Add-on microwave
Adding an AMTek microwave oven module to any new or existing oven line increases product yields and production capacity. Available as a new combination system or as a boost module on existing lines, the microwave oven preheats the entire product at once for faster cooking and browning in the conventional oven. Yield improvements can range from 3-15 percent, and capacity increases from 15-50 percent are possible. Oven-microwave combination systems improve cooking efficiency for a variety of foods, including boneless and bone-in poultry, nuggets, sausage toppings, bacon bits and strips, patties, meatballs, hot pockets, potato products and snacks.
Heat and Control; Hayward, Calif.
510-259-0500; www.heatandcontrol.com
Spiral oven, multiphase cooking
Customer feedback played a part in the design of the GCO-II spiral oven. It offers multiphase cooking, which consists of three distinct cooking processes and produces moist, tender products. The design produces higher yields and throughput, better steam containment, improved mesh belt design and enhanced vertical air flow. These features, coupled with a supplementary impingement section that gives manufacturers greater flexibility and produces higher volumes at a faster pace, significantly reduce maintenance costs.
FMC Foodtech; Chicago
312-861-6000; www.fmcfoodtech.
Flexible and fast
With an optional control system and belt-speed controller, which can be adjusted to change cook time on the fly, the Turbo-Flo Steam Blancher/Pasteurizer maximizes production flexibility. It reduces the downtime associated with changeovers and offers a more accurate setup to improve product quality and greater assurance of food safety and quality for blanching and pasteurizing applications. Compared to conventional water blanching systems, it reduces energy consumption and waste, requires less floor space and processes up to 60 percent faster.
Key Technology; Walla Walla, Wash.
509-529-2161; www.key.net
New heaters
A new line of precision, high-efficiency, indirect gas fired heaters are 90 percent efficient. They are capable of a 1,000 degree F. rise with a 1,200 degree F. discharge temperature.
Des Champs Technologies; Buena Vista, Va.
540-291-1111; www.des-champs.com
Efficient and uniform cooking
Thermablend cookers uniformly cook soups, sauces, fillings, taco meat, chili and other viscous food products. The hourglass design provides a larger heating surface for better heat transfer and thus eliminates cooking inefficiencies while maintaining product integrity and reducing cooking times. Other features include dual ribbon agitators for quick homogenous blending, a wrap around heat jacket and a revolutionary scraper system that prevents burn-on while maximizing heat transfer.
Mepaco; Beaver Dam, Wis.
920-356-9900; www.mepaco.net
Safer and more efficient
Induction cooking plates heat using a magnetic field without a flame or a hot surface. They use 90-95 percent of the energy generated compared to about 50 percent for gas and 60 percent for electric heat, and they can be adjusted quickly and precisely. Advantages include safety, speed, precision, flexibility, economy, ergonomic design and easy cleaning. This method improves working conditions and allows cooking to be precisely controlled.
Syneg; France
+33 (0) 1 47 17 63; www.syneg.org
