Patent ID: 8726793

Claim:
An apparatus for lipophilically conditioning potato slices, the apparatus comprising an elongate tank for containing a reservoir of oil, the tank having an upstream end and a downstream end, an elongate longitudinal conveyor disposed in the tank, the conveyor being adapted to pass products through the reservoir of oil from the upstream end to the downstream end, the conveyor defining therealong a plurality of compartments for containing respective groups of products during passage from the upstream end to the downstream end, wherein the conveyor comprises a rotatable drum having a helical auger mounted therein, a downstream end of the helical auger has a combination of first and second superposed helical elements of opposite rotational direction, each compartment at the downstream end being defined between respective first and second helical elements, a first group of compartments located towards the upstream end having a first length and a second group of compartments located towards the downstream end having a second length, the first length being longer than the second length, and at least one oil jet located on the tank for causing turbulent flow in the reservoir of oil.