The invention provides methods and devices for heating or cooling viscous materials such as meat emulsions useful for producing food and other products. The devices include a heat exchanger comprising a first plate, a second plate attached to the first plate, and a first spacer and a second spacer arranged between the first plate and the second plate. The first plate, the second plate, the first spacer, and the second spacer define at least one temperature controlled passage for a product to pass through the heat exchanger.

The present invention provides methods for preparing hygienic dried meat products and biltong hygienic dried meat products, the method includes cutting uncooked meat into uncooked meat slices, immersing said meat slices in a vinegar solution for up to twenty minutes to form soaked meat slices, air drying the soaked meat slices for less than 72 hours to form the biltong hygienic dried meat product having at least 100,000 fold less microbes than the uncooked meat.

A method for producing liver pâté that models classic goose liver pâté made of goose foie gras. The liver pâté does not contain foie gras and only humanely produced raw materials are used. Aqueous jelly is obtained from collagen-containing animal tissue and concentrated into water-soluble jelly. Liquid fat is obtained from animal fat tissue. Raw strained animal liver is obtained by separating solid components. The concentrated aqueous jelly, liquid fat and strained raw liver are mixed, cured and cooked in a container.

A process for manufacturing minced meat includes ensuring the continuous shaping of the said minced meat into the form of a flattened strip; placing the flattened strip of meat between two sheets of controlled permeability film; evening out the thickness and spreading the minced meat placed between the two sheets; continuously unrolling the meat strip in a bath of a dehydration-salting solution; continuously unrolling the meat strip in a bath of a pasteurization solution; continuously unrolling the meat strip in a rinsing tank; removing the sheets after removal from the rinsing tank; and transporting the meat strip to an output conveyor.

Methods and systems for processing ready-to-eat bacon with pan-fried bacon characteristics comprising a combination of cooking in a microwave oven and finishing in a searing unit.

A snack product made by a method of preparing food of including the steps of providing a raw material of animal origin, reducing the size of the raw material into discrete units, combining the discrete units with at least one additional ingredient to form a mixture, cooling the mixture to a temperature at or below the dew point of the mixture, and baking the mixture at a temperature from about 150° C. to 190° C., both inclusive for about 15 seconds to 90 seconds, both inclusive to form a snack product.

An oil- or fat-processed starch, exhibiting a solubility of equal to or higher than 9.5% by mass and equal to or lower than 45% by mass, and an emulsifying capacity of equal to or higher than 50% and equal to or lower than 100%.

Molding device for molding three-dimensional food products from a mass of foodstuff which can be transferred by pumping, for example a meat mass of minced meat. The device comprises a molding drum (16) having a peripheral surface containing multiple series of cavities (44) extending in the peripheral direction. The device comprises a mass feed device which is arranged in a filling position with respect to the peripheral surface of the molding drum. The peripheral surface is embodied as a profiled peripheral surface having a shaping profile. Multiple shoe segments (42) are provided which are arranged next to one another and which have a profiled inner side with a profile which is in meshing engagement with the shaping profile. The shoe segments have freedom of movement with respect to one another, at least in the direction of the rotation axis, in order to each remain individually aligned with respect to the profile of the section with which the inner side of the shoe segment is in meshing engagement.

A facility that includes a means for forming meat fragments, and a movable support for the meat fragments, which is to convey said meat fragments in a longitudinal direction, through a means for cohesively compacting meat fragments to form a block of compacted meat fragments. The cohesive compaction means includes two movable compaction shoes for compacting the meat fragments between the movable support and said shoes. The shoes are mutually transversely offset relative to the longitudinal direction of conveyance. The shoes are each driven in a vertical alternating movement, such that the pads move relative to one another and out of phase with each other.

An apparatus and method for making meat jerky in the form of a thin-walled tube uses a food extruder extruding a meat mixture through a tubular opening die and coating the meat mixture with a solution of calcium chloride to firm the meat mixture in the tubular form without collapsing. The present invention provides a reproducible process for creating meat jerky tubes with consistent length, width, and size portion.