J.r. Simplot Company

David N Gallina

David Bruce Walker

Michael L Hamann

Bruce T Pittard

Bruce W Skiver

Stephen L O'Bannon

An improved production process for preparing parfried and frozen French fry potato products with reduced crumb generation particularly upon finish preparation as by finish frying. Potato products such as French fry strips are cut, blanched and parfried, followed by a water treatment step as by applying a light spray or mist of water at ambient temperature and preferably at a rate selected to avoid any substantial overspray. The potato products are frozen for shipment and/or storage awaiting finish preparation. Upon finish preparation as by finish frying in hot oil, the potato products exhibit substantially reduced crumb generation. The improved process is particularly useful when parfrying and/or finish frying the potato products in a liquid or substantially non-hydrogenated oil, such as a zero grams Trans Fat (ZGTF) oil, with dramatically reduced crumb generation upon finish fry preparation while retaining a substantially optimized balance of sensory characteristics.

French fry production method with reduced crumb generation

An improved pancake die is provided for use in a pancake production system for producing pancakes having a highly uniform weight but exhibiting a substantially random peripheral shape reflective of a desirable homemade appearance. The pancake die comprises a cavity of selected geometric shape formed in a reciprocal die plate adapted for movement between a first position underlying a batter reservoir for filling the die cavity with batter, and a second position underlying a discharge plunger for pushing the formed pancake from the die cavity onto a discharge conveyor for further processing. The die cavity is subdivided into an upper zone having the selected geometric shape, and an enlarged undercut lower zone separated therefrom by a substantially radially outwardly extending step. With this configuration, the periphery of each formed pancake distorts in a substantially random manner upon engagement by the discharge plunger, to provide a desirable homemade product appearance.

Pancake die

Potato patty

Growing community of inventors

Nampa, ID, United States of America

David N Gallina