Refrigeration – Processes – Treating an article
Patent
1990-11-19
1993-04-06
Bennet, Henry A.
Refrigeration
Processes
Treating an article
62 75, 62345, 62346, 425237, F25D 1306, A23G 900, F25C 100
Patent
active
051992698
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention relates to a pelletizer for making pellets from a liquid or semiliquid food product which has been refrigerated into moldable consistency, said pelletizer having two molding rolls between which the refrigerated food product is formed into pellets.
The invention also relates to a method for making frozen pellets from a liquid or semiliquid food product.
The freezing of liquid or semiliquid food products in particle form, i.e. in the form of powders, granules, pellets or the like, confers advantages in several respects. Thus, quick freezing, as well as quick thawing, is made possible, which is advantageous for high quality. Freezing in particle form enables the producer to simplify packaging in portions of different sizes, while the consumer need only thaw the amount of food required on a particular occasion.
For freezing liquid and semiliquid food products in the form of pellets, it is previously known to first freeze the product in block form and then divide the frozen blocks into particles which are smaller than the desired pellets, and thereafter compress the particles to form pellets of the desired shape. The major drawback of this method is that it is not sufficiently gentle on many products containing components in particle form. These components may then be damaged, both during disintegration and compression.
Another method for freezing food products as defined above in the form of pellets consists in freezing the food product in containers of desired shape and volume, and expelling the food product from the containers after freezing. This method is complicated from production engineering aspects and also suffers from the disadvantage that it is difficult to prevent the product from freezing fast in the containers.
Yet another method for freezing food products as defined above in pellet form involves spreading the product on a conveyor belt which may be planar, corrugated or provided with depressions of a desired shape. The product spread on the belt is conducted thereon through a freezing zone and, after passing through this zone, is separated from the belt. This method suffers essentially from the same drawbacks as the method previously described.
It is further known, by resorting to substantial compression, to make pellets of optional materials which have been finely divided prior to compression. This technique however conditions that the components of material in the pellets produced are not adversely affected by the required, relatively high degree of compression.
The object of the present invention therefore is to provide a pelletizer of the type stated in the introduction to this specification, which is able to make pellets without any of the shortcomings encountered in prior art techniques.
According to the invention, a pelletizer of the type stated by way of introduction is characterized by a refrigerator for cooling at least one molding roll so as to bring about surface freezing of the food product during molding thereof into pellets.
The molding rolls suitably have teeth of complementary shape, and the teeth of at least one roll have axially spaced-apart recesses. In a preferred embodiment, the teeth of both rolls have recesses, the centre distance of which on each roll is at least equal to the axial width of the recesses, the recesses of one roll being axially located midway between the recesses of the other roll.
The profile of the two rolls then is suitably identical.
The recesses may advantageously have an undulating profile in an axial section of the teeth, and the teeth, may further have a rounded shape, such that the molded pellets will have a double saddle shape. To facilitate the removal of the molded pellets from the recesses, these suitably extend throughout the entire tooth width in the circumferential direction and may be provided by turning.
According to the invention, the method for making frozen pellets from a liquid or semiliquid food product is characterized by refrigerating the food product into moldable consistency, feeding the moldable food produc
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Bennet Henry A.
Frigoscandia Food Process Systems Aktiebolag
Kilner Christopher
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