US 5,615,951 A · Food process agitators

Abstract

Agitators having processing grates intended to mix and process food or other materials in a kettle either with or without heating of the materials, the mixing structures of the invention being particularly useful in the processing of food such as mashed potatoes to produce a product which has naturally-occurring "lumps" indicative of the use of real potatoes in the production of the product. The processing grates of the invention are preferably employed with horizontally disposed rotary shaft agitators operable within a kettle having a substantially hemispherical bottom portion, inner walls of the kettle being preferably scraped by scraping elements of the agitators to prevent burn-on of food materials during a mixing and/or cooking process. The processing grates of the invention can also function mounted to diagonally disposed rotary shaft agitators, the processing grates acting to reduce a food material such as potatoes to a homemade "lumpy" consistency. The potatoes are cooked either prior to or during subjection to the mixing action of the present agitators to produce a desirable product consistency such as is associated with a homemade mashed potato or similar product.

Claims47

Dependent claims

An agitator mounted for rotation within a kettle within which food materials are processed to produce a food product of a desired consistency and having a substantially creamy texture with a desirable proportion of lumps formed of and in the food materials consistent with preparation of a homemade product such as mashed potatoes and the like, comprising:

a rotary shaft horizontally disposed within the kettle;
arcuate segments rigidly attached to and disposed two each on each end of the shaft, the arcuate segments at each end being disposed substantially in the same plane and being disposed diametrically opposite each other relative to the shaft, the planes within which the arcuate segments at each end of the shaft lie being fixed relative to each other during rotation;
means carried by the arcuate segments and extending toward inner walls of the kettle for contacting at least portions of the food materials within the kettle and displacing said materials within the kettle to effect mixing thereof;
and,
means carried by the agitator for reducing the particle sizes of at least a portion of the particles of the food materials to a desired range, number and distribution of particle sizes, thereby to produce a food product such as mashed potatoes having a creamy yet lumpy consistency indicative of homemade production of such food product.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Food process agitators

Life of this patent

Food process agitators

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims47