JPH04183363A - Method and device for cooking batch fried food - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To enable the batch cooking of sliced food products by freely dropping the sliced food into cooking oil, moving the batch of the food toward one end of a bat, next, stirring and immersing the food in the cooking oil while moving it toward the other end. CONSTITUTION: After cooking oil 14 is heated to a 1st prescribed temperature, the batch of sliced non-cooked food 36 is distributed from the upper position of a bat 13 by blowing air, and sliced food 19 is freely dropped into the cooking oil while being arranged practically with no lump. Next, the batch of food is gradually moved toward one end of the bat 13 for the practically cooking time of food, further, the sliced food is stirred and immersed in the cooking oil while being gradually moved toward the other end and after the temperature of cooking oil rises to a 2nd prescribed temperature, the sliced food is gathered together, moved to a take-out station and taken out of the cooking oil.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to batch fried food products, and more particularly to a method for dispersing, stirring, and soaking potato slices during a batch cooking cycle.

(Background technology) Large quantities of potato chips are prepared by batch cooking.

The chips made in this way have a unique "chewy" or hardness, and this is one of the factors that has allowed this batch-cooked food to be so well received in the market, even in competition with potato chips produced by continuous methods. be.

A typical batch cooker for potato chips has an open-topped vat containing a large amount of cooking oil, which is heated from below and thus directly exposed to the flame, with heat being applied to the bottom of the vat. As another example, cooking oil may be heated remotely with a heat exchanger connected to a cooking vat or passed through one or more tubes submerged in the cooking oil. Heated by a series of fuel-fired immersion burners. Sliced potatoes are collected in a cooking vat either from a moving conveyor belt or from an overhead potato slicer. However, the operator or personnel must observe that the slices do not stick together and form clumps when first submerged in the cooking oil; such clumps are an undesirable condition and may impair quality. This results in a considerable amount of defective products that do not meet management standards. During a typical cooking cycle, the attendant uses a wooden rake to keep watch over the vat and stir the cooking slices to keep them in motion and prevent them from clumping until full cooking is achieved. The end point of cooking is determined visually by an attendant, or the determination that the cooking oil has reached a predetermined end temperature;
or by the determination that a time temperature difference is being calculated and the signal issued to the attendant to scrape the cooked slices onto one end of the vat for removal by the pick conveyor. Once the slices are removed from the vat,
The attendant can direct their attention to the adjacent cooking vat. This is because typically one attendant or worker is responsible for keeping the two cooking vats in production. Thus, while waiting for the other batch to reach the desired cooking temperature, the slices may have to be raked in adjacent vats to avoid clumping and to keep an eye on the cooking process. Be able to pay attention to cooking tasks.

As mentioned above, cooking potato chips exposes workers or attendants to an unpleasant working environment of hot air and oil. Batch cooking methods result in wide variations in product quality and cannot achieve the good product uniformity found in continuous potato chip cooking methods.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION A general object of the present invention is to provide an improved method for batch cooking thin or slice-shaped food products such as potato chips.

Another object of the invention is to provide a batch method for cooking potato chips that greatly reduces agglomeration or clumping of uncooked slices.

Another object is to provide an improved batch method for cooking potato chips in which the cooked product has very high uniformity between batches and within individual batches.

Another object is to provide an improved method in which loading, stirring and unloading of chips occurs in an automatic cycle, requiring minimal attention from the operator.

Other purposes include filling and mixing uncooked slurries according to a preset cooking program;
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved apparatus for cooking potato chips in Sochi by stirring and removing them from cooking oil. ,・ ′,...? C
'.

The present invention, in summary, encompasses a batch method for cooking food products that includes the step of providing a vat containing a hot frying medium or oil heated to a desired cooking temperature. The product inlet is formed such that the slices are dispersed from a position above the vat in a blast or air stream and fall freely into the vat, forming a single layer arrangement on the surface of the cooking medium. The motor-driven stirring and dipping bodies move the batch from one end of the vat to the other while continuously dipping all parts of the batch during cooking, ensuring uniform stirring throughout the batch. Do some cooking. At the end of cooking, the slices are moved together towards a take-off device, such as a take-off conveyor, and the cooking oil is again prepared to receive the next batch of potato chips.

