Thermal treatment of food products

Apparatus for imparting thermal energy to or removing thermal energy from food products, said apparatus comprising a plurality of sequentially arranged thermal treatment sections and a conveying means for transporting food products sequentially through each of said sections;

• at least one of said sections comprising an impingement thermal treatment section further comprising a plurality of jet fingers disposed transversely to said conveying means and adapted to direct a plurality of columnated jets of a temperature-controlled gaseous medium substantially perpendicularly against said conveying means so as to impinge against the exterior surface of a food product moving relative to said columnated jets of gas on said conveying means, thereby imparting to or removing from the surface of said food product a portion of the thermal energy that is desired to be imparted to or removed from said food product, duct means communicating with said jet fingers and adapted to direct the flow of said temperature-controlled gaseous medium thereto, plenum means adapted to distribute said temperature-controlled gaseous medium to said duct means, cabinet means adapted to support said jet fingers, duct means and plenum means so as to define a cooking chamber around said conveying means, blower means disposed within said cabinet means and adpated to discharge said temperature-controlled gaseous medium into said plenum means;
• and at least one of said thermal treatment sections comprising an equilibrating section adapted to contact the exterior surface of a food product transported on said conveying means with a temperature-controlled gaseous medium flowing in a direction substantially parallel to said conveying means, said equilibrating section further comprising an equilibrating chamber defined by cabinet means having top, bottom, front, back and side walls, duct means disposed within said cabinet means communicating with the plenum means of said impingement thermal treatment section and adapted to discharge said temperature-controlled gaseous medium in a direction substantially parallel to said conveying means within said equilibrating chamber, means for controlling the flow of said temperature-controlled gaseous medium through said duct means, and curved baffle means disposed opposite to said duct means within said cabinet means, said curved baffle means being adapted to circulate the temperature-controlled gaseous medium discharged from said duct means within said equilibrating chamber.