HEAT PROCESSING EQUIPMENT

HEAT PROCESSING EQUIPMENT (PRESERVATION BY THE APPLICATION OF HEAT)

 Depending on whether the application (and the specific unit operation) is aimed
towards heating or cooling the food material, heat transfer equipment can be used to
direct heat towards or away from the material, respectively
 Heat processing equipment—i.e., equipment which heats food—can cause not only
physical changes in the food material, but chemical, biochemical, and biological
changes as well. These changes can transform and affect the overall quality of the
resulting food products—such as by altering the chemical structure or enhancing the
flavor—and serve as a preservation method by inhibiting or destroying the
microorganisms or enzymes which cause spoilage
 There are many unit operations employed during the heat processing stage, including
blanching, baking, roasting, and frying etc
 HEAT PROCESSING EQUIPMENT BY UNIT OPERATION

Unit Description Equipment

Operation Employed
Blanching •Employs heated water or steam to reduce the number of microorganisms Blanchers
and inactivate undesirable enzymes which can cause spoilage •Steam blanchers
•Also cleans, removes excess air from, softens, improves the overall quality •Hot water
•Typically follows preparation operations and precedes preservation blanchers
operations, such as packaging, dehydrating, or freezing
•Suitable for fruits and vegetables

Steam blancher Hot water blancher

HEAT PROCESSING EQUIPMENT BY UNIT OPERATION

Unit Description Equipment Employed

Operation

Dehydration •Employs heat to remove (i.e., evaporate) water from solid, semi-solid, or Dryers
liquid food material with the intention of producing a solid food product •Convective dryers
with sufficiently low water content •Contact (conductive)
•Increases the shelf life of food products due to the reduced water dryers
content which inhibits microbial growth and enzyme activity •Vacuum dryers
•Reduces weight and volume and/or transforms the form of the final food •Freeze dryers
product
 HEAT PROCESSING EQUIPMENT BY UNIT OPERATION

Unit Description Equipment

Operation Employed

Baking •Employs heated air (heated by convection, conduction, and radiation)— Baking ovens
and, in some cases, water vapor—to heat and produce physical and •Direct heating ovens
chemical changes in food material, such as texture or flavor •Indirect heating ovens
•Assists in the preservation of food matter by destroying microorganisms •Batch ovens
and reducing the amount of moisture at the food surface •Continuous and semi-
•Suitable for producing bread, crackers, biscuits, and other flour- based or continuous ovens
dough-based products
HEAT PROCESSING EQUIPMENT BY UNIT OPERATION

Unit Description Equipment

Operation Employed

Evaporation •Removes volatile solvents (typically water) from food material by boiling Heat exchangers
to increase the concentration of solid contents •Evaporators
•Increases the shelf life of food products due to the reduced water •Condensers
content, but also increases the rate of chemical deterioration
•Reduces the weight and volume of the final food product
•Typically precedes operations, such as crystallization, precipitation, and
coagulation
•Suitable for liquid-based food products
Vacuum Dryer
Evaporator

Direct heat baking oven

Freeze Dryer Condenser
HEAT PROCESSING EQUIPMENT BY UNIT OPERATION

Unit Description Equipment

Operation Employed
Frying •Employs heated (~160–180 °C) fat or oil to transfer heat directly to food Fryers
material •Batch fryers
•Reduces moisture content, forms a surface crust (changes texture and •Continuous fryers
structure), and inactivates microorganisms which improves shelf life and
overall quality

Batch fryer Continuous fryer

HEAT PROCESSING EQUIPMENT BY UNIT OPERATION

Unit Description Equipment

Operation Employed

Pasteurization •Processes food material under medium temperatures (70–100 °C) to Pasteurizers
inactivate most enzymes and microorganisms (but not spores) which •In-container
cause spoilage pasteurizers
•Produces food products with limited shelf lives (short-term preservation •Continuous flow
method) pasteurizers
•Little to no impact to quality and characteristics beyond the shelf life Heat exchangers
•Suitable for dairy, fruit/vegetable-based, wine, beer, and egg products •Plate heat
exchangers
•Concentric tube
heat exchangers
Heat exchangers In-container pasteurizer Plate heat exchangers
HEAT PROCESSING EQUIPMENT BY UNIT OPERATION

Unit Description Equipment Employed

Operation
Roasting •Similar to, and often referred interchangeably with, baking •Roasting machinery
•Employs heated air (heated by convection, conduction, and radiation)— •Roasting ovens
and, in some cases, water vapor—to heat and produce physical and •Baking Equipment
chemical changes in food material, such as texture
•Assists in the preservation of food matter by destroying microorganisms
and reducing the amount of water at the food surface
•Suitable for meats, nuts, vegetables, etc.
HEAT PROCESSING EQUIPMENT BY UNIT OPERATION

Unit Description Equipment Employed

Operation
Sterilization •Processes food material under high temperatures (100+ °C) to Sterilizers/sterilizing retorts
inactivate all microorganisms and enzymes (including microbial spores) •In-container sterilizers
•Can be heated by steam, hot water, or direct flames •Continuous flow sterilizers
•Produces food products with long shelf lives (long-term preservation Heat exchangers
method)
•May result in a significant impact on quality and characteristics