Batch cooker
AssigneePpm Technologies, Inc.
InventorsDevin Reeser, David Rueter
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Batch cookers, as well as methods for cooking using the batch cookers, are provided. A batch cooker comprises a cooking trough configured to hold a volume of heated cooking oil. An oil recirculation system delivers heated cooking oil from an external heat source (e.g., a heat exchanger) to the cooking trough through a series of valves and inlets. After use in cooking, used cooking oil is drained from the cooking trough and filtered (e.g., using a drum filter) before being recirculated into the heat source for reuse in subsequent cooking cycles. One application for the batch cooker of the present disclosure is to cook kettle-style potato chips. Accordingly, the batch cooker is configured to facilitate the multiple cooking temperatures required to produce kettle chips.
Claims17
A batch cooker, comprising:
- a cooking trough configured to hold a volume of heated cooking oil;
- and
- an oil recirculation system in fluid communication with the cooking trough, comprising:
- a heat exchanger configured to heat cooking oil flowing through the heat exchanger,
- an oil inlet circuit intermediate, and in fluid communication with, the heat exchanger and the cooking trough,
- one or more inlet valves intermediate, and in fluid communication with, the oil inlet circuit and the cooking trough, each inlet valve being configured to control the amount of oil passing from the circuit to the cooking trough,
- one or more oil outlets configured to remove oil from the cooking trough,
- an oil outlet circuit in oil flow communication with said oil outlets,
- an oil filter intermediate, and in fluid communication with, the oil outlet circuit and the heat exchanger,
- a bypass valve in fluid communication with the oil inlet circuit, said bypass valve being configured to control the amount of oil passing from the oil inlet circuit, through a bypass conduit, and to the oil outlet circuit without passing through the cooking trough, and
- an oil pump configured to pump oil through the oil recirculation system.
A method for cooking kettle chips, comprising:
- (a) delivering heated cooking oil to an elongated cooking trough, said cooking oil being heated by a heat supply positioned at a location distal from the cooking trough;
- (b) delivering raw potato slices into the cooking oil in the elongated cooking trough with the cooking oil heated to a first temperature;
- (c) decreasing the temperature of the cooking oil in the cooking trough to a second temperature when the raw potato slices are delivered to the cooking trough by altering the flow of cooking oil to the cooking trough;
- (d) increasing the temperature of the cooking oil in the cooking trough to a third temperature to provide cooked potato slices after cooking, by altering the flow of heated cooking oil to the cooking trough;
- and
- (e) removing the cooked potato slices from the cooking oil in the cooking trough, thereby to provide cooked kettle chips.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.