The present invention relates to an apparatus for cooking seeds, such as cereals, legumes or the like.

The cooking of seeds is a treatment that is typically carried out at a temperature of 95-110°C with humidity comprised between 20% and 80%.

The cooking of starchy seeds (maize, rice, barley, spelt, rye, oats, sorghum, quinoa, wheat, millet, and in particular the so-called "flaking" (carried out to convert non-soluble starch (glucose polymer) to soluble glucose) is a treatment for animal feeds or for foods for human consumption (flakes, instant polenta, maize pasta and rice (spaghetti, macaroni etc.). ).

The humidity of starchy seeds with flakes is approximately 20-30%. Cooked starchy seeds with a humidity of 20-30% are converted 50% to glucose; to convert 100% to glucose it is necessary to subject the seeds to the rolling process.

Conventional flaking systems are usually constituted by a tank for storing the raw material (which may be clean and, in some cases, hulled or degermed).

Downstream of the storage tank a conditioning device is provided that can be hydro thermal (using water and heat) or thermal (using heat only).

Finally, downstream of the conditioning device a rolling device is provided, for example using rollers, as well as a cooling device, typically with horizontal belts.

The aim of the present invention is to make available a new apparatus for cooking cereals which is capable of optimizing the various steps of the process.

Within this aim, an important object of the present invention is to make available an apparatus for cooking cereals which is extremely practical to use.

This aim and these and other objects which will become better apparent hereinafter are achieved by a cooking apparatus according to claim 1.

Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will become better apparent from the description of some preferred but not exclusive embodiments of an apparatus, which are illustrated by way of non-limiting example in the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a cooking reactor;

Figures 2 and 3 are two longitudinal cross-sections of the cooking reactor.

With reference to the figures, the present invention relates to an apparatus, generally designated by the reference numeral 1 , for cooking seeds such as cereals, legumes and the like, and specifically, an apparatus that is adapted for the so-called "flaking".

According to the present invention, the apparatus 1 comprises a supporting frame for at least one cooking reactor 2 with a vertical axis 100.

The reactor 2 has a conical or frustum-shaped lower accommodation portion 2a and a pressure-tight upper closure portion 2b.

At the upper closure portion 2b there is at least one loading inlet 3, which is or are connected or can be connected functionally to a supply tank (not shown) containing a mixture of water and seeds or of seeds.

There is no reason why the water and the cereals cannot be fed separately into the cooking reactor 2.

In the supply tank further elements, in addition to the water and cereals, such as for example a syrup, can be added.

The reactor 2 accommodates a mixing device 4.

Such mixing device 4 comprising at least two mixing screws 4a, 4b, the axes of extension 101a, 101b of which converge, proceeding downward, toward the vertical axis 100 of the cooking reactor 2.

The apparatus 1 is further provided with means 5 of moving the at least two screws 4a, 4b about their own axes of extension 101a, 101b and about the vertical axis 100 of the reactor 3.

The reactor 3 is associated with a device for supplying hot water at a temperature comprised between 55°C and 100°, and preferably between 55° and 95°, and with a device 10 for introducing steam.

The steam introduction device 10 comprises an apparatus for generating heat such as for example a boiler (not shown) connected functionally to a delivery duct 11 , which in turn is connected to respective intake ducts 12 that have an inlet 12a that leads into the cooking reactor 2.

Preferably, the inlets 12a are defined at the lower accommodation portion 2 a.

In particular, the inlets 12a are defined substantially at a central region along the height extension.

A first and a second plurality of inlets 12a may also be provided, such inlets being defined, at different heights, at the lower accommodation portion 2 a.

The lower accommodation portion 2a defines, at the bottom, an outlet 11 for discharging the cooked cereals, which is arranged, for example, over an intermediate storage tank for the cooked seeds.

In the latter case, the intermediate storage tank is provided, in an upward region, with an inlet and, in a downward region, with a measured outlet for sending the cereals to a device for crushing and drying or for drying.

According to a possible embodiment, the apparatus 1 comprises, between the intermediate storage tank and the drying device, a device for rolling the cereals discharged through the measured outlet.

Conveniently, the mixing device 4 comprise a supporting body 6 for the at least two mixing screws 4a, 4b, such supporting body being able to rotate on command about the vertical axis 100.

The at least two mixing screws 4a, 4b are in turn supported by the supporting body 6 so that they can rotate about their own axes of extension 101a, 101b.

