Meat&Poultry -- October 2014 - 48

TECHNOLOGY SPOTLIGHT

Putting the Sizzle Back in Bacon
Cooking bacon in a spiral convection oven provides compelling advantages over linear
microwave ovens, creating products that look and taste like they were pan-fried at home.
As the world's appetite for bacon
dramatically increased over the last few
years, processors adopted a newer, faster
technology for processing in high volumes
- the linear microwave oven. But because
of taste and appearance drawbacks many
processors went looking for a cooking
system that could produce bacon (and
other products) that looked and tasted as
natural and delicious as pan-fried bacon -
they found it in Unitherm's specialized Spiral
Oven System.
"I believe the spiral oven produces a
superior product, in terms of bacon flavor,
appearance and aroma - more like a
home-cooked product," says Bartosz Psiuch,
director of food processing equipment
distributor Alimp (Mysłowice, Poland).
"Spiral oven technology features many
controls that enable operators to regulate
various parameters that affect how the
product will be finished," Psiuch adds. "This
allows you to cook bacon or a
wide variety of other products
in ways that really appeal to
your customers' tastes."
"Taste and appearance
were deciding factors in
the purchase of our spiral
oven. Both are important to
the people who purchase
our products," says Martin
Croteau, plant manager at
Olymel (Saint-Hyacinthe,
Québec). Olymel produces
bacon as well as a variety of other
cooked and sliced meats. In November
of 2012 the company purchased a spiral
oven from Unitherm Food Systems
(unithermfoodsystems.com) to cook bacon
bits, pizza toppings and flaked bacon.

"Taste and appearance were
deciding factors"
- Martin Croteau, plant manager at Olymel
Spiral ovens - such as Unitherm's- convey
food upward by continuous conveyor belt
that travel in multiple, circular tiers within a
single oven enclosure. As bacon products
cycle upward through the spiral oven, fat is
rendered from the ascending meat and is
dispersed onto the bacon on the lower belt
tiers. In this manner, the bacon is basted and
cooked in its own juices, providing the taste,

aroma and appearance of a
traditional, pan-fried product.
Notably, bacon cooked in
microwave ovens is often flat
and dull in color, whereas the
spiral oven produces wavy,
natural-looking slices.
"Many microwave ovens
have a hold-down belt that
prevents bacon strips from
rolling up," explains Adam
Cowherd, vice president of
sales at Unitherm.  "The spiral
oven is designed so that the
finished product is not flat, but
instead has a natural, homecooked appearance."
Psiuch notes that Unitherm
Sliced bacon being cooked at Unitherm's Solution Center in USA.
has been granted a patent
Customers participate in full scale production runs including slicing,
in Europe (a similar patent
cooking, and chilling.
is pending in the U.S.) for its
microwave oven, the length of the oven has
to be extended, increasing the plant area
occupied by the unit. A spiral oven's capacity
and throughput can be increased by simply
adding more belt. While this makes the
equipment somewhat taller, the advantage
of a small footprint is retained.

"The finished product is not
flat, but has a natural home
cooked appearance."
- Adam Cowherd, vice president of
sales at Unitherm
method of cooking "more tantalizing" sliced
bacon via its spiral ovens, and will distribute
licenses for utilizing this patent to customers on
an individual basis.
The spiral oven not only produces
authentic-tasting and esthetically pleasing
bacon products, but also meets high
volume requirements along with some very
attractive economies.

The spiral oven is also more versatile than
most linear ovens and is able to roast, steam,
bake, broil or pasteurize a wide range of
product - bacon and other meat products,
chicken, seafood, kabobs, vegetables and
potatoes - any foods included in ready-to-eat
or frozen food products.
Cowherd summarizes that a single spiral
oven would only take up 20 percent of that
space required for three microwave lines to do
Versatile & compact
the same output - with a lot less energy.
Another determining factor in Olymel's
To see Unitherm Food Systems in action
decision to purchase the spiral oven was its
visit them at the Pack Expo: Chicago
smaller environmental footprint. For example,
November 2-5th Booth E8152. Or for
Unitherm's spiral is a 12.5ft x 14.5ft x 11.8ft unit
more information contact: Unitherm
that has up to 150 ft. of belt.
Food Systems, 502 Industrial Road,
Because of the spiraled configuration,
Bristow, OK 74010; Phone: 918-367-0197;
these ovens maximize the amount of product Fax: 918-367-5440; E-mail: unitherm@
that can be cooked within a given footprint.
unithermfoodsystems.com; website:
To handle greater volumes in a linear
www.unithermfoodsystems.com
http://www.unithermfoodsystems.com http://www.unithermfoodsystems.com
Meat&Poultry -- October 2014

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