PRACTICAL NO.

3:

Heat Processing Equipment (Preservation by the Application of Heat)

Bread dough bakes in an industrial oven.

Depending on whether the application (and the specific unit operation) is aimed towards heating
or cooling the food material, heat transfer equipment can be used to direct heat towards or away
from the material, respectively.

Heat processing equipment—i.e., equipment which heats food—can cause not only physical
changes in the food material, but chemical, biochemical, and biological changes as well. These
changes can transform and affect the overall quality of the resulting food products—such as by
altering the chemical structure or enhancing the flavor—and serve as a preservation method by
inhibiting or destroying the microorganisms or enzymes which cause spoilage.

There are many unit operations employed during the heat processing stage, including blanching,
baking, roasting, and frying, and Table 3 below describes some of them and outlines the equipment
used to execute them.
Table: – Heat Processing Equipment by Unit Operation

Unit Description Equipment

Operation Employed
Baking • Employs heated air (heated by convection, conduction, Baking ovens
and radiation)—and, in some cases, water vapor—to heat
and produce physical and chemical changes in food • Direct
material, such as texture or flavor heating
• Assists in the preservation of food matter by destroying ovens
microorganisms and reducing the amount of moisture at • Indirect
the food surface heating
• Suitable for producing bread, crackers, biscuits, and other ovens
flour- based or dough-based products • Batch ovens
• Continuous
and semi-
continuous
ovens

Blanching • Employs heated water or steam to reduce the number of Blanchers

microorganisms and inactivate undesirable enzymes
which can cause spoilage • Steam
• Also cleans, removes excess air from, softens, and blanchers
improves the overall quality • Hot water
• Typically follows preparation operations and precedes blanchers
preservation operations, such as packaging, dehydrating,
or freezing
• Suitable for fruits and vegetables

Dehydration • Employs heat to remove (i.e., evaporate) water from solid, Dryers
semi-solid, or liquid food material with the intention of
producing a solid food product with sufficiently low water • Contact
content (conductive)
• Increases the shelf life of food products due to the reduced dryers
water content which inhibits microbial growth and • Vacuum
enzyme activity dryers
• Reduces weight and volume and/or transforms the form • Freeze
of the final food product dryers

Evaporation • Removes volatile solvents (typically water) from food Heat exchangers
material by boiling to increase the concentration of solid
contents • Evaporators
• Increases the shelf life of food products due to the reduced • Condensers
water content, but also increases the rate of chemical
deterioration
• Reduces the weight and volume of the final food product
 • Typically precedes operations, such as crystallization,
precipitation, and coagulation
• Suitable for liquid-based food products

Frying • Employs heated (~160–180 °C) fat or oil to transfer heat Fryers
directly to food material
• Reduces moisture content, forms a surface crust (changes • Batch fryers
texture and structure), and inactivates microorganisms • Continuous
which improves shelf life and overall quality fryers

Pasteurization • Processes food material under medium temperatures (70– Pasteurizers

100 °C) to inactivate most enzymes and microorganisms
(but not spores) which cause spoilage • In-container
• Produces food products with limited shelf lives (short- pasteurizers
term preservation method) • Continuous
• Little to no impact to quality and characteristics beyond flow
the shelf life pasteurizers
• Suitable for dairy, fruit/vegetable-based, wine, beer, and
egg products Heat exchangers

• Plate heat
exchangers
• Concentric
tube heat
exchangers

Sterilization • Processes food material under high temperatures (100+ Sterilizers/sterilizing

°C) to inactivate all microorganisms and enzymes retorts
(including microbial spores)
• Can be heated by steam, hot water, or direct flames • In-container
• Produces food products with long shelf lives (long-term sterilizers
preservation method) • Continuous
• May result in a significant impact on quality and flow
characteristics sterilizers

Heat exchangers