33-3 |
High performance air impingement/microwave cooking systems |
J. R. NORRIS, M. T. Abbott, and M. Dobie. Enersyst Development Center, LLC, 2051 Valley View Ln., Dallas, TX 75234-8994 Impingement, a specialized form of convective heat transfer, enables food products to be crisped, browned, and seared on the outside. Today well over 100,000 impingement conveyor ovens are installed in foodservice and food processing operations in every part of the globe. Enersyst’s solution to a challenge from the U.S. Surgeon General for the Space Station embodied an impingement/microwave oven that is now migrating back to earth in the form of a foodservice oven, the Fujimak SuperJet, and to the home appliance arena as the Thermador JetDirect Oven. Fujimak’s SuperJet oven utilizes Enersyst patented technology to make a “no-compromises” oven that can use any pan including metal. Any product can be cooked, including scratch baked goods; proteins such as chicken, seafood, pork, beef; vegetables; appetizers; pasta; casseroles; or pre-made or partially prepared items. Foods can be raw, fresh, frozen, refrigerated, or partially cooked. Cook times vary with the state of the product and type of product, and are typically reduced to about 25% the normal cooking time. Enersyst has developed, patented and licensed other speed cooking devices for the USA and elsewhere. Meals are delivered in a minute or two from special vending machines. Food products are stored frozen, reheated in a special high performance oven, then delivered to the customer. Over 1,000 of these devices are already in the market. Thermador will market Enersyst ovens for use in the home under the name JetDirect. The self-cleaning JetDirect oven uses patented impingement/microwave technology described above to cook scratch items in a fraction of the conventional time. The “Cooksmart” controls allow the consumer to use any conventional recipe and automatically convert the cook times to the new technology. Proven by years of use in top restaurants and chains all over the world, impingement benefits immensely when combined with microwave.
Session 33, Food processing with air impingement systems: Innovations and opportunities
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