US20200138238A1

Movatterモバイル変換

Info

Publication number: US20200138238A1
Application number: US16/570,396
Authority: US
Inventors: Paul Gromowski; Hemal Brahmbhatt; Gary Plassmeyer
Original assignee: Thermonator Holdings LLC
Current assignee: Thermonator Holdings LLC
Priority date: 2018-11-05
Filing date: 2019-09-13
Publication date: 2020-05-07
Also published as: US20200138239A1; US11622649B2; US20230248178A1

Abstract

Methods for prolonging the quality of a warm food item after the warm food item is prepared, the methods including the steps of placing the warm food item in a thermally insulated enclosure, maintaining the temperature in the thermally insulated enclosure within a predetermined temperature range based on the type of warm food item, maintaining the temperature in the thermally insulated enclosure by blowing heated air over the warm food item, and maintaining the moisture level within the thermally insulated enclosure within a predetermined moisture range based on the type of warm food item.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to copending U.S. Application, Ser. No. 62756000, filed on Nov. 5, 2018, which is hereby incorporated by reference for all purposes.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates generally to methods for prolonging the quality of food. In particular, methods for prolonging the quality of warm foods are described.

Restaurants and on-demand delivery services regularly deliver food to customers at their homes, offices, or other off-site locations and demand for food delivery is growing. Take-out food orders are also popular. Take-out and home delivery food orders share the challenge of maintaining the quality of ordered food as it is transported from the restaurant to the location where the customer desires to consume the food. The quality of food can also diminish in the time it takes for a customer to pick up or consume the food after it is prepared.

Customers expect the food they order to be of high quality wherever and whenever they elect to consume the food. Those preparing food want the food to remain high quality despite the time necessary to transfer food from the restaurant to the customer's desired location or despite the time it rakes for a customer to pick up or consume the food after it is prepared. In the case of foods traditionally served warm, customers also expect the food to remain warm when delivered to their chosen off-site location or until they pick up the food they ordered.

However, with conventional methods of delivering food, food can sometimes arrive at off-site locations at less than optimal quality. For example, hot food may be cold, crispy chips may be stale, and otherwise plump sandwiches may be squashed.

Existing methods for holding or delivering food after it is prepared fail to adequately maintain the temperature of the food within acceptable ranges over the time periods needed. For example, placing warm food in boxes or plastic containers allows the food to quickly cool to sub-optimal temperatures. Placing warm food in insulated containers or sleeves slows the rate of cooling, but the food still cools below optimal levels too quickly for many take-out and delivery order scenarios. Placing food in ovens allows food to be maintained at a desired temperature, but conventional ovens are often not configured to be easily transported in delivery vehicles.

Another significant limitation of conventional methods for maintaining food quality is that they do not adequately manage moisture levels in the environment surrounding the food. Subjecting food to moist environments can cause the food to become soggy and/or chewy. Excess moisture can also cause food to degrade or spoil.

Delivering pizza is one scenario where managing moisture surrounding the food is crucial. When delivering pizza, the pizza is typically placed inside a box and the box is placed inside an insulated bag to keep the pizza warm. The insulated bag and conventional box tend to trap steam and moisture escaping from the pizza within the box, which causes the moisture levels within the box to increase. The increased moisture in the box tends to make the pizza soggy and the crust chewy. French fries represent another type of food where maintaining an environment with proper temperature and moisture levels is crucial for prolonging the quality of the food.

Thus, there exists a need for methods that improve upon and advance the design of known methods. Examples of new and useful methods relevant to the needs existing in the held are discussed below.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure is directed to methods for prolonging the quality of a warm food item after the warm food item us prepared, the methods including the steps of placing the warm food item in a thermally insulated enclosure, maintaining the temperature in the thermally insulated enclosure within a predetermined temperature range based on the type of warm food item, maintaining the temperature in the thermally insulated enclosure by blowing heated air over the warm food item, and maintaining the moisture level within the thermally insulated enclosure within a predetermined moisture range based on the type of warm food item.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a flow diagram of a first method of prolonging the quality of a warm food item.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram depicting additional details for the step of maintaining the temperature in the thermally insulated enclosure shown inFIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram depicting additional details for the step of blowing heated air over the warm food item shown inFIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram depicting additional details for the step of irradiating the warm food item with infrared radiation shown inFIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram depicting additional details for the step of maintaining the moisture level within the thermally insulated enclosure within a predetermined moisture range-shown inFIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram depicting additional details for the step of removing moisture-laden air from the thermally insulated enclosure shown inFIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram depicting a second method of prolonging the quality of a warm food item.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The disclosed methods will become better understood through review of the following detailed description in conjunction with the figures. The detailed description and figures provide merely examples of the various inventions described herein. Those skilled in the art will understand that the disclosed examples may be varied, modified, and altered without departing from the scope of the inventions described herein. Many variations are contemplated for different applications and design considerations; however, for the sake of brevity, each and every contemplated variation is not individually described in the following detailed description.