The movement means 5 comprise first motor means 7 for moving the supporting body 6 about the vertical axis 100 and second motor means 8 connected kinematically by way of at least one transmission coupling 8a to the at least two mixing screws 4a, 4b.

Conveniently, the reactor 2 is provided with safety means, such as for example at least one safety valve, adapted to keep the pressure inside the reactor 2 below a threshold value.

The steam for cooking passes through the delivery duct 12 that connects the boiler to the reactor 2; once it has reached the inside of the reactor 2, the steam is pushed to a pressure of 1 bar, and condenses to cook the cereals with a pressure of 0.5 bar by raising the temperature of the cereals. The cereals will have a humidity comprised indicatively between 20% and 50%.

Use of an apparatus 1 according to the invention is the following.

Seeds such as cereals and legumes, after having undergone the initial treatments of cleaning and separation from dust, are ready to be converted to quality products, as required by livestock farmers, by cereal farmers and by feedstuff producers.

Cereals and legumes for the food sector, on the other hand, undergo a treatment of cleaning, hulling and degerming.

Cereals or similar products are therefore taken from silos or from storage cells to be introduced into feed buffers.

Subsequently they are taken from here to be sent to a cooking apparatus.

The first step consists of a thermal treatment that occurs in the reactor 2, where the grains remain for a preset time (approximately 10-30 minutes) and where they are mixed by virtue of the action of the mixing means 5.

Differently from solutions that involve a cooking tower, water and steam are introduced into the reactor 2 so that they cook the cereals at a temperature of approximately 100°C.

The apparatus 1 comprises PLC means that are adapted to allow, in succession, the pre-introduction into the reactor 2 of hot water by way of the hot water supply device and, subsequently, of steam by way of the steam introduction device.

In this manner an optimal humidity and temperature are obtained.

It should be noted that the reactor 2 is conical or frustum-shaped, and not cylindrical.

The conical or frustum-shaped cross-section has been specially designed and made in order to make it possible for the product to be treated homogeneously and in order to facilitate the exit path.

A boiler is the source of production of the hot water and steam necessary for the cooking.

The steam is adjustable in terms both of quantity and of temperature in order to meet the needs of the products to be processed.

Hot humidification of the cereal serves to:

- sanitize the product (reduce its bacterial load);

- make it more malleable and therefore easier to crush;

- gelatinize the starch to facilitate its solubility with consequent improvement of the digestibility and assimilation of the product.

The production of steam from water requires, among other things, extremely low energy consumption.

The new apparatus 1 makes it possible to cook the starchy seeds (with 40-80% humidity), converting 100% of the starch to glucose without a rolling mill, therefore offering the possibility of having uncrushed, whole seeds, such as for example whole maize for salads or the breakfast wheat used in France. It is also possible to produce instant flour for polenta or maize and rice flour pasta.

The apparatus 1 can further be used to produce milk of various seeds and legumes (soya), almonds and rice (cereals). For this kind of production, the product must be between 60-80% humid; it is then ground and the milk extracted. The dross will be composed of fibers.

It is also possible to cook edible buckwheat: this seed has a solid husk inside which is starch flour (glucose polymer). When cooked with hot water and steam, the starch is converted to glucose with a humidity between 40-60%. The subsequent drying of this product crystallizes the flour and the seed becomes like rice. This product is very commonly used by Slavic peoples.

The apparatus 1 further offers many other applications for seeds.

For example, to measure the soluble glucose after cooking it is necessary to produce a flour.

Then it is necessary to mix the flour with water, respectively 25% and

75%.

This dough is subjected to a viscosity measurement. In technical jargon this measurement of viscosity is called starch gelatinization.

To reduce production costs, instead of cooking the product with the bain-marie method (using only steam in a jacket), the apparatus makes it possible to introduce hot water between 70-100°C into the reactor 2 in advance and then subsequently, after a time calculated by the PLC, introduce the steam.

In this manner an optimal humidity and temperature are obtained.

The plant chars at a temperature of 140° and cooking under 110°C is therefore necessary.

In practice the materials employed, as well as the dimensions and the contingent shapes, may be any according to requirements.

Moreover, all the details may be substituted by other, technically equivalent elements.

The disclosures in Italian Patent Application No. 102016000105406 (UA2016A007501) from which this application claims priority are incorporated herein by reference.

Where technical features mentioned in any claim are followed by reference signs, those reference signs have been included for the sole purpose of increasing the intelligibility of the claims and accordingly, such reference signs do not have any limiting effect on the interpretation of each element identified by way of example by such reference signs.