The above and additional objects and features of the invention will become apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment, detailed in detail and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A batch frying apparatus 10 made for carrying out the method of the invention is shown in the drawings, and with particular reference to FIGS. It has a thin metal housing 11 which is supported and has a substantially rectangular butt 13 for containing a large amount of cooking oil 14. A separate bin 16 is located in the lower part of the housing 11 and is equipped with a gas burner 17. Casvarna 1
7 serves to supply heat to the hatch 13 in order to raise the temperature of the cooking unit 4. Chimney 18 or large box 16
It communicates with the processing equipment and transports the combustion materials to the outside of the processing equipment. Suitable cup links (not shown) are provided in the cooking vat so that oil can be introduced into or removed from the vat. If desired, a suitable temperature sensor 15 is provided in connection with the gas burner 17, thereby providing more heat to the vat when the oil temperature in the vat 13 drops after the introduction of the batch of sweet potato slices 19. The gas burner 17 may be activated to cook at a higher cooking temperature.

A take-out conveyor 21 is operatively provided at one end of the cooking device IO, a portion of which is capable of receiving cooked product onto the conveyor for removal from the vat 13 at the end of the cooking cycle of the hatch. As such, it is placed below the oil level of the cooking oil 14. The take-off conveyor 21, as shown, may be of conventional construction using a wire mesh belt and carries the top rim of the conveyor belt or the product upwardly from the vat to another conveyor or other location (not shown) in the apparatus. It is driven by a motor (not shown) so that it can be pulled up. To facilitate cleaning, the take-out conveyor 21 may be lifted, such as by a hydraulic cylinder 22, so that the cooking device 10 can be thoroughly cleaned.

A rotatable weir plate or gate 26 extends across the lower end of the take-off conveyor 21, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4-7, and as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4-6. In its lower position, it forms one end of the cooking vat and serves to prevent the potato slices from collapsing onto the take-out conveyor. A sheath or gate 26 extends across the width of the cooking vat 13 and is connected to a hydraulic cylinder by a chain or cable 28;
As a result, the weir plate 26 can be moved from the lowered position shown in FIG. 1 to the raised position shown in FIG. 7 to allow batches of cooked potato chips to be received by the unloading conveyor and removed from the vat. The sheath plate is attached at its upper end to the housing 11, suitably via shaft and bearing assemblies (not shown) well known in the art.

With particular reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, a pair of spaced apart rails 3 extend laterally of the cooking appliance 10.
A potato slicer 29 is operatively attached to 1;
It is configured to be able to move from the position shown by the solid line in FIG. 2 to the position shown by the broken line. The latter position is a non-obtrusive off-set position, yet allows the slicer to be used to place potato slices on adjacent cooking appliances, thus allowing the slicer to be used alternately for the two cooking appliances. It's the location. The slicer 29 is mounted on a carriage or carriage that can be moved on a rail 31 by a drive motor (not shown) so that the slicer is used for cooking only when it is necessary to slice potato products. participating in the control logic sequence shown in FIG. 9 as being in place on the bat;
Thereafter, it can be moved to be used with respect to an adjacent cooking appliance, ie simply placed in the off position, while cooking is progressing on the cooking appliance.

The potatoes to be fed are fed to a slicer 29 as shown in Figures 1 and 3, and the potatoes arrive at a spiral or auger 32 which feeds the potatoes one at a time into a receiver 33 of the slicer. . Slicer 29 is Urschel's slicer model CC (Urschel 5licer M) among those commercially available in the field.
Any device suitable for slicing potatoes to the desired thickness for frying, such as Odel CC), may be used.

Potatoes 3o from 100 pounds (4,54 kg) 1
around 50 pounds (6,8,1 kg), typically 12
Best sliced into 0 lb (5.45 kg) batches. Potatoes 30 emerge from the outlet 29 of the slicer 29 as slices 36 characterized as gust-like slices 36 with great speed.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the discharge section 3 of the slicer
A discharge chute 34 is provided below 4 and extends outwardly and downwardly from the rear of the slicer at a shallow angle to terminate in a lip 38 . The discharge chute includes upright sides to contain the slices and provide a path for an air blast that serves to blow the slices 36 out of the chute by air onto a vat of cooking oil 14, as shown in FIG.