Throughout the following detailed description, examples of various methods are provided. Related features in the examples may be identical, similar, or dissimilar in different examples. For the sake of brevity, related features will not be redundantly explained in each example. Instead, the use of related feature names will cue the reader that the feature with a related feature name may be similar to the related feature in an example explained previously. Features specific to a given example will be described in that particular example. The reader should understand that a given feature need not be the same or similar to the specific portrayal of a related feature in any given figure or example.

Definitions

The following definitions apply herein, unless otherwise indicated.

“Substantially” means to be more-or-less conforming to the particular dimension, range, shape, concept, or other aspect modified by the term, such that a feature or component need not conform exactly. For example, a “substantially cylindrical” object means that the object resembles a cylinder, but may have one or more deviations from a true cylinder.

“Comprising,” “including,” and “having” (and conjugations thereof) are used interchangeably to mean including but not necessarily limited to, and are open-ended terms not intended to exclude additional, elements or method steps not expressly recited.

Terms such as “first”, “second”, and “third” are used to distinguish or identify various members of a group, or the like, and are not intended to denote a serial, chronological, or numerical limitation.

“Coupled” means connected, either permanently or releasably, whether directly or indirectly through intervening components.

Food Item

A wide variety of food items are served warm and are prone to diminish in quality as time elapses after they are prepared and/or as their temperature decreases. The methods for prolonging quality of warm fowls contemplate more foods than can be reasonably listed. A sample of foods for which the methods below are intended to prolong their quality include hamburgers, country fried steak, fried chicken, fried fish, fried shrimp, fried pork chops, fried tofu, fried veggies, French fries, tater tots, fried sweet potatoes, breads, pizza, calzones, pizza rolls, fried cheeses, potato chips, onions rings, corn dogs, toasted ravioli, chicken fried bacon, fried peanuts, fried spam, fried fruits, fried candy bars, sandwiches, fried turkey, fried wild game, fried insects, hash browns, home fries, fried dough, coffee, tortilla shells, fried rice, rice, deep fried pasta, pasta, pita, pica chips, pancakes, waffles, toast, crepes, omelets, souffles, hot dogs, sausages, brats, bagels, English muffins, chimichanga, churros, egg rolls, funnel cakes, pasties, Scotch eggs, wontons, crab Rangpons, Rocky Mountain oysters, fried pickles, cakes, brownies, and cookies. The methods discussed herein may be used on any currently known or later developed type or variety of food item that is subject to diminishing quality after being prepared.

Method for Prolonging the Quality of Warm Foods

With reference to the figures, methods for prolonging the quality of warm foods will now be described. The methods discussed herein function to prolong the quality of warm food items, such as when delivering food to customers or when waiting for customers to pick up food items they ordered to take out. Additionally or alternatively, the present methods function to prolong the quality of warm food items when waiting to serve food items to dine-in customers or to people at a catered event. Another application for the present methods is to prolong the quality of food when transporting or waiting to serve the food to friends and family.

The reader will appreciate from the figures and description below that the presently disclosed methods address the shortcomings of conventional methods. For example, unlike some methods that allow food to cool down over time, the present methods maintain food at warm temperatures for as long as needed. Further, the present methods allow for the food to be maintained at a desired temperature for relevant timeframes while transporting the food item to a remote location in contrast to conventional methods that utilize ovens fixed in place to keep food warm.

Beyond maintaining the warmth of food items, the methods discussed herein maintain the desirable attributes of food items that consumers expect. For example, the methods described here maintain the crispiness of foods intended to be crispy in contrast to conventional methods that generally allow crispy foods to become limp, soggy, and stale. The present methods also function to maintain the expected levels of chewiness and moistness of the food items.

The methods described herein have been observed to maintain food at acceptable quality levels for sixty minutes or more. Food will typically degrade in quality over extended periods of time after being freshly prepared. The present methods are effective to significantly extend the time that food remains at a high level of quality after being prepared.

