Method and apparatus for processing stone fruit

Abstract

A method for processing fruit (10) that has a central stone (11) and flesh (12) surrounding the stone, said method comprising the steps of:—positioning the fruit (10) inside a casing (2) in which a rotating element (3) rotates, said casing (2) comprising at least one outlet hole (21);—removing from the stone (11) at least a part of the flesh (12) attached to the stone (11); The step of removing from the stone (11) at least a part of the flesh (12) attached to the stone (11) comprises the step of pushing the fruit (10) by centrifugal force against the casing (2) and bringing said rotating element (3) into contact with the flesh (12) until the stone (11) manages to pass through said at least one outlet hole (21). The method further comprises the steps of:—obtaining a semi-processed product downstream of the casing (2) formed by the stone (11) and the flesh (12) that was separated from the stone (11);—making said semi-processed product pass through a sieve (4) that retains the stone (11) allowing the passage of the flesh (12).

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.