More specifically, an air blowing manifold 41 is attached to the slicer carriage. A venturi inhaler 42 is connected to this manifold, and this venturi inhaler has a range of 3.52 kg/car to 6.33 kg/crl (
It accepts a supply of compressed air on the order of 50 psi to 90 psj) and operates to entrain a large amount of ambient air for exhaust through the distribution slot 43. Alternatively, 8 ounces of air from a blower can be used as an alternative source for exhaust through the distribution slot 43. The distribution slot 43 is located in a manifold tube 44 arranged to form the rear of the slicer's discharge chute, as shown in FIG. Air is supplied to the manifold 41 as shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, and a blast of air catches the slices falling from the slicer and blows the slices over the surface of the cooking oil. Distributed slot 43 to carry
and exits the manifold in a high-velocity blast. These slices are placed on the surface of the cooking oil with minimal overlap.
Free fall into the oil, preferably in a slice-thick layer. This has been a long-standing problem in this field of technology, where uncooked slices of potatoes are placed in hot cooking oil. It has been shown to virtually eliminate curling up at times.

Once the potato batches 30 have been sliced by the slicer and air-borne and dispersed onto and into the cooking oil 14, the slicer is moved to the off position shown in dashed lines in FIG. The slicer remains in this position for the remainder of the cooking cycle.

A motor-driven agitation dipping mechanism 46 is provided in the batch cooking device 10 to promote uniform cooking and color of the slices 36 and to substantially eliminate chip curling during cooking. The agitation dipping mechanism 46 is disposed on a carriage 47, which is motor-driven so as to traverse the cooking vat 13 and straddle the cooking device IO, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The carriage is fitted with wheels 48 at each of its four corners, these wheels resting on tracks defined by the upper flange of the housing 11. The agitation dipping mechanism is mounted so as to move from the left end position shown in FIG. 4 to the right end position shown in FIG. 5 in accordance with the program procedure shown in FIG. 9 to perform the desired mixing and dipping operations of the chips. Furthermore, the operating members of the agitation immersion mechanism are mounted on a carriage 47, and these components are moved from the position above the oil level shown in FIGS.
As shown in Figures 5 and 6, the agitation dipping mechanism is configured to move vertically to a lowered position where it can be operated in the cooking oil for mixing and dipping.

The paddle wheel and the dipping mechanism are operated during the slice loading operation shown in FIG. 1 and during the slice removal operation shown in FIG.
Remove from oil as shown in the logical steps in the figure.

The two paddle wheels 51 are supported at each end by a yoke 52, which is mounted on the carriage 47 for vertical movement along an upwardly extending guide rod 53, thus providing an agitating dip mechanism. can be raised and lowered relative to the cooking oil 14. Each paddle wheel 51 is
It includes rows of paddles 54 positioned at different angles of entry into the cooking oil so that as the paddle wheels rotate, they create a somewhat turbulent pattern to agitate the chips. The paddle wheels 51 are driven by motor means (not shown) and rotate together in the directions indicated by arrows 56, 57 in the drawing.

A submersher or dip mechanism 58 is positioned between the paddle wheels 51 spaced apart from the carriage 47, and the dip mechanism 58 has a stroke extending just above the oil level shown in FIG. It is mounted and driven to reciprocate vertically as indicated by arrow 59 to a lower position below the curved surface shown in FIGS. 4 and 6. The dipper 58 extends laterally across the width of the vat 13, as shown in FIG. A motor means 61 is arranged on the carriage 47 and 1
The dipper is reciprocated at 30 strokes per minute with a stroke of approximately ]0 crn (4 in.) or more. The paddle wheel 51 is driven by a motor and moves in the direction indicated by arrows 56, 57 (FIGS. 5 and 6) at a speed of about 35-4 or'pm according to the commands of a programmed controller (FIG. 9). Although it is rotated,
This is related to the direction of movement or movement of the carriage 47.