The methods presented below effectively manage moisture levels in the environment surrounding the food unlike conventional methods. By maintaining an environment with proper moisture levels, the present methods avoid the food becoming soggy and/or chewy. Not exposing the food to excess moisture also helps avoid the food degrading or spoiling.

Method Embodiment One

With reference toFIGS. 1-6, a first example of a method for prolonging the quality of a warm food item after the warm food item is prepared,method100, will now be described.Method100 includes the steps of placing the warm food item in a thermally insulated enclosure atstep102, maintaining the temperature in the thermally insulated enclosure within a predetermined temperature range based on the type of warm food item atstep104, and maintaining the moisture level within the thermally insulated enclosure within a predetermined moisture range based on the type of warm food item atstep110.

In other examples, the method includes additional or alternative steps, such as transporting the warm food item to a location remote from where the warm food item was prepared, such as shown inFIG. 7 atstep230 inmethod embodiment200. Additionally or alternatively, the method may include securing the thermally insulated enclosure to a vehicle, such as shown inFIG. 7 atstep232 inmethod embodiment200. Some method examples, such asmethod200 at step324 inFIG. 7, include tracking the location of the enclosure with a global positioning system.

Placing thy Warm Food item in a Thermally Insulated Enclosure

In some examples, placing the warm food item in a thermally insulated enclosure atstep102 includes placing the warm food item in a thermally insulated enclosure specially configured for use withmethod100. In other examples of the thermally insulated enclosure is not specially configured for use with the methods described herein and instead provides a thermally insulated environment for the food and accommodates the method steps described herein. The thermally insulated enclosure may be any currently known or later developed enclosure configured to thermally insulate contents within the enclosure.

In examples where the thermally insulated enclosure is specially configured for use with the methods described herein, the thermally insulated enclosure may include an enclosure configured to receive the warm food item, a door, a convection heat source, a radiant heat source, and a ventilation system.

The enclosure may include a floor, a ceiling opposite the floor, and sidewalls extending from the floor to the ceiling and defining an opening. The sidewalls, the floor, and the ceiling may collectively define an interior void of the enclosure.

The door may be operatively connected to the sidewalls proximate the opening. The door may be configured to selectively move to an open position where the door docs not cover the opening to provide access to the interior void through the opening and a closed position where the door covers the opening.

The convection heat source may be mounted inside the enclosure and configured to direct heated air within the enclosure. The radiant heat source may be mounted inside the enclosure and configured to irradiate the enclosure and the warm food item received in the enclosure. The ventilation system may be mounted to the enclosure and configured to move air into, out of, and through the enclosure.

In some examples, the enclosure includes additional or alternative features, such as thermometers and hygrometers to measure temperature and humidity levels in the enclosure. In some examples, the enclosure includes electronics, such as computing devices, displays, audio devices, communication devices, location devices, and user interface devices to control, communicate, and process conditions in the enclosure as well as to report the position of the enclosure.

For example, the enclosure may include Bluetooth communication devices to communicate data about the enclosure and conditions within the enclosure, such as temperature, humidity, and air flow rates. The enclosure may include a global positioning system to facilitate tracking the geographic position of the enclosure. In some examples, the enclosure includes artificial intelligence to recognize food items and to facilitate automatically adjusting temperature and air flow rate parameters within the enclosure.

The enclosure may include a display screen and a user interface to allow users to adjust temperatures, air flow rates, and humidity level set points, and to select the type of food placed within the enclosure. The enclosure may additionally or alternatively include seat belt straps configured to secure the enclosure to a given delivery vehicle.

In some examples, placing the warm food item in a thermally insulated enclosure atstep102 includes placing the warm food item in a container and then placing the container containing the warm food item in the thermally insulated enclosure. The container may be specially configured to facilitate the methods described nerve or may be any currently known or later developed container suitable for containing food.

In examples where the container is specially configured for the present methods, the container may include a base, a lid, a platform, and a riser. In some examples, the container does not include a platform and/or a riser. In examples without the riser, the platform may be supported on raised portions of the base or the platform may include legs elevating the platform from the base. In some examples, the bottom of the base serves in place of a separate platform, such as by elevating the food above other portions of the bottom of the base.

