Treatment, such as cutting, soaking and/or washing, of organic material

An apparatus for treating material, the treatment comprising cutting, soaking and/or washing of the material, the apparatus comprising:

• a receptacle comprising wall elements defining an interior volume of the receptacle adapted to contain fluid and material to be treated,
• an infeed device for feeding material to be treated into fluid contained in the receptacle,
• a discharge element in upstream fluid communication with the interior of the receptacle and in downstream fluid communication with a fluid connection, the discharge element comprising a vortex generator,
• a pump is arranged downstream of the vortex generator in order to pump fluid with material from the receptacle towards the vortex generator and into the downstream fluid connection so that said material is retained in said receptacle for a retention time,
• the vortex generator and the pump in combination being adapted to generate a vortex in the form of a conic helix in the fluid in use, so that the vortex extends axially into the receptacle with said fluid and said material following a conical path having a velocity varying in direction around an axis of the vortex from said infeed device to said discharge element, and
• a user operable pump controller operably connected to said pump to control a rate of pumping of said fluid by said pump,
• said infeed device being arranged to feed said material into the receptacle at a location disposed lateral of said axis between a said wall element and said axis so that the material is delivered to the vortex where the velocity of the vortex is directed downward,
• wherein the flow rate of said fluid in the direction towards the discharge element is controllable by the pump upon user operation of said pump controller so that the retention time of the material in the receptacle is controlled.