ContinuTherm: Rice Cooking Configuration

SteamTherm:
Batch Rice Cooker

Blentech has been devising unique processes for preparing cooked rice products from day one. Today, we have the most comprehensive offering of rice cooking solutions in the industry; from the ContinuTherm that continuous cooks plain rices in excess water to the state-of-the-art SteamTherm and HydraTherm which take advantage of the full absorption cooking method to produce authentic, high value-added rices and flavored rice dishes.

The Blentech HydraTherm fully automated continuous rice processing system redefines performance and quality for the production of restaurant-quality rice products. The modular system can include raw rice transfer, rice washing and soaking, metered dosing of liquid and particulate flavoring ingredients, and post-cook cooling/chilling via chilled water or evaporative, chilled air.

Batch Capacity/ Production Rates

ContinuTherm: 100-lb/hr (45-kg/hr) to 10,000-lb/hr (4,536-kg/hr)
SteamTherm: 833-lb (378-kg), 1250-lb (567-kg) and 2500-lb (1,134-kg) batch capacities
HydraTherm: 300-lb/hr (136-kg/hr) to 4,000-lb/hr (1,814-kg/hr)

ContinuTherm:
Bacon Bit Cooking Configuration

Bacon Bit Cooking

Blentech offers a straightforward, yet effective method for continuously cooking bacon bits based on our ContinuTherm thermal screw device. The cooker is equipped with multiple, high pressure (90 psi) steam jacket heating zones; each independently controlled via a customizable PLC recipe program. This provides the huge quantity of heat energy needed to drive moisture out of the raw bacon- with precision temperature control to produce a bacon bit of consistent moisture content and brownness. Blentech's patented scrapers sweep the jacketed surfaces preventing pork protein residue build-up that can impede cooker performance.

Blentech can design a fully integrated bacon bit cooking system around our ContinuTherm cooker including raw bacon sizing and metered feeding equipment upstream and downstream devices for de-oiling and cooling of the cooked bacon bits, prior to packaging.

Production rates of 200-lb/hr (90-kg/hr) to 3,000-lb/hr (1,360-kg/hr) [finished product basis] are possible.

Bacon Bits

Pizza Topping Cooking System


 

Pizza Topping Crumbles

Pizza Topping Cooking

Blentech is the leading supplier of systems for the dedicated continuous cooking of pizza toppings in hot oil or hot water. As with our bacon bit process, the heart of the system is the ContinuTherm thermal screw cooker. Depending on end user product specifications, some processors prefer cooking pizza toppings in hot water, heated via direct steam injection, though the majority chooses to cook in hot oil (~205F), which requires a steam jacketed ContinuTherm along with an external heat exchanger. A single system can be designed to cook with either the hot water or hot oil method, when processing flexibility is stipulated.

Yield rates for a Blentech system cooking with hot water are on par with continuous oven systems, whereas a Blentech system utilizing hot oil can improve yields by 1-3%. Yet, the capital costs for a Blentech system are well below those of comparable continuous ovens. System space requirements are, likewise, less than for oven systems.

The system can be configured to alternatively cook meatballs, diced meat or poultry and vegetable products. In addition to the ContinuTherm, a complete pizza topping cooking system can include an external heat exchanger (hot oil), a settling/separation tank, a heated oil storage tank (hot oil), a defatting/dewatering vibratory shaker screen, PLC temperature controls and all necessary pumps and valving.

Production rates from 200-lb/hr (90-kg/hr) to 10,000-lb/hr (4,536-kg/hr) [raw infeed basis].