Patent ID: RE42732

Claim:
A blancher for heating a plurality of food products at the same time comprising: a) a perforate food product-receiving chamber that has a food product inlet, a food product outlet, a liquid heat transfer medium, and a plurality of food products received therein; b) a food product transport mechanism received in the food product - receiving chamber for urging that rotates thereby urging food products in the food product - receiving chamber in a lengthwise direction from adjacent the food product inlet toward the food product outlet; and c) an orifice a manifold comprised of a plurality of pairs of spaced apart orifices disposed in fluid flow communication with the heat transfer medium from which a fluid liquid heat transfer medium under pressure is discharged into the food product-receiving chamber at a flow rate of at least twenty gallons per minute per foot of length of the manifold; wherein the manifold is oriented in a lengthwise direction and disposed outwardly of the food product-receiving chamber with its orifices directing flow of liquid heat transfer medium toward the food product-receiving chamber and located outwardly of a lengthwise-extending centerline of the blancher in an exiting quadrant thereof defined from where the rotating food product-receiving chamber emerges from the heat transfer medium to adjacent the centerline but not passing to or beyond the centerline .