More specifically, the function of the stirring dipping mechanism is, for example, the fourth
Cook the chips, placed on the right side of the vat as seen in the diagram, by pushing them through the row of paddles and dipper as shown in Figure 6 until the batch of slices is placed in the position shown in Figure 5. The batch of slices is evenly and continuously stirred during the cycle. A dipper or submarsher 58 extends laterally across the width of the vat 13;
Thus, as the slices are moved from one end of the vat to the other, each slice will generally encounter a dipper. When the carriage 47 moves to the right as shown in FIG. 4, the paddle wheel rotates clockwise as shown by arrow 56. Conversely, when the carriage 47 moves to the left as seen in FIG. The paddle wheel then rotates counterclockwise as indicated by arrow 57.

When the carriage approaches its limit of travel, the paddle wheel 51 continues to rotate in the same direction for about 5 seconds even as the carriage changes direction to ensure that the potato chips are swept away at both ends of the vat. This is illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5. In Figure 5, the carriage is just beginning to move to the left, but the paddle wheel is now in the fourth position.
Continue in direction of rotation 56 when moved to the right as shown. After the carriage moves briefly in the opposite direction, the paddle wheel stops and then moves in the opposite direction 57 as shown in FIG.
is rotated to The delay in turning the paddle wheel following the turning of the carriage almost completely removes the potato chips from both ends of the cooking vat, thus ensuring even cooking of the slices and preventing slices from piling up on one end or the other of the vat. I found that it was never cooked or undercooked.

A sweep conveyor 66 collects the cooked potato chips at the completion of the cooking time and pushes them towards the removal conveyor 2 (FIG. 7). As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the sweep conveyor is suspended from a conveyor rod 67 that extends laterally across the vat 13 and is provided to be moved from one end of the vat 13 to the other. It has a screen-like net. The conveyor curtain preferably extends from the rod, 67, below the oil level and contacts the bottom of the vat so that all cooked portions of the potato slices are removed from the oil and conveyed to the conveyor. The sweep conveyor 66 occupies the end of the vat opposite the take-off conveyor when not in use, thus agitating the entire length of the vat between the sweep conveyor 66 and the rotating weir plate 26 and the dipping mechanism 46 . It will be appreciated that it can be used as a cooking area traversed by. Prior to putting the sweep conveyor into operation, the agitator dip mechanism 46 is raised from the lowered operating position shown in FIGS. 4-6 to the raised disengaged position shown in FIGS. 1 and 7.

For implementation of the method of the present invention, reference is made to the flowchart of FIG. 8 and the programmable logic controller operating program shown in FIG.

A suitable programmable logic controller for the present invention is the Allen-Bradley
Allen-Bradley 3LC-150 Programmable Logic Controller available from DLEY Corporation, 12o1 South Second Street, Milwaukee, Wis. 53214. First step 7
1, the vat of cooking oil is brought to the desired cooking temperature, e.g., 305 degrees Fahrenheit. Select a standard batch of potatoes, for example approximately 120 pounds of peeled potatoes (step 72). The potato slicer 29 is moved into position and moved along the rail 31 to a central position above the cooking pad 13 and the air jet 42 is activated to produce a blast of air through the distribution slot 43. Ru. Potatoes are fed to the slicer by auger 32, but the potatoes are fed to the slicer by auger 32,
To slice g (120 lbs) of potatoes,
It was found to take approximately 45 to 50 seconds. air jet is
The slices are evenly distributed over the surface of the cooking oil 14 to minimize the tendency to clump. (Thus, step 73 in FIG. 8 is completed.

The potato slicer 29 is then moved along the rail 31 to the out position shown in FIG. The stirring immersion mechanism 46 is lowered into the cooking oil from the position shown in FIG. 1 to the positions shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, and the carriage 47 is lowered into the cooking oil.
- It is moved back and forth at a rate of approximately 6 cycles per minute and the stirring rotation is started. The agitation soaking operation (step 74) moves the potato slices from one end of the cooking pad to the other, as can be seen by comparing FIG. 4 with FIG. 5. When the carriage 47 is moving to the right as shown in FIG.
I rotates clockwise to the end of the pad and continues rotating clockwise for about 2 seconds during the return left movement. At this time, the paddle stops and reverses its rotation counterclockwise. When the carriage reaches the end of its left stroke, the carriage begins to move back to the right and the paddle continues to rotate counterclockwise for about 2 seconds,
It then stops and reverses its rotation clockwise. This cycle repeats each time.

