Processing system and method for quick-cooking legumes
AssigneeBrown's Best Food
InventorsMerton R. Leggott, Randall A. Baker, Rick L. Williams
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A quick-cooking legume producing system includes equipment for receiving, sizing, moisturizing, tempering and precooking legumes. A first roller assembly is located downstream from the cooking equipment and includes a pair of rollers with generally cylindrical outer surfaces having corrugations. A second roller assembly is located downstream from the first roller assembly and includes a pair of rollers with generally cylindrical, smooth outer surfaces. Cooling and storage equipment are provided downstream from the roller assemblies. A quick-cooking legume producing method includes receiving, sizing, moisturizing, tempering, precoooking, fracturing, cooling and storing steps.
Claims22
A legume processing system, which includes:
- (a) cooking means for precooking said legumes;
- and
- (b) fracturing means for fracturing the precooked legumes while leaving individual legumes deformed but otherwise substantially intact, thereby producing quick-cooking legumes.
A system for processing legumes which include seed coats and cotyledons, which comprises:
- (a) receiving means for receiving the legumes;
- (b) sizing means for sizing the legumes;
- (c) moisturizing means for moisturizing the legumes;
- (d) tempering means for tempering the legumes;
- (e) infra-red cooking means for irradiating the tempered legumes with infra-red radiation to precook the legumes;
- (f) fracturing means for fracturing the precooked legumes, thereby producing quick-cooking legumes, said fracturing means including a roller assembly with first and second rollers each having a rotational axis, said roller rotational axes being substantially parallel;
- (g) cooling means for cooling the fractured precooked legumes;
- and
- (h) storing means for storing the cooled legumes.
A method of processing legumes with outer seed coats and in new cotyledons which comprises the steps of:
- (a) precooking the legumes;
- (b) fracturing the precooked legumes with a roller assembly, said fracturing step including distorting the cotyledons of the legumes while otherwise leaving the legumes substantially intact, thereby producing quick-cooking legumes.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.