A shell form and a method of using the shell form requires a wire form and a wire clip, a tortilla placed therebetween during the time that the tortilla is cooked in hot oil forming a taco shell.

An electrical appliance has a base with a housing portion and a cooking chamber portion. The housing portion includes a pre-heated air intake opening and a heated air exhaust opening with an air path in communication therebetween. The air path has an air blower and an air heater disposed there-in. The cooking chamber portion has an electrical socket and is adapted to receive, one at a time, an air-frying chamber and a deep-frying chamber. The air-frying chamber has a heated air intake opening in communication with the housing portion's heated air exhaust opening when the air-frying chamber is received by the cooking chamber portion. The deep-frying chamber has an oil heating element electrically engageable with the electrical socket when the deep-frying chamber is received by the cooking chamber portion.

Methods for processing poultry food products are provided, more particularly methods for processing poultry thighs to produce wing-like poultry parts. The poultry parts comprise a skin-on bone-in thigh portion and/or a skin-on boneless thigh portion. The food products approximate the texture and eating experience of traditional poultry wings with the enhanced flavor and juiciness of dark meat. Also provided are food product packages comprising the skin-on thigh portions.

A fryer includes a cooking chamber for holding a cooking medium and at least one heating element positioned within the cooking chamber. The fryer further includes a conveyor belt for selectively advancing food product through the cooking chamber. The conveyor belt includes first and second chains coupled together by a plurality of elongate members extending therebetween. The conveyor belt further includes a plurality of paddles coupled to the first and second chains and extending therebetween to define a plurality of compartments. Each of the plurality of paddles includes a screen, and each compartment is sized to receive at least a portion of the food product. The conveyor belt defines a continuous loop.

A robotic kitchen assistant for frying includes a robotic arm, a fryer basket, and a robotic arm adapter assembly allowing the robotic arm to pick up and manipulate the fryer basket. The robotic arm adapter includes opposing gripping members to engage the fryer basket. A utensil adapter assembly is mounted to the handle of the fryer basket, and the opposing gripper members are actuated to capture a three-dimensional (3D) feature of the utensil adapter assembly. The robotic arm adapter assembly can include an agitator mechanism to shake the fryer basket or another utensil as desired. Related methods are also described.

A robotic kitchen assistant for frying includes a robotic arm, a fryer basket, and a robotic arm adapter assembly allowing the robotic arm to pick up and manipulate the fryer basket. The robotic arm adapter includes opposing gripping members to engage the fryer basket. A utensil adapter assembly is mounted to the handle of the fryer basket, and the opposing gripper members are actuated to capture a three-dimensional (3D) feature of the utensil adapter assembly. The robotic arm adapter assembly can include an agitator mechanism to shake the fryer basket or another utensil as desired. Related methods are also described.

A robot system includes a robot arm configured to tilt a fry basket in a first direction or in a second direction different from the first direction or lift up or lower the fry basket and a controller configured to perform a residue removal mode in which the robot arm rotates and moves the fry basket to a set residue removal path in which residue in a fryer is sifted out.

A potato chip that has more oil near its outer surfaces than in its interior and a unique RVA profile is disclosed. The organoleptic properties of the inventive potato chips compare favorably to known and commercially available potato chips.

A system and method for cooking a food item, such as poultry, includes heating cooking fluid in a cooking vessel to a temperature sufficient to cook poultry and placing the poultry on a substantially horizontal perforate plate, breast down, such that the poultry is at least partially immersed in the cooking fluid. The perforate plate prevents poultry skin from sticking to a support, such as a deep fry cooking basket. The immersed poultry is cooked for a selected cooking period and then removed, along with the perforate plate from the cooking fluid. The poultry is then removed from contact with the perforate plate.

Described is a method for operating a cooking appliance which has a cooking vessel to which a weight measuring system is assigned, wherein the weight of a substance introduced into the cooking vessel is determined via a weight difference determination and wherein the determined weight is used as a parameter for a safety function and/or a cooking process optimization, wherein the cooking process optimization comprises at least a time optimization, with the result that the duration of the cooking process is adapted to the weight of the introduced substance. Furthermore, an assembly is described.