In other examples, the container includes additional or alternative features, such as thermometers and hygrometers to measure temperature and humidity levels in the container. In some examples, the container includes electronics, such as computing devices, displays, audio devices, communication devices, location devices, and user interface devices to control, communicate, and process conditions in the container as well as to report the position of the container.

Maintaining the Temperature in the Thermally Insulated Enclosure

In themethods100 example, maintaining the temperature in the thermally insulated enclosure within a predetermined temperature range atstep104 includes basing the predetermined temperature range on the type of warm food item in the thermally insulated enclosure. The inventors have discovered that the quality of different types of food can be more effectively prolonged by maintaining the temperature of the food items within temperature ranges specific to the particular type of food.

For example, when the warm food item is a pizza pie, the temperature range determined to be effective to prolong the quality of the pizza pie is between 140 and 200 degrees Fahrenheit. A preferred temperature range for prolonging the quality of a pizza pie was determined to be between 180 and 200 degrees Fahrenheit.

As another example, when the warm food item is French fries the temperature range determined to be effective to prolong the quality of the French fries is between 150 and 190 degrees Fahrenheit. A preferred temperature range for prolonging the quality of French fries was determined to be between 155 and 175 degrees Fahrenheit.

For temperature range considerations, the methods discussed herein may utilize any number of food types and may define food types in various different ways, such as based on the ingredients comprising the food items, the geometry of the food items, the style of food items, the cooking temperature of the food items, or by a host of other parameters. In some examples, each particular food item has a unique predetermined temperature range.

As shown inFIG. 2, maintaining the temperature in the thermally insulated enclosure within a predetermined temperature range based on the type of warm food item atstep104 includes blowing heated air over the warm food item atstep106 and irradiating the warm food item with infrared radiation atstep108.

With reference toFIG. 3, the reader can see that blowing heated air over the warm food item atstep106 includes directing heated air towards the top of the warm food item atstep112, directing heated air towards the side of the warm food item atstep114, and directing heated air towards the bottom of the warm food item atstep115. In other examples, blowing heated air over the warm food item involves exclusively blowing air over the bottom, the top, or the sides of the warm food item rather than blowing air over each of the bottom, top, and sides. Any currently known or later developed device configured to direct air may be utilized to blow heated air over the warm food item.

With reference toFIG. 4, the reader can see that irradiating the warm food item with infrared radiation atstep108 includes irradiating the top of the warm food item with infrared radiation atstep116 and irradiating the side of the warm food item with infrared radiation atstep117. As shown inFIG. 4,method100 also includes irradiating the interior of the enclosure atstep118. In some examples, the method involves irradiating only a particular side of the warm food item, such as the top, the left side, the right side, the front side, the back side, or the underside. In other examples, a selected combination of the top, bottom, left, right, front, and back is irradiated.

In certain examples, the interior of the enclosure is irradiated without directing infrared radiation at the warm food item. In other examples, the method does not include irradiating the interior of the enclosure. In some examples, infrared radiation is not utilized to irradiate either the warm food item or the interior of the enclosure.

Maintaining the Moisture Level within the Thermally Insulated Enclosure

In thestep110 example, maintaining the moisture level within the thermally insulated enclosure includes maintaining the moisture level within a predetermined range based on the type of warm food item in the thermally insulated enclosure. Experimenting has revealed that the quality of different types of foods can be more effectively prolonged by maintaining the moisture level within the enclosure within moisture level ranges specific to the particular type of food.

For certain types of food, acceptable moisture levels are between the ambient humidity level outside the enclosure and 20 percent above the ambient humidity level outside the enclosure. For selected food types, a desired moisture level is between 5 and 10 percent above the ambient humidity level outside the enclosure. When the warm food item is a pizza pie, the moisture level range determined to be effective to prolong the quality of the pizza pie is between the ambient humidity level outside the enclosure and 10 percent above the ambient humidity level outside the enclosure. When the warm food item is French fries, the moisture level range determined to be effective to prolong the quality of the French fries is between the ambient humidity level outside the enclosure and 5 percent above the ambient humidity level outside the enclosure.

For moisture level considerations, the methods discussed herein may utilize any number of food types and may define food types in various different waves, such as based on the ingredients comprising the food items, the geometry of the food items, the style of food items, the cooking temperature of the food items, or by a host of other parameters. In some examples, each particular food item has a unique predetermined moisture level range for the enclosure.

