Abstract: Pasta dough is blanched or cooked by forming a pasta dough into a plurality of continuous pasta dough strands and simultaneously directing leading ends of the continuous strands and water at a temperature sufficient to blanch or cook the strands into the inlet end of a pipe which descends vertically from the inlet end to an outlet end. The water contacts the strands and draws and conveys the strands through the pipe for a time sufficient to blanch or cook the strands. As the blanched or cooked strands and water exit from the pipe through the outlet end, the continuous strands are conveyed away from the pipe while draining and collecting water, which is recirculated to the pipe inlet end.

Abstract: An apparatus for forming a product strip about a filling material, such as a tubular filled pasta product and particularly cannelloni, has a roller positioned for forming a strip of material, such as a pasta strip, when the strip is transported longitudinally and contacted by the roller, into a curved strip having a curved interior area, and a conveyor belt is positioned to transport the curved strip from the roller to a filling deposit member for deposit of a filling within the curved strip interior area and then to a ring member positioned for passage of the curved strip containing the filling therethrough for forming the curved strip into a tube about the filling for enclosing the filling within the tube.

Abstract: A layered food product is prepared with strips of flexible food material wherein one of a plurality of previously formed strips is guided onto a first advancing conveyor belt and transported on the belt, and a second strip is guided onto a second advancing conveyor belt and transported on then off of that belt and then guided so that the off-transported strip is guided to lie over and advance with the first strip transported on the first advancing belt to form a layered product which is transported on the first advancing belt. A filling may be deposited upon the first transported strip prior to guiding the second strip to lie over the first strip, and further strips may be guided onto further belts and transported and guided sequentially to lie over the layered product to form a further layered product, and a filling again may be deposited so that the filling is present between each of the strips.

Abstract: An apparatus for preparation of a layered food product has two conveyor belts, wherein a first conveyor belt is positioned beneath a second conveyor belt, and has a first guide for guiding a plurality of strips of a food material so that one strip is guided onto the first conveyor belt and another strip is guided to the second conveyor belt for transport by the conveyor belts. The conveyor belts extend so that the second conveyor belt has an end positioned above the first conveyor belt at a position between the ends of the first conveyor belt, and a product-forming strip guide is positioned to guide a strip delivered from the end of the second conveyor belt for deposit onto a strip transported on the first conveyor belt for forming a layered food product.

Abstract: Cannelloni is prepared by, initially, forming and blanching a longitudinally extending pasta strand and then cutting the strand into a plurality of longitudinally-extending strips positioned side-by-side. Each strip is passed in a direction of its longitudinal extent to and by a roller having a configuration of a curved surface so that it is contacted by the roller surface to curve the strip so that the curved strip has an upper concave curved surface and a lower convex curved surface, the curved strip is transported on a conveyor belt so that the convex surface is carried by the belt, a filling is deposited onto the concave surface and the curved strip is formed, in particular, by passing the curved strip and filling through a ring positioned above the belt, into a tube for enclosing the filling and so that the strip overlaps, and then, the tube is cut into tubular pieces.