APPARATUS FOR COOKING AND CHILLING FOOD USING HEAT EXCHANGE UNIT FOR PROCESS WATER MAKE-UP

摘要

APPARATUS FOR COOKING AND CHILLING FOOD USINGHEAT EXCHANGE UNIT FOR PROCESS WATER MAKE-UPABSTRACTApparatus useful in a food processing systemwherein food is cooked and then rapidly chilled to adesired temperature which allows extended storage life,the invention provides a particular subsystem for sucha food processing system, the subsystem having thecapability within a single structure to cook food itemspackaged in sealed casings in a hot water bath, to chillthe food items so cooked, and to tumble chill cooked fooditems or to cook food items packaged in sealed casings.The apparatus of the invention provides these capabilitieswithin a single, inexpensive structure which includes atank body having a rotary, perforated cylinder mountedwithin the tank body for rapid assembly and removal. Inone embodiment, the tank body has a steam jacket forheating water within the tank body to a desired cookingtemperature and for maintaining said temperature duringa prolonged cooking operation, the subsystem of theinvention automatically acting to drain the heated cook-ing water and refill with chilled recirculating water torapidly chill the cooked items sealed within casings toa desired temperature. In a second embodiment, the waterwithin the tank body is chilled or heated through use ofa heat exchange device, preferably a shell and tube heatexchanger, to heat process water by passage in counter-current heat exchanging relation with steam and to chillprocess water by passage in counter-current relation withchilled liquid, the heating/chilling of the processwater preferably occurring in the same heat exchangedevice. The tank body is capable of rapidly receivingand mounting the perforated cylinder for tumbling ofcooked food items in sealed casings in contact withchilled water and/or ice, the structure of the cylinderacting to massage the casings to provide rapid andeffective thermalization of the contents of the casingsto the desired temperature.