Cutting of large potatoes

A method of producing potato slices for the manufacture of potato chips, the method comprising the steps of:

• a. providing a plurality of potatoes, at least some of which are elongate along a longitudinal direction, wherein at least some of the elongate potatoes have a longitudinal length which is within the range of from 70 to 250 mm;
• b. providing a cutting apparatus comprising an annular-shaped cutting head and a central impeller coaxially mounted within the cutting head for delivering potatoes radially outwardly toward the cutting head, a plurality of knives serially mounted annularly around the cutting head, each knife having a cutting edge extending substantially upwardly and spaced from the cutting head to provide a gap, extending in a radial direction, between the cutting edge and the cutting head, and a plurality of orientation elements serially and annularly mounted within the impeller to define a plurality of cutting zones located around the impeller, each cutting zone being between adjacent orientation elements, wherein radially inner parts of adjacent orientation elements are separated in a substantially circumferential direction to define between adjacent orientation elements a throat for passage therethrough of a potato in a radially outward direction into the respective cutting zone toward the cutting head, wherein the throat has a width of from 70 to 140 mm;
• c. feeding the potatoes into the impeller, the impeller rotating to deliver the potatoes radially outwardly toward the cutting head by a centrifugal force into the cutting zones;
• d. for at least some of the elongate potatoes, deflecting a rotationally leading part of the outwardly moving elongate potato within the impeller in a rotationally rearward and inward direction by a potato deflection surface of a respective first orientation element, which potato deflection surface at least partly faces inwardly with respect to an outer periphery of the impeller, so as to orient the longitudinal direction of the elongate potato into a substantially radial orientation, in a cutting position, with the potato urged against a potato supporting surface of a second orientation element, the second orientation element being adjacent to and rotationally trailing the first orientation element;
• and
• e. cutting each potato in the cutting position into slices by the plurality of knives, centrifugal force radially outwardly advancing each potato in the cutting position prior to a subsequent slice cutting action.

A method of producing potato slices for the manufacture of potato chips, the method comprising the steps of:

• a. providing a plurality of potatoes, at least some of which are elongate along a longitudinal direction;
• b. providing a cutting apparatus comprising an annular-shaped cutting head and a central impeller coaxially mounted within the cutting head for delivering potatoes radially outwardly toward the cutting head, a plurality of knives serially mounted annularly around the cutting head, each knife having a cutting edge extending substantially upwardly and spaced from the cutting head to provide a gap, extending in a radial direction, between the cutting edge and the cutting head, and a plurality of orientation elements serially and annularly mounted within the impeller to define a plurality of cutting zones located around the impeller, each cutting zone being between adjacent orientation elements;
• c. feeding the potatoes into the impeller, the impeller rotating to deliver the potatoes radially outwardly toward the cutting head by a centrifugal force into the cutting zones;
• d. for at least some of the elongate potatoes, deflecting a rotationally leading part of the outwardly moving elongate potato within the impeller in a rotationally rearward and inward direction by a potato deflection surface of a respective first orientation element, which potato deflection surface at least partly faces inwardly with respect to an outer periphery of the impeller, so as to orient the longitudinal direction of the elongate potato into a substantially radial orientation, in a cutting position, with the potato urged against a potato supporting surface of a second orientation element, the second orientation element being adjacent to and rotationally trailing the first orientation element;
• and
• e. cutting each potato in the cutting position into slices by the plurality of knives, centrifugal force radially outwardly advancing each potato in the cutting position prior to a subsequent slice cutting action.