The agitated soaking operation, under the action of gas burner 17 or other heat source, continues for about 7 to 9 minutes during the cooking process, or until the oil temperature returns to about 280 degrees Fahrenheit. When the predetermined end-of-cooking temperature is reached, the program controller stops the agitation operation, the carriage is lifted, and the agitation dipping mechanism is moved to the raised position, as shown in FIG. The plate or gate 26 is rotated clockwise from the lowered position shown in FIG. 6 to the raised position shown in FIG. 7 to prepare the vat for removing cooked slices (step 75 in FIG. 8). ).

Thereafter, the sweeping conveyor 66 advances the length of the cooking vat, picking up the potato slices or cooked chips and moving them to the take-out conveyor 21. When the desired amount of chips has accumulated on the take-out conveyor, the conveyor drive mechanism is activated to remove the chips from the cooker, remove the oil from the chips, and move the chips to the next stage (steps in Figure 8). 76).

When the cooking vat is free of chips, the swing plate or gate 26 is lowered to the position shown in FIG. 1 and the sweep conveyor is retracted to the other end of the vat 13. Oil temperature about 305
The gas burner 17 may continue firing to return to the initial temperature of 0.degree. F. (step 77 in FIG. 8). The total cooking cycle time averages about 9 to 10 minutes.

Changes in temperature conditions, potato batch size, potato slice thickness, and solids content will change the cycle time and chip texture, but the operation of the stirring mechanism remains unchanged.

Allen-Bradley 5
By linking a programmable logic controller such as the LC-150 to appropriate limit switches and temperature sensors 15, everything can be controlled according to parameters, as is well known in the art.

