PROCESSING METHOD; IN PARTICULAR BLANCHING AND/OR COOKING OF FOOD PRODUCTS IN BULK

摘要

The process of heat treatment for cleaning and/or cooking of food products e.g. vegetables placed in bulk layer (2) on a conveyor (3), comprises heating the food products placed in the bulk layer with a height of 50-150 mm and a density of 700-800 kg/m 3> for 30 seconds to 1 minutes by direct contact with a coolant fluid (5) constituted of a mixture of water vapor and liquid hot water. The conveyor is placed inside a treatment enclosure in which the food products are continuously transported and heated for a given temperature and pressure. The process of heat treatment for cleaning and/or cooking of food products e.g. vegetables placed in bulk layer (2) on a conveyor (3), comprises heating the food products placed in the bulk layer with a height of 50-150 mm and a density of 700-800 kg/m 3> for 30 seconds to 1 minutes by direct contact with a coolant fluid (5) constituted of a mixture of water vapor and liquid hot water. The conveyor is placed inside a treatment enclosure in which the food products are continuously transported and heated for a given temperature and pressure. The mixture is enforced through the layer to generate a homogeneous treatment of the food products in the layer. The coolant fluid provides a pulsated flow (14) to create a pressure (1000-3000 pa) above the layer of the food products and to compensate pressure losses generated by the layer. The pressure inside the treatment enclosure is equal to and greater than atmospheric pressure. The liquid hot water consists of microdroplets of water in a diameter of 50-200 mu m. The food products are treated with the hot water at 95-120[deg] C. An independent claim is included for a treatment installation.