Patent ID: 8372467

Claim:
A process for cooking potato chips of varying styles and types in cooking oil, comprising the steps: providing a cooker equipped to contain at least three separate cooking oil baths comprising distinct cooking stages, each stage being equipped with independently programmable controllable oscillating mixing means, oil heating, oil circulating and temperature control means; introducing a volume of uncooked potato slices into the first cooking stage so as to develop a layer of uncooked slices in the cooking oil bath of the first stage; vigorously agitating in a double action of oscillating mixing and stirring the uncooked potato slices by alternately pushing the slices forward and then holding them back in the cooking oil so as to develop a pack of potato slices and maintaining the slices in the first stage for a predetermined dwell time before transferring the slices from the cooking oil in the first cooking stage; transferring the potato slices from the first cooking stage to the second cooking stage in an agitating tumbling action; subjecting the slice pack in the second cooking stage while to a vigorous double action of oscillating mixing and stirring the slice pack by alternately pushing the slices forward and then holding them back in the cooking oil while maintaining the pack therein for a second predetermined dwell cooking time different from the first dwell time; transferring the potato slice pack from the second cooking stage to the third cooking stage in an agitating tumbling action; subjecting the slice pack in the third cooking stage to another vigorously double action of oscillating mixing and stirring the slice pack by alternately pushing the slices forward and then holding them back in the cooking oil while maintaining the pack therein for a third predetermined dwell cooking time different from the first dwell time; and then in a continuous manner removing the slice pack from the third cooking stage.