Continuous system and method for producing frozen food products

Abstract

An apparatus for making a frozen food product comprising a mixer having no moving parts is disclosed. The apparatus further comprises heating means external to the mixer. The premix and refrigerant combine inside the mixer to produce a frozen food product. The heating of the mixer raises the temperature of the mixer sufficiently to prevent crystallization of the mixer contents at the mixer wall, thus preventing “over-freezing.” In this way, plugging of the mixer is minimized and the end product exits the mixer unassisted by mechanical means, yet is still in a frozen state. Thus, it is now possible to produce a quality frozen food product using cryogenic refrigerants, without causing the end product to be at cryogenic temperatures. The present invention has the further advantage of allowing adjustable quantities of refrigerant and premix to be used. The invention is simple in operation and can be operated in a portable and/or continuous manner. The resulting products can be made as a soft or hard frozen food product by adjusting various parameters, including, but not limited to, flow rates, jacket, temperatures, tube length, and so forth.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.