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As the Thanksgiving holiday approaches, it is a time for many to reflect on what they are grateful for. For some, it also is a time to begin preparations for a Thanksgiving meal. Over the years, inventors have been coming up with approaches to make this task easier. Below, we will take a look at a few patents related to preparing a Thanksgiving meal.
Turkey is one of the first things that comes to my mind when thinking of a Thanksgiving meal, and frying has become a popular way to cook turkey. However, frying a turkey involves heating a pot of oil, which can be dangerous and lead to accidents. Fortunately, inventors have been working to make frying turkey safer and easier.
U.S. Patent No. 8,256,130 covers a gauge designed to pre-measure the frying oil used to fry whole turkeys so hot oil does not overflow from the frying pot when the turkey is added. The gauge indicates a level of oil to be used in a turkey frying pot, based on the volume of the turkey frying pot and the weight of the turkey. According to the patent, using this gauge can minimize the likelihood of oil overflowing during the frying process, which could cause fire or injury.
U.S. Patent No. 8,375,847 covers a winch for lowering and raising a turkey into a frying pot. According to the patent, inserting and removing a turkey from the frying pot can be difficult, particularly due to spattering hot oil. The patent describes an apparatus that includes a tripod, a winch, and a basket that can be lowered and raised while a user is far enough away from the frying pot to avoid spatters of hot oil.
One of my favorite side dishes for a Thanksgiving meal is mashed potatoes, and U.S. Patent No. 6,089,143 describes a device that automates the process of making mashed potatoes, given that many people enjoy homemade mashed potatoes. The device boils potatoes, adds milk, butter, and seasonings, and then mixes the ingredients to make the mashed potatoes.
For many, a Thanksgiving meal would feel incomplete without a pie for dessert, and U.S. Patent 2,111,021, issued in 1938, describes a method of making pie crusts. The method includes baking a top crust and a bottom crust shaped to accommodate the top crust. According to the patent, the pie crusts formed by this method have a uniform shape, size, and color, and can be later filled with a variety of fillings, such as a pumpkin pie filling.
As we approach the Thanksgiving holiday, I am glad that there is a patent system in place to incentivize innovation and share that innovation with the public. In general, patents provide an exclusive right to a claimed invention in exchange for disclosing how the invention works to the public. Inventions are often solutions to problems that individuals and businesses face, including problems encountered when frying turkeys. Patents provide an incentive for inventors to solve those problems and describe how those problems can be solved for the public. However, even though a patent may describe improved methods for frying turkeys, a good recipe or cookbook may be more useful when it comes time to actually prepare a Thanksgiving meal.