Method and apparatus for producing frozen food products

A method for forming a frozen foamed food product comprising the steps of:

• (A) introducing a nontoxic gas or gas mixture into a product to be foamed under foaming conditions to form a foam product containing bubbles of said gas or gas mixture,
• (B) concurrently with or subsequent to step (A), chilling said foam product under chilling conditions to form a partially frozen foam product;
• and then
• (C) increasing the viscosity of said partially frozen foam product by adding into the partially frozen foam product a side stream of a plurality of bits of edible material having a size (as defined herein) of 0.25 to 2 inch, wherein the size distribution of said bits that are added has a standard deviation of less than or equal to 15%, wherein said bits that are added are at a temperature below minus 25 F, while controlling both the rate of heat, transfer from the bits to the partially frozen foam product and the rate of increase of the viscosity of the partially frozen foam product, thereby forming a further frozen foam product,
• wherein the rate of heat transfer from the bits to the partially frozen foam product and the rate of increase of the viscosity of the partially frozen foam product are controlled by controlling the rate of heat transfer between the bits and the product into which the bits are added, q/t, to a value between 0.75 and 1.25 BTU per minute per pound of the product in accordance with the equation
• q
• t
• =
• 3
• ⁢
• k
• ρ
• ⁢
• (
• %
• ⁢
• SS
• )
• r
• 2
• (
• (
• 2
• 3
• ⁢
• π
• (
• %
• ⁢
• SS
• )
• )
• 0.33
• -
• 1
• )
• ⁢
• (
• T
• ice
• ⁢
• ⁢
• cream
• -
• T
• bits
• )
• wherein k is the heat transfer coefficient in BTU per feet per degree Fahrenheit per minute for the heat transfer between the bits and the rest of the ice cream,
• ρ is the density of the ice cream in pounds per cubic feet,
• % SS is the weight percentage of the side stream to the total stream,
• r is the radius of a bit in the shape of a sphere,
• Tice cream is the temperature of the ice cream in degrees Fahrenheit, and
• Tbits is the temperature of the bits in degrees Fahrenheit,
• and then
• (D) hardening the further frozen foam product by further chilling it under further chilling conditions to freeze additional liquid therein, thereby forming a frozen foamed food product.