A frying apparatus for conveying food on a surface coated with oil heated for frying the food pieces has a tray which extends longitudinally for containing food pieces for frying, and an assembly is positioned for conveying food pieces in a direction from one end of the tray to the other so that during the conveying, the food pieces are mixed and so that the tray surface upon which the food pieces are fried is scraped for cleaning the surface. In two apparatus embodiments, members of the conveying assembly form a helical arrangement in an area about and are displaced a distance from a circumference of a rotatable shaft and are configured for scraping the tray surface for cleaning the surface, and in another embodiment, plate members which have a shape of a section of an ellipsoid plane are affixed with an axle at an angle with respect to a lateral cross-section of the axle so that upon rotation of the axle in one direction, the plate members convey food pieces. In operation, the time food pieces are fried is controlled, and the food pieces may be conveyed discontinuously for frying.

A cooking apparatus for oil frying comprising an outer pan, a rotational wheel and a plurality of pivotal dummy plates wherein the wheel is mounted on a pivot axis between two shaft brackets of the outer pan, the dummy plates are mounted on the circumference of the wheel, and the pivot axis of each dummy plate is parallel with the pivot axis of the wheel. Food can be filled for deep-fried cooking through an end of the outer pan and is pushed forward by the dummy plates on the wheel and forcibly pushed out of another end of the outer pan.

An apparatus for cooking and smoking food products under pressure comprises a cooking enclosure with separate means for heating and for supplying smoke under pressure. More particularly the apparatus comprises an enclosure with a removable door and a food tray which slides in and out of the opened door. An internal heat tube is provided for connection to an external heat source. A system for producing, filtering, drying, and compressing smoke introduces compressed dry smoke which pressurizes the enclosure. There is also provided a method of maintaining a relatively constant pressure inside the enclosure, and means for indicating temperature and pressure inside the enclosure.

The machine enables food to be automatically cooked in a liquid or to complete its cooking. It comprises a vessel for the cooking liquid, elements for heating the cooking liquid, and elements for maintaining the liquid level in the cooking vessel substantially constant. The machine also comprises a series of liquid-permeable seats, each arranged to receive food to be cooked or whose cooking has to be completed, means for moving the seats along a predetermined cyclic path, during a part of which the food contained in the seats is immersed in the cooking for a time sufficient to cook the food or to complete its cooking, a station in which the food to be cooked or the food for completion of cooking can be fed into each seat, and a station in which the cooked food can be extracted from the relative seat.

A fryer system and a frying process have a continuous through feed operation. On an endless conveyor mechanism for the fryer system, there is arranged a plurality of receiving containers, which can accept frying goods. The receiving containers, which are essentially enclosed, are formed having a fill orifice on an upper face and a closeable drain orifice on an underface. At at least one fill station, a defined amount of a heated frying fluid can be poured through the fill orifice into the receiving containers with the drain orifice closed. At at least one drain station the frying fluid can be emptied out of the receiving containers with the drain orifice open. Through the fryer system and its a frying process, the consumption of frying fluid and consumption of energy can be significantly reduced yielding a good frying result.