Industrial Blanchers for Fruit, Vegetable and Potato Lines
Six Bigtem blancher types, selected by product, process (blanching, cooking, pasteurizing or rehydrating) and your energy and water priorities.
Blancher types compared
| Type | Heating medium | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| Dipping blancher with top and bottom belt | Steam or steam and water | Product held between two belts and submerged, for even treatment of floating products. |
| Belt-type dipping (water) blancher | Hot water | Continuous belt through a heated water bath, for fry strips and cut vegetables. |
| Belt-type steam blancher | Steam | Product carried on a belt through a steam chamber, for products that should not be water-dipped, such as sweet corn kernels. |
| Screw dipping blancher | Hot water | A rotating screw moves product through the bath for controlled residence time, suited to small and dense products. |
| Drum blancher | Hot water | A rotating drum tumbles product through hot water, for robust products and rehydration. |
| Hydrostatic steam/water blancher | Steam and water | Sectioned hydrostatic design (2+8 sections on the reference build) for heating and cooling in one unit. |
Blanching in a French fry line
Fry lines use two-stage blanching: starch removal and color stabilization first, then cooking. Starch can be recovered from blanching water with a decanter. After blanching, strips go to the belt dryer and the fryer.
Blanching before IQF freezing
For sweet corn, multi-zone belt or steam blanching is used instead of water dipping. For peaches, steam blanching comes before IQF freezing. See frozen fruit and vegetable lines.
Blancher questions
Water or steam blanching?
Water blanching gives fast, even heat transfer and suits fry strips and many cut vegetables. Steam blanching avoids leaching and is used for products such as sweet corn kernels. We recommend the medium for your product.
Why two-stage blanching in a fry line?
The first stage removes surface starch and stabilizes color. The second cooks the strip to the texture you need before drying and frying.
Can one machine heat and cool?
Yes. The hydrostatic steam/water blancher combines heating and cooling sections in one unit.
What capacity do I need?
It follows your line throughput and residence time. Send us your product and output and we size it.
Get a blancher recommendation
Tell us your product, process and output. We recommend the blancher type and size.