A method of making a porous, crunchy, dehydrated, vegetable, meat or seafood snack product. A piece of vegetable, such as potato, sweet potato, carrot, beet or parsnip, or a piece of meat or seafood, is frozen, forming ice crystals within the piece of food. The frozen piece is exposed to microwave radiation in a microwave-vacuum dehydrator at a vacuum pressure at which the boiling point of water is above 0 C., causing the frozen piece to thaw and water to evaporate from the thawed piece. The evaporation leaves pores that were formed by the ice crystals within the piece of food, resulting in a porous, crunchy, dehydrated snack product.

Method for preparing deep-frozen vegetable pieces, preferably potato pieces such as french fries, comprising of bringing the vegetable pieces into brief contact with an inert substance which has a temperature which is sufficiently low and for a period of time which is sufficiently long to impart to the outer layer of the vegetable pieces a temperature which is <0 C. while an inner part of the vegetable piece has a temperature which is >0 C.; slowly freezing the vegetable pieces until the pieces are fully deep-frozen by bringing the vegetable pieces into contact with air.

A system for separating cut food products includes a flow inlet, a flow outlet, and at least one drum connecting the flow inlet and the flow outlet. The flow inlet may be oriented to direct the cut food product tangentially into the at least one drum. The flow inlet may be oriented to direct the cut food product into the at least one drum at a right angle to a longitudinal axis of the at least one drum. The at least one drum may be a plurality of drums including a first drum having the flow inlet and a second drum having the flow outlet. The system may include a passageway providing fluid communication from the first drum to the second drum. The passageway may include a tapered section. The flow inlet may be aligned with the flow outlet.

Methods and systems for making a high-purity -lactalbumin composition are described. The composition may be made by providing a whey protein mixture, and adding an alkaline solution to the mixture to make the mixture alkaline and promote the aggregation of -lactoglobulin proteins. The alkaline whey protein mixture is filtered into a -LG aggregate composition and a -LA enriched composition. A final -lactalbumin enriched composition sourced from the -LA enriched composition is dried into the high-purity -lactalbumin composition (a powdered dairy composition) that is at least 70 wt. % -lactalbumin on a protein basis. A protease enzyme may optionally be added to the -LA enriched composition to form an enzymatically treated -LA enriched composition that becomes the source of the final -lactalbumin enriched composition.

A potato piercing assembly for preparing a potato to be cooked in a microwave oven includes a first dish that may have a potato positioned therein. A plurality of first spikes is provided and each of the first spikes is coupled to the first dish. Each of the first spikes pierces the potato when the potato is positioned in the first dish thereby preparing the potato to be cooked in a microwave oven. A second dish is hingedly coupled the first dish. The second dish is selectively positioned in a closed position such that each of the first dish and the second dish enclose the potato. A plurality of second spikes is provided and each of the second spikes is coupled to the second dish. In this way each of the second spikes pierces the potato when the second dish is closed.

A potato cultivar designated X17 is disclosed. The invention relates to the tubers of potato cultivar X17, to the seeds of potato cultivar X17, to the plants of potato cultivar X17, to the plant parts of potato cultivar X17, to food products produced from potato cultivar X17, and to methods for producing a potato plant produced by crossing potato cultivar X17 with itself or with another potato variety. The invention also relates to methods for producing a potato plant containing in its genetic material one or more transgenes and to the transgenic potato plants and plant parts produced by those methods. This invention also relates to potato cultivars or breeding cultivars and plant parts derived from potato variety X17, to methods for producing other potato cultivars, lines or plant parts derived from potato cultivar X17 and to the potato plants, varieties, and their parts derived from use of those methods. The invention further relates to hybrid potato tubers, seeds, plants and plant parts produced by crossing potato cultivar X17 with another potato cultivar.

A processed ingestible plant having a coating, and a method for coating an ingestible item. The coating imparts a long lasting texture to the ingestible item. The coating mimics the exterior tissue of an edible plant, and includes parts that are derived from multiple fragments of edible plant exterior tissues.

A potato cultivar designated X17 is disclosed. The invention relates to the tubers of potato cultivar X17, to the seeds of potato cultivar X17, to the plants of potato cultivar X17, to the plant parts of potato cultivar X17, to food products produced from potato cultivar X17, and to methods for producing a potato plant produced by crossing potato cultivar X17 with itself or with another potato variety. The invention also relates to methods for producing a potato plant containing in its genetic material one or more transgenes and to the transgenic potato plants and plant parts produced by those methods. This invention also relates to potato cultivars or breeding cultivars and plant parts derived from potato variety X17, to methods for producing other potato cultivars, lines or plant parts derived from potato cultivar X17 and to the potato plants, varieties, and their parts derived from use of those methods. The invention further relates to hybrid potato tubers, seeds, plants and plant parts produced by crossing potato cultivar X17 with another potato cultivar.

A method of peeling tubers includes providing a peeler device defining a cavity surrounded by a peeling mechanism, inputting tubers to be peeled into the cavity, directing electromagnetic radiation from an illumination device into the cavity-detecting electromagnetic radiation reflected into lens of a camera from tubers located in the cavity during a peeling operation by the peeling mechanism, and operating the peeler device based on the reflected electromagnetic radiation detected by the camera. Also disclosed is an apparatus for carrying out the method.