The present disclosure provides an apparatus for making edible containers which includes a hollow female mold for holding a flowable food product and a male mold insertable into the hollow female mold. The two molds when assembled define a gap of preselected thickness so that when assembled with the food product in the female mold, the gap is filled with the food product in the shape of the final edible container produced once the food product is cooked or baked. An alignment and positioning mechanism is provide that keeps the two mold sections aligned but allows them to move with respect to each other during heating so that when the food product expands, the two molds can move with respect to each other while still keeping the two mold sections aligned with each other so the final edible container keeps its same general shape before and after cooking.

There is disclosed a method of forming a biodegradable container, such as a cup, comprising a plurality of successive press forming operations, each press forming operation comprising relative movement between an outer die 202 and an inner punch 204 from an open configuration to a forming configuration to shape a dough 400 as it expands. There is also disclosed a corresponding forming apparatus and container.

In a gyoza forming machine compressing a half kneaded noodle skin material to form into a belt-like noodle skin, die cutting the obtained belt-like noodle skin into a predetermined shape to form a gyoza skin, putting a gyoza filling on the gyoza skin, and wrapping the gyoza filling with the gyoza skin to obtain a gyoza, the gyoza forming machine includes a wrap off-cuts returning mechanism having a supply unit for a wrap off-cuts and the half kneaded noodle skin material arranging the half kneaded noodle skin material on both surfaces of the die cut wrap off-cuts, and a noodle skin forming unit compressing the wrap off-cuts and the needle skin material supplied from the supply unit to form a three-layer structure needle skin, and the wrap off-cuts returning mechanism is configured to return the die cut wrap off-cuts formed by the noodle skin forming unit to the supply unit.

A method and an installation for the automated preparation of crown-shaped tart shells, comprising the conveying on a conveyor of crown-shaped recesses, the recesses being successively subjected to an extrusion step, a deposition step and a lining step, in which the extrusion step includes the filling of at least one cell of a rotary cell support cylinder with dough, the deposition step includes the ejection of the dough rolls out of the rotary cell support cylinder and the deposition on a shell of each recess of at least two separate dough rolls, and the lining step includes the crushing of the dough rolls deposited in each recess by means of a matrix complementary in shape to the recess in order to form a dough covering at least the shell of the recess.

A dough-stretching machine, which is particularly adapted to stretch pizza dough, includes a frame associated with which are a support plane for the mass of dough to be stretched; a dough-stretching unit arranged at the top and coaxially to the support plane according to the defined vertical axis of the frame; movement apparatus for moving the support plane towards/away from the dough-stretching unit. The dough-stretching unit includes a modelling body configured to come into contact with the mass of dough; a plate in which a plurality of radial grooves are identified, each of which slidably houses a modelling element for the mass of dough; kinematic apparatus adapted to move the modelling elements along the radial grooves towards the vertical axis or away from the axis itself. The kinematic apparatus comprising a threaded shaft having one end operatively connected to motorisation and the opposite end rotatably associated with the plate; a central core provided with a nut fixed on the threaded shaft; a plurality of rods each having one end hinged to one of the modelling elements and the opposite end hinged to the central core.

Methods for the production of a variety of tortilla products involve initial extrusion of one or more grain(s) and/or legume(s) using a twin-screw extruder, followed by mixing the extrudate with water and other ingredients to form a tortilla dough. The dough is then subdivided and formed into a flat tortilla shape, followed by cooking. The grain(s) and/or legume(s) may be previously extruded as a part of a continuous process. High quality tortilla products may be produced using a wide variety of grain(s) and/or legume(s), including gluten-free ingredients.

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on computer storage media, for a comestible loader with flatteners that pivot and translate. One of the methods includes receiving, by a comestible loader, a comestible through an opening defined in a loader frame of the comestible loader and onto a surface; and pivoting and translating a first flattener and a second flattener to a pre-press position to permit the first flattener and the second flattener to position the comestible approximately at a target position on the surface.

A device for spreading doughs includes at least one supporting surface on which a predefined quantity of dough can be accommodated, and movement elements for a frame which accommodates sliding blocks which protrude toward the supporting surface. The movement elements are configured for at least one displacement of the frame from a first configuration of maximum distance of the blocks from the surface to a second configuration of minimum distance. The blocks are controlled by a respective actuator configured for their translation according to a predefined stroke on their plane of arrangement. When the frame is in the second configuration, the translation of the blocks occurs from a first arrangement, in which they are mutually close, to a second arrangement, in which they are mutually spaced, producing the transverse stretching of the predefined quantity of dough with consequent widening thereof and reduction of its thickness.

A device for forming pizza bases includes at least one supporting surface on which a predefined quantity of dough can be accommodated; the surface is surmounted by a respective supporting frame for a pusher designed to flatten the quantity of dough and to spread it. The pusher has a presser plate to which vertices of at least two contiguous radial laminas are hinged. Between the frame and the pusher, there are interposed at least one central actuator, configured for a vertical translation of the central body between a first configuration of maximum distance from the supporting surface and a second configuration of minimum distance from it, and at least two external actuators, configured for the vertical translation of the outer edge of a respective lamina between a first arrangement of maximum distance from the supporting surface and a second arrangement of minimum distance from it.

A vehicle-based, automated pizza-making system including a two-piece pizza pan conveyed between pizza-making components on a series of pan drive rails. The two-piece pizza pan can include a base and a removable ring for containing the unfinished pizza and toppings. The rails can include timing belts for conveying the two-piece pizza pan through the system with improved positional control and accuracy.