The above disclosure is presently considered to be the preferred embodiment of the invention. However, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the present invention can be modified in various ways, and that the appended claims encompass all such modifications that are within the spirit, scope, and range of equivalents of the invention.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway side view of an apparatus for carrying out the method of the invention. FIG. 2 is an enlarged plan view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view taken in the direction of arrow 3--3 in FIG. Figures 4-7 illustrate the stirring, dipping, and sweeping steps of the chips during the cooking cycle. FIG. 8 is a flowchart of the method of the present invention. 9A and 9B are schematic diagrams illustrating the logic of an automatic controller of a device implementing the method of the invention. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10... Cooking device, 13... Cooking vat, 14... Cooking oil, 21... Take-out conveyor, 26... Weir plate, 29... Slicer, 36... Slice, 37 ... Discharge chute, 43 ... Dispersion slot, 46 ... Stirring dipping mechanism, 47 ... Carriage, 51 ... Paddle wheel, 66 ... Sweeping conveyor. "n \t3
Mother Jlle E
i% Chimney Procedural Amendment 3, 11.26 2008, Month, Day 2, Title of Invention Method and Apparatus for Cooking Batch Fried Foods 3, Relationship to the Amendment Case Applicant Name Heat and Control, Inc. 4. Agent 5. Date of amendment order Voluntary 6. Number of claims increased by amendment 37. Subject of amendment Claims column of the specification Claims (1) Preparation of cooking oil vat heating the oil to a first predetermined temperature; and dispersing the batch of sliced uncooked food with a blast of air from a position above the vat to substantially break down the sliced food into chunks. free-falling into the cooking oil in a non-uniform manner and for a period of time during which the food is substantially cooked, while gradually moving the batch of food toward one end of the vat and then toward the other end; , comprising the steps of agitating and immersing the food slices in cooking oil, collecting the food slices together and moving them to a removal station, and then removing the food product from the cooking oil. How to batch cook food. (2) During the stirring and dipping step, the temperature of the cooking oil is increased to a second predetermined temperature. Claim (1) wherein the food is removed from the cooking oil when the
The method described in. 3. The method of claim 1, comprising the steps of preparing a batch of potatoes and then slicing the potatoes, thereby making a batch of fried potato chips. 4. The method of claim 2, wherein the first predetermined temperature is between 300 and 305 degrees Fahrenheit and the second predetermined temperature is between 275 and 285 degrees Fahrenheit. (5) means serving as a vat for receiving a supply of cooking oil, means for heating the cooking oil in the vat, potato slicer means arranged above the discharge section or vat, and below the slicer means; an air-propelled slice dispensing means for dispersing a batch of uncooked potato slices on the surface of the cooking oil by means of a blast of air; and means for immersing and agitating the slices in the cooking oil; and means for removing the slices from the cooking oil upon completion of the cycle. (6) The immersion agitation means includes a carriage operatively mounted to move alternately towards one end of the hat and then towards the other end; a pair of spaced paddle wheels arranged to rotate selectively in a first one direction and then in the other direction in the cooking oil when moving alternately with respect to the spacing between the pair; a paddle wheel disposed between the paddle wheels and arranged to move in a stroke extending below the surface of the cooking oil and then rising above the surface so as to engage and submerge the potato propelled by the paddle wheel. a dipping mechanism provided in the cooking oil, said dipping agitation means being arranged such that said dipping mechanism and paddle wheel are operatively disposed in cooking oil in a cooking oil bath; 6. A cooking device according to claim 5, wherein the cooking device is movable up to a recess which is arranged substantially above the oil. (a) The air-propelled slice dispensing means includes a chute having an opening at a discharge end, and a tubular air conduit means having a nozzle means, and the nozzle means is configured to discharge air from the nozzle means to 6. A cooking device according to claim 5, wherein the cooking device is arranged with respect to the chute so as to discharge a blast of air across the chute towards the discharge end of the chute. (8) A batch cooking device for potato chips having a cooking hat for receiving cooking oil, comprising means for heating the cooking oil, means for detecting the temperature of the cooking oil, and for discharging cooked slices. potato slicer means positioned and movable to a disengaged position; potato slice dispersing means operable within said vat to agitate the potato slices immersed in cooking oil and retracted to a disengaged position relative to the cooking oil; a means for stirring and dipping the potato slices in the cooking oil; a means for sweeping the potato slices forwarding the slices in the cooking oil toward the conveyor; and a take-out conveyor comprising a weir plate means, said weir plate means comprising: selectively positioned above the receiving end of the take-off conveyor and movable to a position capable of receiving slices on the take-off conveyor, the said weir plate means being in a lowered position above the take-off conveyor when the plate means is in a lowered position above the take-off conveyor; further comprising an automatic controller operative to select the delivery of a batch of mackerel to a potato slicer means, the potato sweeping means being positioned at one end of the vat opposite the take-out conveyor, The dipping mechanism is in the disengaged position and the slicer means is moved to an operative position above said vat, and the scallops can be moved through the slicer means, air distributing the slices on the surface of the cooking oil in the vat, and then the slicer means moving the means with respect to said vat to a disengaged position and then pushing the potato slices from one end of the vat to the other as the dipping and slicing mechanism traverses the vat until such time that the temperature of the cooking oil reaches a predetermined level; To mix, the dipping agitation mechanism is moved into the cooking oil to operatively move the dipping and slicing mechanism, then the dipping and slicing means is moved to the disengaged position and the weir plate is removed and removed from the end of the conveyor. A sweep conveyor then pushes the potato slices onto the take-out conveyor, a take-out conveyor removes the cooked potato slices from the vat, and then the cooking oil temperature reaches a predetermined initial temperature for cooking. A cooking device that operates to wait for the temperature to be reached. (9) preparing a vat containing cooking oil and heating the cooking oil to a first predetermined temperature; and at a temperature substantially lower than the first predetermined temperature; dispersing the batch of food product from a position above the vat; allowing the slices of food to fall freely into the cooking oil in a substantially lump-free arrangement; and simultaneously immersing the slices of food and simultaneously stirring the food and moving the batch of food in the vat; allowing the batch of food to remain in the vat for a period of time during which the food is substantially cooked; and collecting the cooked sliced food together. and removing the food from the cooking oil. (10) By placing the food in the cooking oil, the temperature of the oil is lowered to a temperature lower than the first predetermined temperature, and the temperature of the cooking oil is further raised to a second predetermined temperature. The steps include simultaneously applying heat to the cooking oil, removing food from the cooking oil at said second predetermined temperature achieved in the cooking oil, and heating the cooking oil until said first predetermined temperature is reached. 10. The method of claim 9, further comprising the step of continuing to heat the next batch of food product. αυ the first predetermined temperature is 300 to 305°F;
The method of claim 1, wherein the second predetermined temperature is between 275 and 285 degrees Fahrenheit.

