Patent ID: 7307243

Claim:
A continuous oven for dynamically heating a food product having an outer surface and an interior, the oven comprising: an enclosure with a first heating zone and a second heating zone; a conveyor configured to convey the product from the first heating zone to the second heating zone; at least one surface-browning infrared emitter adjacent the first heating zone of the conveyor and configured to provide a first electromagnetic radiation profile to the product in the first heating zone that is adapted to evaporate surface moisture to produce a crust matrix on the outer surface of the product; and at least one interior-heating infrared emitter adjacent the second heating zone of the conveyor and configured to provide a second electromagnetic radiation profile to the product in the second heating zone that is different from the first electromagnetic radiation profile, wherein the second electromagnetic radiation profile is adapted to heat the interior of the product, the first electromagnetic radiation profile provides a greater heat flux to the product than the second electromagnetic radiation profile, and the first and second electromagnetic radiation profiles together approximate a heat flux characteristic of an immersion frying process.