, sliced cucumber or like vegetables. In
FIG. 14, reference numeral 61 is a bottom cover, 62 is the main
housing body, 63 is the sushi-rice portion 64 shows the zone of raw
foodstuff, 65 is a concave formed in the bottom cover, 66 indicates
the housing space of sushi.
[0064] The housing container of frozen sushi of the invention is
composed such that, the main housing body 4 or 24 having a
protruding housing part or parts with downside open and formed to
match the shape of sushi to be housed, is placed on the bottom
cover 1 or 21 as shown in FIG. 1 or 2, and FIG. 3 or 8, sushi being
able to be accommodated in said housing part or parts. The frozen
sushi in the container can be unfrozen in an electronic oven. The
bottom cover 1 or 21 is formed in a platform-like shape as shown in
FIG. 2 or 7, is made of material which allows microwaves in the
electronic oven to pass through, and is provided with a concave 22
or concaves 2 for receiving a peace or peaces of frozen sushi, the
depth of the concave or concaves being such that part of the
sushi-rice is received so that the upper part of the sushi is
exposed for allowing holding with fingers.
[0065] Referring to FIG. 2, height b of the bottom cover 1 and
depth a of the concave 2 are influential to the irradiation of the
sushi by microwaves. It was proved that irradiation is suitable
when height b of the bottom cover 1 or 21 is 10.about.25 mm,
preferably 20 mm, and depth a of the concave 2 or 22 is 2.about.8
mm, preferably 5 mm. The peripheral skirt 3 or 23 of the bottom
cover 1 or 21 is inclined to broaden toward the lower end thereof
with a certain angle .theta. to ease the fitting-in to the main
housing body 4 or 24. The concaves 2 on the bottom cover 1 are
formed to be arranged oblique to the sides of the bottom cover 1
shaped in rectangular so that each piece of the sushi retained in
the concave can be held by fingers and distance c between concaves
is determined to be 5 mm or greater for enabling uniform
irradiation by the microwaves in an electronic oven.
[0066] The main housing body 4 or 24 is made of polypropylene or
the like. The main housing body is formed to have a sushi housing
part 25 or parts 5, as shown in FIG. 8 or 3, protruding upward with
downside open to accommodate sushi. The concave 2 or 22 on the
bottom cover 1 or 21 is provided to correspond to said sushi
housing part 5 or 25. A film for shielding microwaves is formed by
evaporating metal such as aluminum at least onto the sushi housing
part 25 or parts 5 protruding upward for shielding the permeation
of the microwaves of the electronic oven. The peripheral skirt part
6 or 26 of the main housing body 4 or 24 is, as shown by a
cross-sectional view in FIG. 4 or 9, is inclined to broaden toward
the end with the same angle .theta. as the inclination of the
peripheral skirt part 3 or 23 of the bottom cover 1 or 21 so that
the sushi housing part 25 or parts 5 of the main housing body 24 or
4 correspond positively to the concave 22 or concaves 2 on the
bottom cover 21 or 1 and wrap a piece or pieces of sushi received
in the concave 22 or concaves 2 of the bottom cover 21 or 1 when
the main housing body 4 or 24 is placed on the bottom cover 1 or
21. Therefore, as shown by a cross-sectional view in FIG. 5 or 10,
when the main housing body 4 or 24 is placed on the bottom cover 1
or 21, the peripheral skirt part 6 or 26 of the main housing body
fits with the upper part of the peripheral skirt part 3 or 23 of
the bottom cover, the sushi housing part 25 or parts 25 coincide
with the concave 22 or 2, and the piece or pieces of the sushi can
be hermetically sealed in the housing space or spaces formed by the
sushi housing part 25 or parts 5 and the concave 22 or concaves 2.
The main housing body 4 or 24 may be made of metal not-permeable to
microwaves such as aluminum, etc. apart from polypropylene and the
like.
[0067] As shown in FIG. 4 or FIG. 9, the sushi housing parts 5 or
part 25 is formed in a tapered shape, which allows removing of the
main housing body 4 or 24 after unfreezing of sushi. The shielding
film may be formed either on the outer surface or on the inner
surface of the main housing body 4 or 24, and it may be formed
either on all over the surface of the main housing body 4 or 24 or
only on the surface required to be shielded such as the surface of
the part corresponding to the sushi-neta portion. When the sushi
arranged on the bottom cover 1 or 21 is covered by the main housing
body 4 or 24, the sushi is invisible from above the main housing
body, so a label such as a photograph showing the kind of
sushi-neta of the housed sushi is attached on somewhere on the
container so that the consumer can recognize what kind of sushi are
contained in the container in order to stimulate consumer's buying
inclination.
