Method and apparatus for infusing fruit

A method for infusing fruit with sugar and for producing a fruit juice product comprising the following steps:

• pressing the fruit to extract fruit juice from fruit, the extracted fruit juice being collected for further processing;
• plumping the pressed fruit from which fruit juice has been extracted with a plumping liquid containing fruit juice and sugar, the sugar content of the plumping liquid being nearly the same as the sugar content of the pressed fruit;
• infusing the plumped fruit by passing a stratified column of infusing liquor from the bottom up through the fruit at a flow rate not substantially greater than the rate of infusion of sugar from the infusion liquor into the fruit, the stratified infusion liquor having progressively increasing sugar content, the initial strata having about the same sugar percentage as that of the sugar content of the plumping liquid, this step being performed at a temperature preferably of not than 38.degree. C. and at a rate sufficiently slow so as to prevent osmotic dehydration of the fruit;
• and
• subsequently further processing the fully infused fruit.

An apparatus for infusing fruit with sugar and for obtaining a substantial juice by-product, the apparatus comprising:

• conditioning means to condition the fresh fruit for infusing, the conditioning means including a press capable of squeezing out up to 50-80% of the fruit juice from the fruit;
• fruit juice collecting means (37) for receiving the fruit juice pressed from the fruit;
• a plurality of fruit receiving tanks (40, 42, 44, 46) capable of receiving fruit to be infused;
• plumbing means interconnecting the tanks to establish a flow path from the top of one tank to the bottom of the next tank;
• an infusion liquor tank (50) for infusion liquors;
• and
• pumping means (52) to pump infusion liquors from the liquor tank to subject layers of fruit within the fruit receiving tanks to strata of infusing liquors of progressively higher sugar content to cause osmotic transfer of sugar from the infusing liquors into the fruit and to cause osmotic transfer of fruit juice from the fruit into the infusing liquors, the pumping means operating at a rate sufficiently slow so as to prevent osmotic dehydration of the fruit, the infusion liquors moving upwardly through the fruit within each fruit receiving tank.