With reference toFIG. 5, the reader can sec that maintaining the moisture level within the thermally insulated enclosure atstep110 includes removing moisture-laden air from the enclosure atstep120. Many foods will release moisture into the air within the enclosure over time. As can be seen inFIG. 6, removing moisture-laden air from the enclosure atstep120 includes removing the moisture released from the warm food item into the air within the enclosure atstep122.

As shown inFIG. 6 atstep124, removing moisture-laden air from the enclosure atstep120 includes forcing moisture-laden air out of the enclosure from a position in the enclosure above the warm food item atstep124. Forcing the moisture-laden air out of the top of the enclosure helps facilitate maintaining a desired moisture level within the enclosure. Of significance, forcing the moisture-laden air out of the top of the enclosure helps facilitate keeping the food item, in particular, the bottom of the food item, crispy.

Maintaining the moisture level atstep110 further includes supplying air from outside the enclosure into the enclosure. To help facilitate maintaining a desired moisture level and the crispiness of the food item as described above, supplying air from outside the enclosure into the enclosure includes supplying air into the enclosure from a position beneath the warm food item.

In themethod100 example, supplying air from outside the enclosure into the enclosure includes passively supplying air into the enclosure atstep128 shown inFIG. 5. In other examples, outside air is forced into the enclosure by mechanical means, such as blowers or fans. In the present example, the rate of air supplied into the enclosure substantially matches the rate at which moisture-laden air is forced out of the enclosure.

Method Embodiment Two

Turning attention toFIG. 7, a second example of a method,method200, will now be described.Method200 includes many similar or identical steps tomethod100. Thus, for the sake of brevity, each step ofmethod200 will not be redundantly explained. Rather, key distinctions betweenmethod200 andmethod100 will be described in detail and the reader should reference the discussion above for steps substantially similar between the two methods.

As can be seen inFIG. 7,method200 includes placing the warm food item in a thermally insulated enclosure atstep202. Atstep204,method200 includes maintaining the temperature in the thermally insulated enclosure within a predetermined temperature range based on the type of warm food item.

As shown inFIG. 7, step210 ofmethod200 is maintaining the moisture level within the thermally insulated enclosure within a predetermined moisture range based on the type of warm food item. Atstep230,method200 includes transporting the warm food item to a location remote from where the warm food item was prepared. Step232 ofmethod200 provides for securing the thermally insulated enclosure to a vehicle.Method200 further includes tracking the location of the thermally insulated enclosure with a global positioning system atstep234.

Transporting the Warm Food Item to a Remote location

Transporting the warm food item to a location remote from where the warm food item was prepared may be performed by a delivery driver employed by the business that prepared the food, an independent contractor who delivers food as part of a gig-economy, or a customer who placed a carry-out order. In some examples, transporting the warm food item is not a commercial undertaking, but instead is performed by friends or family as part of a gift of food, a celebration, or a shared meal.

The distance between the remote location and the location where the food was prepared may be any distance. Typically, the distance will be within a given locality or geographic region; however, sometimes the distances will be significantly longer. The typical time necessary to travel the distance between the remote location and the location where the food was prepared may vary from tens of minutes to an hour or more, with some scenarios requiring multiple hours.

Securing the Thermally Insulated Enclosure to a Vehicle

The vehicle to which the enclosure is secured may be any currently known or later developed vehicle. For example, the vehicle may be an automobile, truck, moped, motorcycle, bicycle, electric scooter, and the like. In some examples, the vehicle is a robotic vehicle that moves autonomously, semi-autonomously, or at the direction of a person manually controlling its movement. In certain examples, a person carries the enclosure on his or her back while riding a bicycle, scooter, or other similar vehicle.

Securing the thermally insulated enclosure to a vehicle atstep232 may be accomplished by any currently known or later developed means. In some examples, seat belt straps pass through loops or other mounting points existing on the enclosure to secure the enclosure to the vehicle. In other examples, other elongate tension bearing members are utilized, such as bungee cords, rope, or straps.

In some examples, hook and loop fasteners or magnets are used to secure the enclosure to the vehicle. Clamps and other mechanical fasteners may additionally or alternatively be used. In certain examples, the vehicle and the enclosure are specially and complementary configured to selectively secure the enclosure to the vehicle.

Tracking the Location of the Thermally Insulated Enclosure

Tracking the location of the thermally insulated enclosure atstep234 is accomplished with a global positioning system. In other examples, other means of identifying and tracking the location of an item are used, such as cellular tower location data or internet based communications. In examples where a global positioning system is utilized, the system may be present on the enclosure, on a container or other packaging in which the food is contained in the enclosure, or on a vehicle to which the enclosure is secured. Any currently known or later developed form of global positioning system or other location tracking system may be used.

The disclosure above encompasses multiple distinct inventions with independent utility. While each of these inventions has been disclosed in a particular form, the specific embodiments disclosed and illustrated above are not to be considered in a limiting sense as numerous variations are possible. The subject matter of the inventions includes all novel and non-obvious combinations and subcombinations of the various elements, features, functions and/or properties disclosed above and inherent to those skilled in the art pertaining to such inventions. Where the disclosure or subsequently filed claims recite “a” clement, “a first” clement, or any such equivalent term, the disclosure or claims should be understood to incorporate one or more such elements, neither requiring nor excluding two or more such elements.

Applicant(s) reserves the right to submit claims directed to combinations and subcombinations of the disclosed inventions that are believed to be novel and non-obvious. Inventions embodied in other combinations and subcombinations of features, functions, elements and/or properties may be claimed through amendment of those claims or presentation of new claims in the present application or in a related application. Such amended or new claims, whether they are directed to the same invention or a different invention and whether they are different, broader, narrower or equal in scope to the original claims, are to be considered within the subject matter of the inventions described herein.

Claims

1. A method for prolonging the quality of a warm food item after the warm food item is prepared, the method comprising the steps of:

placing the warm food item in a thermally insulated enclosure;

maintaining the temperature in the thermally insulated enclosure within a predetermined temperature range based on the type of warm food item by blowing heated air over the warm food item; and

maintaining the moisture level within the thermally insulated enclosure within a predetermined moisture range based on the type of warm food item.

2. The method ofclaim 1, wherein blowing heated air over the warm food item includes directing heated ;air towards the bottom of the warm food item.

3. The method ofclaim 2, wherein blowing heated air over the warm food item includes directing heated air towards the top of the warm food item.

4. The method ofclaim 3, wherein blowing heated air over the warm food item includes directing heated air towards the side of the warm food item.

5. The method ofclaim 1, wherein maintaining the temperature in the thermally insulated enclosure includes irradiating the warm food item with infrared radiation.

6. The method ofclaim 5, wherein irradiating the warm food item includes irradiating the top of the warm food item with infrared radiation.

7. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the warm food item is a pizza pie and the predetermined temperature range is between 140 and 200 degrees Fahrenheit.

8. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the warm food item is French fries and the predetermined temperature range is between 150 and 190 degrees Fahrenheit.

9. The method ofclaim 1, wherein maintaining moisture levels within the thermally insulated enclosure includes removing moisture-laden air from the thermally insulated enclosure.

10. The method ofclaim 9, wherein removing moisture-laded air from the thermally insulated enclosure includes removing moisture released from the warm food item into the air within the thermally insulated enclosure.

11. The method ofclaim 9, wherein removing moisture-laden air from the thermally insulated enclosure includes forcing moisture-laden air out of the thermally insulated enclosure from a position in the thermally insulated enclosure above the warm food item.

12. The method ofclaim 11, further comprising supplying air from outside the thermally insulated enclosure into the thermally insulated enclosure.

13. The method ofclaim 12, wherein supplying air from outside the thermally insulated enclosure into the thermally insulated enclosure includes supplying air into the thermally insulated enclosure from a position in the thermally insulated enclosure beneath the warm food item.

14. The method ofclaim 12, wherein the rate of air supplied into the thermally insulated enclosure substantially matches the rate at which moisture-laden air is forced out of the thermally insulated enclosure.

15. The method of chum14, wherein supplying air from outside the thermally insulated enclosure into the thermally insulated enclosure* includes passively supplying air into the thermally insulated enclosure.

16. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the warm food item is a pizza pie and the predetermined moisture range is between the ambient humidity level outside the thermally insulated enclosure and 10 percent above the ambient humidity level outside the thermally insulated enclosure.

17. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the warm food item is French fries and the predetermined moisture range is between the ambient humidity level outside the thermally insulated enclosure and 5 percent above ambient humidity levels outside the thermally insulated enclosure.

18. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising transporting the warm food item to a location remote from where the warm food item was prepared.

19. The method ofclaim 18, further comprising securing the thermally insulated enclosure to a vehicle.

20. The method ofclaim 18, further comprising tracking the location of the thermally insulated enclosure with a global positioning system.