Tempus Saucepan and Boil Saver
My aim was to design a solution to stop a saucepan from boiling over when starchy foods like pasta or rice were being cooked. The solution also had to fit into the time saving ethos of the 'Tempus' brand that as a team we created.
This is the problem. When starchy food is added to the boiling water to cook, the starch from the food creates a layer on the surface of the water. This increases the surface tension resistance of the water making it harder for the bubbles to burst. As a result they build up until you get a boil over like the photo above.
I started to investigate how I could control where bubbles formed and how I could manipulate their direction and size as they hit the surface of the water. Below are some initial concept sketches.
Prototyping of this concept took place with positive results. This device sits on the bottom of a saucepan. It traps air underneath it and only lets it out of hole in the center.
Close up of the gap where air escapes which is trapped beneath the plate.
How the device fits at the bottom of the pan.
Bubble escaping from the 'boil saver' prototype as intended.
Tempus is about reducing time and the hassle of cooking at home. This can be done by reducing the number of utensils required.
I wanted to investigate ways of incorporating a colender into the lid of the saucepan.
Here is a very crude prototype. The lid has a handle which fits into the handle of the pan. The user grips both handles and is able to pour out the water, while keeping the food contained inside the pan. The lid is flat so can be flipped over to work for both left and right handed users.
