Abstract: A steam cooker for cooking foodstuffs, especially shellfish such as shrimp, in a continuous cooking process in a pure saturated-steam environment at 100° C. and atmospheric pressure. The cooker comprises a cooking chamber covered by an enclosure movable between a raised position admitting access to the cooking chamber and a lowered cooking position. A conveyor transports shrimp from a feed tank, through an entrance opening, and into an upper cooking region of the cooking chamber where the shrimp are cooked. The conveyor deposits cooked shrimp into a discharge race through an exit for downstream processing. Hydrostatic seals formed at the entrance and exit and between the bottom rim of the enclosure and a water-filled trough bounding the cooking chamber prevent steam from escaping at those places.

Abstract: A steam cooker for cooking foodstuffs, especially shellfish such as shrimp, in a continuous cooking process in a pure saturated-steam environment at 100° C. and atmospheric pressure. The cooker comprises a cooking chamber covered by an enclosure movable between a raised position admitting access to the cooking chamber and a lowered cooking position. A conveyor transports shrimp from a feed tank, through an entrance opening, and into an upper cooking region of the cooking chamber where the shrimp are cooked. The conveyor deposits cooked shrimp into a discharge race through an exit for downstream processing. Hydrostatic seals formed at the entrance and exit and between the bottom rim of the enclosure and a water-filled trough bounding the cooking chamber prevent steam from escaping at those places.

Abstract: An easily adjustable grader for sizing and sorting food products, especially shellfish such as shrimp. The grader includes a series of parallel rotating rollers attached at either end to drive chains. The drive chains include adjustment levers attached rotatably at each roller position. The levers have a first arm terminating in a rolling wheel and a second arm whose end conforms to the chain. An adjustment rail is positioned above each chain along the length of the grader. The wheels of the levers ride along cam surface on the underside of the rail. Rail adjusters at each end of the rail raise and lower each end of the rail to change the spacing between the cam surface and the chain along the length of the grader. The pressure exerted by the cam surface on the lever causes the chain to kink in proportion to the distance between the cam surface and the chain, which adjusts the gap between consecutive rollers. The widths of the gaps determine the size gradations of the grader.