Abstract: Apparatus for extracting pomegranate seeds from pomegranates including a pomegranate breaker operative for breaking open pomegranates generally without cutting pomegranate seeds at the interior of the pomegranates and a pomegranate seed extractor operative to engage broken open pomegranates for separating the pomegranate seeds from other parts of the pomegranates.

Abstract: An Avocado Skinning and Pulping Device. The avocado pulper has two grip belts approximately oval in shape and further having a plurality of grip plates around the grip belts. The grip plates are knurled thereby facilitating a grasping of an avocado as it is conveyed into the grip belts and rides through to the rear opening. A pivotable and adjustable belt guide within an inner section of each grip belt is adapted to exert maximum squeezing pressure on the avocado at the approximate middle section of the grip belts at which point the grip belts are in approximate contact with one another. Pulp is thereby squeezed from the avocado. The grip belts separate at the approximate rear defining space for releasing the skin of the avocado. A de-seeder adjacent to the front end opening of the grip belts removes the seed from the avocado prior to its entry into the maximum squeezing section.

Abstract: An apparatus for removing pits from prunes or other soft fruit, including holders defining pockets for holding soft fruit, an excess fruit removal assembly (e.g., comprising one or more paddle wheels), a pitting knife assembly, and a holder drive assembly for translating the holders along a closed loop. Each pocket defined by each holder is movable between open and closed configurations as the holder is translated around the loop. Each holder includes a top chuck plate shaped to guide an article of fruit into each pocket with reduced risk that excess fruit (fruit not properly seated in a pocket) will remain lodged on the chuck plate after the holder has translated past the excess fruit removal assembly. Other aspects are a chuck plate configured for use as a top chuck plate of a fruit holder of a pitting apparatus, and a fruit holder including such a chuck plate.

Abstract: A stuffing hand tool for inserting food material into pitted or cored produce items such as olives, figs, strawberries, cherries, which includes a body easily gripped with one hand by a user allowing a tube projecting from one end to be pressed into a mass of food material creating a plug of food material retained in the tube which is stuffed into an item when a plunger is advanced by depressing a pusher cylinder extended out from the opposite end of the body.

Abstract: A food product based on dehydrated fruit or vegetable, and a method and equipment assembly for its production thereof, and use of said product as a tidbit or snack or as an additional or complementary ingredient in meals or in various food products such as cereals. The food product is comprised of substantially dry clusters of dehydrated and puffed fruit or vegetable pieces having an appealing shape and size, a crunchy texture and a palatable consistence. To produce the product, prepared fruit or vegetable pieces are dehydrated and puffed, the pieces are then homogeneously mixed with a liquid binder suitable for human or animal consumption and formed into clusters by compression-molding; then the clusters are dried to the desired end moisture contents. The main part of the equipment assembly for producing the product is a cluster forming device.

Abstract: A pitting machine comprises a punching head that performs a curvilinear oscillatory movement in synchronization with the translation movement of fruits to be pitted, in particular for use in industries that process food such as pitted dried or dehydrated plums and which are currently performing manual operations or using rudimentary equipment.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for pitting olives (or other fruit) and slicing the pitted fruit. In preferred embodiments, a pitting knife and a coring knife horizontally translate each olive to be pitted while the pitting knife, coring knife, and olive revolve together about a horizontal axis, the pitting knife pushes out the pit horizontally as the olive and cup translate along a segment of a circular first path around the axis, the apparatus includes slicing pockets (in positions horizontally separated from the first path) which translate along a circular second path parallel to the first path, after pitting, a pitting knife pulls the pitted olive horizontally away from the first path and into one of the pockets, and the pitted olive in the pocket is sliced by slicing knives as the pitted olive and pocket translate around the axis along a segment of the second path into engagement with the slicing knives.

Abstract: An adjustable peach aligner cup assembly 20 is provided for use in an automatic peach aligning and pitting mechanism. An adjustable alignment ring has first and second movable segments 51,52. Segments 51,52 are moved away from each other to align large peaches and are moved toward each other to align small peaches. An actuator 61,62 causes the segments 51,52 to move. An optional sensor 80 is provided which allows the segments 51,52 on a specific aligner cup assembly 20 to be adjusted on a peach-to-peach basis to align a specific peach.

Abstract: A machine for repitting peach halves which have previously been subjected to a pitting operation, but wherein the peach halves are not completely pitted because of split or fragmented pits remaining attached to the fruit. The machine automatically feeds the peach halves, centers them relative to a pitting knife, and re-pits the halves to remove any pit fragments which have escaped the initial pitting operation. Since the initial pitting is done by first cutting whole peaches in half along their entire planes and the resulting peach halves cannot be repitted in the same machine, the present peach repitting machine provides a recovery system for the primary pitting operation in order to increase the overall yield without hand-pitting.