Horizontal rotary drum hot water cooker for food prods. - employs counter current heat transfer to permit use of lower temp. water

摘要

Hot water cooker or blancher has a cylindrical, cooking drum which rotates about its longitudinal, horizontal axis. A coaxial, internal helical scroll conveys prod. through the drum by rotation. Prod. travels from the upstream end of the drum countercurrent to heated water which passes through perforations in the scroll wall to overflow at the upstream end. At least one spiral of the scroll at the downstream end is unperforated while the corresponding section of the drum shell is perforated to drain away water conveyed in that direction with the prod. Water overflowing at the upstream end and draining at the downstream end of the drum is pref. collected and recycled. Alternate spirals of the scroll pref. have a perforated annular control zone surrounded by an unperforated annular outer zone and vice versa. Used partic for vegetables. The heat transfer efficiency obtd. from countercurrent flow is such that water of lower temp. can be used for cooking. There is a consequent saving in energy and reduced cost of cooking the prod.