[0068] When thawing frozen sushi by using the container for housing
frozen sushi according to the present invention, pieces of frozen
nigiri-sushi, each piece consisting of a sushi-rice portion 7 and a
sushi-neta 8 put thereon, or a piece of frozen bo-sushi consisting
of a sushi-rice portion 27 and a sushi-neta 28 such as a slice or
slices of mackerel and a white tangle plate, are or is placed in
the concaves 2 or concave 22 of the bottom cover 1 or 21; the main
housing body 4 or 24 is fitted into the bottom cover 1 or 21 by
utilizing the peripheral skirt parts 3 and 6 or 23 and 26; and the
container housed the sushi is placed on the table 9 of an
electronic oven. When the electronic oven is operated to heat the
frozen sushi, the microwaves radiated in the electronic oven do not
reach the sushi-neta 8 or 28 shielded by the microwave shielding
film of evaporated metal formed on the surface of the main housing
body 4 or 24, and the sushi-rice portions 7 or portion 27 is heated
to be unfrozen by the microwaves passed through the peripheral
skirt part of the bottom cover 1 or 21.
[0069] Heating is stopped after the sushi-rice portion 7 or 27 is
unfrozen. By leaving the container as it is, the remaining heat of
the sushi-rice portion 7 or 27 is transferred to the sushi-neta 8
or 28 helped by the steaming effect in the space formed by the
concave 2 or 22 of the bottom cover 1 or 21 and the housing part 5
or 25 of the main housing body 4 or 24 and the sushi-neta 8 or 28
is unfrozen. By this way, the sushi-rice portion 7 or 27 is
unfrozen to body temperature and sushi-neta 8 or 28 is unfrozen in
a cold state, thus the sushi having the same flavor as that of the
sushi prepared right in front of customers at a sushi bar can be
served. With the container for housing frozen sushi of the present
invention, the depth of the concave 2 or 22 is determined to
receive the frozen sushi with the upper part thereof exposed by the
height which allows holding the sushi with fingers, and in addition
the concaves on the bottom cover 1 for nigiri-sushi are arranged
oblique to the edge line of the bottom cover 1 similar as when
pieces of nigiri-sushi are served to the customer in a sushi bar,
as mentioned before, so that when the frozen sushi is unfrozen as
is arranged in the container the customer can pick up the sushi
with finger easily. Therefore, the unfrozen sushi can be served to
the customer by removing the main housing body 4 or 24 in the state
the sushi is arranged on the bottom cover 1 or 21 without replacing
the sushi.
[0070] As thawing speed in an electronic oven is generally faster
in the peripheral part than in the central part, frozen pieces of
sushi with raw fish sushi-neta such as tuna 31, shrimp 32, flatfish
35, and salmon 36 are placed in the central part and those with
sushi-neta not influenced by higher temperature such as egg 30,
boiled octopus 33, cuttlefish 34, and conger eel 37 are placed in
the peripheral or corner part in the container. With the
arrangement like this, although such sushi-neta as egg 30, boiled
octopus 33, and cuttlefish 34, etc. are unfrozen to a somewhat
higher temperature, the sushi-neta of raw fish in the central part
are unfrozen in a cold state, thus an effective unfreezing can be
realized.
[0071] In the forgoing, the frozen sushi housing container is
explained in the case of housing pieces of nigiri-sushi and a piece
of bo-sushi, the container for housing frozen sushi of the
invention can be applied-to rolled sushi such as kappa-maki(rolled
sushi with a piece or pieces of sliced cucumber in the center) and
sarada-maki (or Californian roll) of which the ingredients in the
center is foodstuff less influenced by heating such as fish sausage
with crab flavor, fresh vegetables of the kind less influenced by
heating, cooked vegetables, etc. FIG. 13 shows an example of such a
case, in which a bottom cover 51 is formed in a platform-like shape
and has a concave 55 similar as in the case of nigiri-sushi and
bo-sushi shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 6. A main housing body 52 has a
sushi housing part 56, which is a convex to correspond to the
concave 55 of the bottom cover 52 for covering the exposed part of
the sushi received in the concave 55. A microwave shielding film is
formed on the surface of the housing part 56 such that the film has
a plurality of interrupted portions or holes 53 for allowing
microwaves 54 to pass through. Therefore, in the case of the
example of FIG. 13, the sushi-rice portion 57 is unfrozen by the
microwaves 54 passing through the bottom cover 51 side and also the
microwaves 54 passing through said interrupted portions or holes in
the film reach the sushi-rice portion 57 and the thawing of the
sushi-rice portion 57 from the upper thereof is effected although
weekly. Accordingly, the whole sushi-rice portion 57 is unfrozen by
synergistic effect of the heat of the unfrozen portion of the
sushi-rice in the bottom cover 51 side and the week microwave
received from upside, and the ingredient 58 in the center part is
also unfrozen accompanying the thawing of the sushi-rice portion
57. Therefore, by this way suitable thawing can be achieved also in
the case of rolled sushi. The unfrozen rolled sushi can be served
by removing the main housing body 52 similar as in the case of
nigiri-sushi and bo-sushi mentioned before. In the drawing, though
the interrupted portions or holes are depicted as if they penetrate
the wall of the sushi housing part 56, it is enough to provide the
interrupted portion or holes only in the microwave shielding
film.
