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.