A method for cooking is disclosed. In response to an oven being selected to cook a food item, a determination is made whether or not any oven is being engaged in cooking. If no oven is being engaged in cooking, then temperature-control mode is utilized to control oven temperature of the selected oven. If one oven is currently being engaged in cooking, then another determination is made whether or not the total current demand by the two ovens to cook respective food items exceeds a predetermined current limitation under temperature-control mode. If the total current demand does not exceed the predetermined current limitation, then temperature-control mode is utilized to control oven temperature of the two ovens. If the total current demand exceeds the predetermined current limitation, then time-control mode is utilized to control oven temperature of the two ovens.

Conveyor ovens for cooking food according to various embodiments include variable speed fans to deliver air from a plenum into at least two lower cooking zones below a conveyor of the oven, and at least one variable speed fan to deliver air from the plenum into one or more upper cooking zones above the conveyor, wherein a controller operates the fans delivering air into the lower cooking zones independently of each other and independently of the other fan. The fans can be controlled so that air delivered to a bottom side of the conveyor has a speed that is different in the different lower cooking zones and/or is different than air delivered to the top side of the conveyor. In some cases, the speed of the fans is predetermined and set in accordance with the type of food to be cooked.

A system and apparatus for controlling airflow in large industrial forced-convection ovens that are used for cooking, smoking, drying, and processing meat and food products. The system and apparatus reduce temperature, color, and yield variation within the ovens, and also reduce cooking times and power requirements. The system and apparatus use variable-width supply-air slots and dual, side-mounted return ducts to precisely control the airflow within the oven so that the air can be directed to the slowest cooking areas in the oven.

A method for cooking is disclosed. In response to an oven being selected to cook a food item, a determination is made whether or not any oven is being engaged in cooking. If no oven is being engaged in cooking, then temperature-control mode is utilized to control oven temperature of the selected oven. If one oven is currently being engaged in cooking, then another determination is made whether or not the total current demand by the two ovens to cook respective food items exceeds a predetermined current limitation under temperature-control mode. If the total current demand does not exceed the predetermined current limitation, then temperature-control mode is utilized to control oven temperature of the two ovens. If the total current demand exceeds the predetermined current limitation, then time-control mode is utilized to control oven temperature of the two ovens.

A cleaning system for an oven having shelves which provide for distributed jets of heated air, allows water accumulation within the shelves during cleaning by reducing airflow through the shelf, and then provides rapid expulsion of the water in cohesive streams after accumulation to provide high inertial cleaning.

An embodiment of the present disclosure provides a toaster oven including: a cooking chamber; an air passage; and a fan. The cooking chamber includes a side wall and a top wall. One of the side wall and the top wall is provided with an air inlet in communication with a cooking space of the cooking chamber. The other of the side wall and the top wall is provided with an air outlet in communication with the cooking space. The air passage between the air inlet and the air outlet is disposed outside the cooking chamber. The fan blows air from the air inlet to the air outlet through the air passage.

In one aspect, a spiral cooking device includes a first cooking zone with air configured to move horizontally therethrough in a first direction, a second cooking zone with air configured to move horizontally therethrough in a second direction different than the first direction, and a spiral conveyor belt at least partially positioned in the first and second cooking zones and configured to transport food product thereon through the first and second cooking zones. In one aspect, a spiral cooking device includes a spiral conveyor belt providing a central opening inside the belt and a conveyor belt drive member positioned externally of the central opening. In one aspect, a conveyor belt cleaning device is provided. In one aspect, a cooking device includes a frame including a plurality of coupled pipes for providing structural support to the device and at least one of the pipes is configured to have liquid pass therethrough.

A conveyor-type oven is particularly well suited for cooking food products such as pizza. The oven may comprise a housing defining a baking chamber, and a primary chamber that is positioned beneath the baking chamber, the housing having an opening at each of the two longitudinal ends of the baking chamber. A continuous conveyor belt transports food to be cooked through the baking chamber, and a source of hot air is arranged to introduce hot air into the primary chamber. An upper plenum assembly is disposed in the baking chamber and includes a plurality of orifices from which to discharge hot air downwardly towards the conveyor belt, while a lower plenum assembly is disposed in the baking chamber and includes a plurality of orifices from which to discharge hot air upwardly towards the conveyor belt. Ducting interconnects the primary chamber with the upper and lower plenum assemblies, and one or more fans are operable to transport hot air from the primary chamber through the ducting to the upper and lower plenum assemblies. The conveyor-type oven enables fast, even cooking of food products while maintaining a relatively small floor-space footprint.

A steam cooker having a main body, a cavity provided inside the main body, a steam generator provided to generate steam, a supply pipe connecting the steam generator to the cavity to supply steam into the cavity, a discharge pipe arranged to discharge the steam inside the cavity to the outside of the cavity, a discharge nozzle coupled to an end of the discharge pipe, and a cooling fan provided between the cavity and the main body to cool the cavity, and wherein the discharge nozzle is disposed adjacent to the bottom of the cooling fan such that steam discharged through the discharge nozzle is guided downward between the cavity and the main body by the cooling fan. The steam cooker can prevent the condensation water from falling down on the lower part of the main body.

The cooking module for bakery products includes a cooking enclosure having an arched roof and a sole on which the products rest. The module is equipped at least with a heating mechanism in the roof. The heating mechanism includes a plenum in which a heat-transfer fluid circulates from an inlet and at least one outlet. The plenum includes a plurality of blowing orifices for blowing fluid into the enclosure. The module includes a device for blanking off the orifices, being movable between a position of blanking of the orifices and a position of opening same. There is a means for extracting the heat-transfer fluid passing through the plenum and/or blown into the enclosure.