GPI Process Equipment explains at Interpom how to batter french fries

Overview of the Gpi Batterline as it would be applied for a potato processing line, with the batter applicator in the foreground.

November 15, 2018

Source

Gpi Processing Equipment

Ever wondered how your french fries stayed crispy for such a long time? Or wondered where they hid all the flavour in your potato wedges?

There is a good chance you were talking about french fries or potato products coated with a batter. Batters can add that extra crispiness and are a good carrier for flavours.

Making and applying batters in itself is fairly straightforward: there is a good chance you have done it in your kitchen. But doing it consistently and on an industrial scale - think 25 tonnes of french fries per hour - is an entirely different ballgame.

Equipment manufacturer Gpi Process Equipment, a Dutch company specialized in the construction of exactly such type of batterlines explains how they do it. In addition, they prepared an animation that illustrates it even better!

(Click picture to watch video)

Animation of the batter preparation process by the Gpi batterline for a french fry application (Courtesy: Gpi Process Equipment)

The Gpi Batterline is a system for high volume, continuous preparation of batter/coating, as typically seen in the potato processing industry.

The liquid batter is applied via an applicator, where product is covered in a thin layer before they are baked in the fryer.

This ‘battering’ or ‘coating’ is will give the product after preparation the desired additional properties, such as ‘bite’ (crispness), color or taste.

Interpom | Primeurs

If you are a food manufacturer and are considering to add battering equipment to your industrial food processing operation, you should make sure to stop by the Gpi booth at Interpom to talk details.

You can find them in Hall 5, booth #588.

The Gpi Batterline can also be applied in other industries where products are battered on a continuous basis, such as the meat or fish processing industries.

The Gpi Batterline consists of three modules:

Powder handling
Batter preparation system
Batter return unit

Powder Handling

Gpi Powder Handling

The first part of the Batterline is the powder handling part. The dry powder can be brought to the line in big bags or smaller bags. The powder is unloaded by a big bag station.

From that point, the powder can be transported by a transport screw or by vacuum. Working with vacuum transport allows you to keep the dry part of the line separated from the wet parts.

The powder is transported to a powder hopper, where the second part of the line starts.

Batter Preparation System

Gpi Batter Preparation System

In the second part of the Batterline, the powder is mixed with the water. A volumetric feeder doses the correct amount of powder into the mixing system, where it will meet the correct water supply.

The batter is automatically mixed into the right ratio. The mixed batter goes to one of the buffer tanks where it can settle till ready. The batter mix will alternately goes into one of the buffer tanks, which gives you a continuous flow of mixed batter.

Once the batter is settled, it will be pumped to the recirculation tank, part three.

Batter return unit

Gpi Batter Return Unit

The batter in the recirculation tank, is pumped to the applicator. It passes one or more shell-and-tube heat exchangers to get the optimal temperature.

The batter not picked up by the end-product is returned to the recirculation tank, after passing a particle filter. All waste coming with the returned batter, like pieces of French Fries, will be filtered out and disposed.

Want to know more? Stop by the Gpi Process Equipment booth at the Interpom | Primeurs in Kortrijk, Belgium between November 25 and November 27 or visit https://gpi-pe.com/animation-batterline/.