The ratio of diameter to thickness of a hamburger
patty is large (usually above 10), the cooking time is
relatively short, and the center temperature is of major
interest to assure hamburger safety. The heat transfer
process is modeled as one-dimensional, in®nite slab
con®guration, with the patty being homogeneous and
initially isothermal. Heat conduction and the movement
of water and fat during cooking cause change in temperature.
The development of the heat transfer model
for double-sided contact heating is partially based on
previous studies to solve problems involving freezing/
thawing, deep-fat frying, and contact-heating processes
(Dagerskog, 1979a,b; Housova & Topinka, 1985;
Ikediala et al., 1996; Mannapperuma & Singh, 1988;
Singh, 1996; Vijayan & Singh, 1996).