Appliance to handle shortening

Abstract

Apparatus for managing melted shortening or lard for deep-frying purposes includes an upper tank holding melting elements and a lower tank for receiving melted fat, and a delivery pump, hose, and hand-held nozzle. Tanks are electrically heated and regulated. The melting elements have a large surface area and are designed to present the block of fat with a wide contact area of heated metal. The apparatus can be cleaned by boiling water within the lower tank. The mobile apparatus can be moved about a kitchen in order to load a cooking vessel with shortening and also includes collecting elements to receive used fat from underneath, or to pump from the cooking vessel.

1 . A powered appliance to service deep-fry cookers in a kitchen with a supply of liquid shortening (as herein defined) from time to time, and remove used liquid shortening from time to time, characterised in that the appliance includes internal means for melting a block of solid shortening, means for holding the melted shortening in a first internal heated chamber, and means for supplying a cooker with the melted shortening from the first internal heated chamber: the appliance also being provided with wheels so that it can be pushed up to the cooker to be serviced.  
   
   
       2 . An appliance as claimed in  claim 1 , further characterised in that the internal means for melting a block of solid shortening employs a series of transverse bars forming a top surface for the internal heated chamber, each bar being internally heated and capable of bearing a solid block of shortening during a melting process.  
   
   
       3 . An appliance as claimed in  claim 2 , further characterised in that each bar is heated by an internal electric resistive element.  
   
   
       4 . An appliance as claimed in  claim 2 , further characterised in that each bar is ohmically heated by passage of a heavy current at low voltage through the surface material of the bar.  
   
   
       5 . An appliance as claimed in  claim 2 , further characterised in that each bar is ohmically heated by circulation of eddy currents within the bar, the currents being induced by an alternating magnetic field developed in proximity to each bar.  
   
   
       6 . An appliance as claimed in  claim 2 , further characterised in that the appliance includes means to receive hot used, molten shortening from below a cooker into a protruding heated container, the appliance including a pump to lift the used shortening from the protruding heated container into the first internal heated container: the appliance also being provided with wheels so that the protruding heated container can be pushed under the cooker to be emptied.  
   
   
       7 . An appliance as claimed in  claim 6 , further characterised in that the appliance includes a second internal heated chamber reserved for receiving and holding used shortening: the first internal heated chamber of the appliance being reserved for use with new or unused shortening.  
   
   
       8 . An appliance as claimed in  claim 6 , further characterised in that the appliance includes a filter through which the used cooking oil is received so that filtered detritus may be removed from the used shortening and discarded, so that the shortening may be re-used if acceptable.  
   
   
       9 . An appliance as claimed in  claim 7 , further characterised in that the appliance includes a filter through which the used cooking oil is received so that filtered detritus may be removed from the used shortening and discarded, so that the shortening may be re-used if acceptable.