Claims (8)

[Claims] (1) A step of preparing a vat of cooking oil, a step of heating the oil to a predetermined temperature, and a step of dispersing the vat of slice-shaped uncooked food by blowing air from above the vat, and dispersing the vat of uncooked food in the slice shape. free-falling the food product into the cooking oil in a substantially lump-free arrangement and moving the batch of food product toward one end of the vat and then into the other end for a period of time during which the food product is substantially cooked; stirring and immersing the sliced food in the cooking oil while moving it towards the cooking oil;
A method for batch cooking food comprising the steps of gathering and moving the food in slice form to a removal station and removing the food from cooking oil. (2) During the stirring and dipping step, the cooking oil further comprises the step of simultaneously applying heat to the cooking oil so as to raise the temperature of the cooking oil to a second predetermined temperature, and the cooking oil reaches the second predetermined temperature. 2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the food product is removed from the cooking oil. 3. The method of claim 1, comprising the steps of: (3) providing a batch of potatoes and then slicing the potatoes, thereby making a batch of fried potato chips. (4) the first predetermined temperature is 300 to 305°F;
3. The method of claim 2, wherein the second predetermined temperature is between 275 and 285 degrees Fahrenheit. (5) means serving as a vat for receiving a supply of cooking oil, means for heating the cooking oil in the vat, potato slicer means with a discharge located above the vat, and below the slicer means; an air-propelled slice dispensing means for distributing the batch of cooked and uncooked potato slices onto the surface of the cooking oil with a blast of air; and means for dipping and agitating the slices into the cooking oil; upon completion of the cooking cycle; and means for removing the slices from cooking oil. (6) The immersion stirring means is directed toward one end of the bat,
a carriage then operatively attached to move alternately toward the other end; a pair of spaced apart paddle wheels arranged to rotate selectively in one direction and then in the other direction; a dipping mechanism arranged to extend below the surface of the cooking oil and then move upwardly above the surface so as to engage and submerge the potatoes, said dipping agitation means comprising said paddle wheel and movable from a position in which the dipping mechanism is operatively disposed in the cooking oil to a retraction in which the dipping mechanism and paddle wheel are disposed substantially above the cooking oil in the vat; The cooking device according to claim (5). (7) The air-propelled slice dispensing means comprises a chute means having an opening at the discharge end, and a tubular air conduit means comprising a nozzle means, the nozzle means being configured to: 6. A cooking device according to claim 5, wherein the cooking device is arranged with respect to the chute to emit a blast of air across the chute towards the discharge end of the chute. (8) A batch cooking apparatus for potato chips having a cooking vat containing cooking oil, comprising: means for heating the cooking oil; means for detecting the temperature of the cooking oil; and a means for discharging cooked slices. potato slicer means positioned and movable to a disengaged position; potato slice dispersing means operable within said vat to agitate the potato slices immersed in cooking oil and retracted to a disengaged position relative to the cooking oil; a means for stirring and dipping the potato slices in the cooking oil; a means for sweeping the potato slices for pushing the slices in the cooking oil toward a conveyor; and a take-out conveyor comprising a weir plate means, the shear plate means being a conveyor for taking out the slices; selectively positioned above the receiving end of the potato slicer means and movable to a position capable of receiving slices onto the take-out conveyor when said weir plate means is in a lowered position above the take-out conveyor; further comprising an automatic control device operable to select delivery of a batch of potatoes, the potato sweeping means being positioned at one end of the vat opposite the take-out conveyor, and the agitation dipping mechanism being in an off position. , the slicer means is moved into an operative position above said vat, potatoes can be moved through the slicer means, air dispersing the slices on the surface of the cooking oil in the vat, and the slicer means is then moved into a disengaged position with respect to said vat. and then the dipping and slicing mechanism pushes and mixes the potato slices from one end of the vat to the other as it traverses the vat until a time such that the temperature of the cooking oil reaches a predetermined level. moving the dipping agitation mechanism into the cooking oil to operatively move the slicing mechanism, then moving the dipping and slicing means to a disengaged position and moving the weir plate away from the end of the unloading conveyor; the potato slices are driven onto the conveyor by the sweeping conveyor, the cooked potato slices are removed from the vat by the take-out conveyor, and then the temperature of the cooking oil reaches a predetermined initial temperature for cooking. Working cooking equipment.