Food Processing Glossary
Plain definitions of the processing terms used on this site.
- Blanching
- A short heat treatment in hot water or steam that inactivates enzymes, sets texture and color, and removes surface sugars before freezing or frying.
- Brush finisher
- A machine with rotating brushes that removes the skin loosened by a steam peeler, using little water.
- Condensate removal
- Draining the water that forms when steam condenses inside a peeler vessel, so it does not insulate the product.
- Dewatering
- Removing surface water from product after washing or blanching, with vibrating feeders, air knives or spin dryers.
- Flash release
- The sudden pressure drop at the end of a steam peeling cycle that turns moisture under the skin to vapor and lifts the skin.
- Hydrocutter (water-knife cutting)
- A cutting system that pumps potatoes in water at high speed through a fixed knife head, producing strips, wedges or slices.
- IQF (individually quick frozen)
- Freezing each piece separately in cold moving air so the product stays free-flowing. On Bigtem lines, the IQF freezer is integrated from a partner manufacturer.
- Optical sorter
- A camera-based machine that rejects defective pieces. On Bigtem lines, it is integrated from a partner manufacturer.
- Par-frying
- Partly frying fries in the plant so they can be finished by baking or frying later.
- Peel loss
- The share of raw product removed in peeling: the skin plus any flesh removed with it.
- Sliver remover
- A roller or vibrating machine that separates short pieces and slivers from cut strips.
- Steam peeler
- A pressure vessel that peels product with steam and a flash release. Bigtem builds DORUK peelers (potatoes, root crops) and Gentle peelers (fruit).
- t/h
- Metric tonnes per hour. 1 t/h is about 2,205 lb/h.