| 摘要 |
<p>Apparatus and method for preparing hot food products in portions of predetermined size by rehydrating a dehydrated food product to provide a dough that can be shaped and heated. The apparatus includes means (18) for storing bags of dehydrated product and for opening individual bags as needed to maintain a desired level of dehydrated product in a hopper. Rehydration means (22) are provided, including a metering chamber (80) to meter a portion of the dehydrated food product, and a rehydration head (86) to uniformly wet the dehydrated food product to form a coherent dough. The dough is passed through a forming means to form it into predetermined pieces that are extruded from a forming chamber, and a wire knife (152) passes linearly across the forming chamber to separate the extruded product therefrom. A product transfer conveyor (208) is provided to convey the shaped dough pieces to a fryer vessel (222) in which heated frying oil is provided.</p> |
