Food product forming apparatus and method

An apparatus for forming a food product from a raw food material, comprising:

• a mold having a mold face;
• a plunger assembly associated with said mold, comprising a plurality of plungers, and movable between at least first and second positions, said plurality of plungers being substantially contained within said mold when said plunger assembly is in said first position, said plurality of plungers being extendable through and displaced outwardly from said mold face when said plunger assembly is in said second position;
• a moving assembly for moving said plunger assembly between said first and second positions;
• and
• a raw food material supply assembly for directing a supply of the raw food material toward said mold face to form the food product, said plunger assembly being in said first position as the food product is being formed and being moved by said moving assembly from said first position to said second position to at least assist in the ejection of the food product from said mold.

A method for forming a three-dimensional food product having upper and lower surfaces utilizing a mold and a membrane, wherein at least a portion of a mold face of said mold has a three-dimensional contour and at least a portion of said membrane is positioned over said mold face, said method comprising the steps of:

• directing a flow of a raw food material toward said mold face;
• substantially conforming said membrane to said contour of said mold face with said directing step to form at least a portion of the upper surface of the food product with a three-dimensional contour;
• ejecting the food product from said mold using at least said membrane;
• and
• generating a three-dimensional contour on at least a portion of the lower surface of the food product using said ejecting step.

An apparatus for forming a food product from a raw food material, comprising:

• a mold comprising a mold face, a sidewall extending upwardly from said mold face, and a mold top defining an upper surface of said mold;
• a membrane mounted directly on at least a portion of said mold, wherein at least a portion of said membrane is positioned over said mold face, said membrane comprising bottom, side and lip portions, said bottom portion being positioned over said mold face, said side portion extending upwardly from said bottom portion and being positioned substantially adjacent said sidewall of said mold, and said lip portion extending inwardly from said side portion and against at least a portion of said mold top;
• and
• a raw food material supply assembly for directing a supply of the raw food material toward said mold face, wherein said membrane substantially conforms to said mold face to form the food product, and wherein said membrane assists in separating the food product from said mold face.

An apparatus for forming a food product from a raw food material, comprising:

• a mold having a mold face;
• a membrane mounted directly on at least a portion of said mold, wherein at least a portion of said membrane is positioned over said mold face;
• a raw food material supply assembly for directing a supply of raw food material toward said mold face, wherein said membrane substantially conforms to said mold face to form the food product and wherein said membrane assists in separating the food product from said mold face;
• and
• a plunger assembly reciprocally interconnected with said mold, movable between at least first and second positions, and comprising a plurality of plungers, said plurality of plungers being substantially recessed within said mold when said plunger assembly is in said first position, said plurality of plungers extending through ad being displaced outwardly from said mold face when said plunger assembly is in said second position.