[0072] Further, the frozen sushi housing container of the invention
is applicable to chirashi-sushi which is prepared by scattering on
top of sushi-rice several kinds of sliced raw fish, shellfish,
processed vegetables, etc. and a bowl article which are prepared by
putting on top of sushi-rice filled in a bowl raw fish and
shellfish such as a cluster of salmon roe, sea egg, etc. FIG. 14
shows an example of such cases, in which a bottom cover 61 is
formed in a platform-like shape and has a concave 65 similar as in
the case of nigiri-sushi, bo-sushi, and rolled sushi shown in FIG.
1, FIG. 6, and FIG. 13. A main housing body 62 has a sushi housing
part 66 which corresponds to the concave 65 of the bottom cover 62
for covering the upper part of the sushi received in the concave
65. A microwave shielding film is formed on the surface of the
housing part 66. Sushi-rice 63 is charged in the concave 65 of the
bottom cover 61. At the top center part of the sushi-rice 63 is
formed a raw food stuff zone 64 on which raw fish and shellfish
such as a cluster of salmon roe, sea egg, etc. to prepare a bowl
article or cooked ingredients are scattered on the periphery part
of the zone 64 to prepare chirashi-sushi. Therefore, in the case of
the example shown in FIG. 14, sushi-rice 63 is unfrozen from the
bottom cover 61 side and the raw fish and shellfish such as a
cluster of salmon roe, sea egg, etc. placed on the raw food stuff
zone 64 are unfrozen by the heat of the unfrozen sushi-rice 63.
Therefore, by this way, chirashi-sushi with several kinds of raw
fish, shellfish, and processed ingredients scattered on sushi-rice,
and a bowl article topped with raw fish and shellfish such as a
cluster of salmon roe, sea egg, etc., can be unfrozen maintaining
good flavor. And the sushi can be served by removing the main
housing body 62 is the same as in the case of nigiri-sushi,
bo-sushi, and rolled sushi mentioned in the forgoing.
[0073] The container for housing frozen sushi of the invention can
not only is used as a dish when the sushi is unfrozen and served up
on the table. The packed frozen sushi unit produced by housing
sushi in the container of the invention and freezing can be
distributed as it is, for the container is made of cheap material
such as styrene foam, propylene, etc. and can protect the frozen
sushi housed therein in a hermetically sealed state.
[0074] FIG. 12 is a schematic block diagram showing the
distribution method of said packed frozen sushi unit. Referring to
the drawing, peaces of nigiri-sushi 40 consisting of sushi-rice and
sushi-neta are received in the concaves 2 of the bottom cover 1 and
the main housing body 4 is placed to cover them, then frozen in a
freezing process 42 to obtain a packed frozen sushi 41. This packed
frozen sushi 41 is shipped (43) to a restaurant or sushi bar 44,
general store 46, etc. equipped with refrigerating facilities. In
the restaurant or sushi bar 44, the packed frozen sushi is unfrozen
(45) meeting customer's order. In the general store 46, the packed
frozen sushi is sold to a consumer 47 who will unfrozen (48) it
using his or her electronic oven. In FIG. 12 is shown the case of
nigiri-sushi 40 as an example, it is similar as this in the case of
bo-sushi and rolled sushi.
[0075] By the distribution method as this, pieces of sushi 40, each
consisting of sushi-rice and sushi neta, are frozen in the state
they are housed in the container of the present invention and they
are distributed as a packed frozen sushi unit, so that it is more
sanitary than when the pieces of frozen sushi are replaced to
another container in the process of distribution, unfreezing, and
servicing to customers, and in addition, as the sushi-neta is
frozen while it is fresh, its flavor can be retained. Further,
according to the present invention, unfreezing of sushi can be done
as is housed in the container in a short time and in a good
condition, so the breeding of sundry germs can be suppressed.
Furthermore, the shape of the container itself and the arrangement
of sushi in the container are carefully determined so that the
sushi can be served as it on the bottom cover of the container.
Therefore, combined with the low cost of the container, the present
invention can provide an ideal distribution method of frozen
sushi.
[0076] In the invention described in the foregoing, it is
preferable to perform a little insufficient unfreezing for evading
hazard due to proliferation of harmful microbes. The deterioration
in eating quality due to insufficient unfreezing can be dealt with,
for example, by blending low-amylase rice. The eating quality
becomes suitable in the time lapse until eating time. This measure
has the advantage that it is possible to deal with temperature
variations during distribution and storage, and if by chance the
temperature of unfrozen sushi is low there occurs no problem in its
quality.
* * * * *