Apparatus For Producing And Handling A Flowing Substance

Abstract

A system ( 1 ) for producing a dough starter culture is provided which comprises a plurality of reservoirs ( 15 ) pre-loaded with a small amount (“mother level”) of a previously obtained starter culture. Into the reservoirs ( 15 ) are inoculated the other ingredients required for the preparation of starter culture and the contents are left to ferment for a specified period of time to produce the required starter culture, which is then discharged as required from each reservoir ( 15 ). A “mother level” portion is retained in the reservoirs and is used to produce a next batch of starter culture. The system ( 1 ) operates automatically and is programmable so that a first pre-set interval of time which is less then the fermentation time is allowed to elapse from the start of fermentation in a first reservoir ( 15 ) before the ingredients are delivered into a succeeding reservoir ( 15 ), and a second pre-set interval of time is allowed to elapse after the starter culture is discharged from the first reservoir ( 15 ) before a next batch of the ingredients is delivered into the first reservoir ( 15 ).

1 . The system for producing and handling a flowing substance comprising
 a mixing vessel for mixing ingredients for use in subsequent preparation of a flowing substance;   a first manifold for transferring the mixed ingredients from the mixing vessel into one of a plurality of reservoirs where the mixed ingredients are combined with an initiating culture;   a first regulating means for maintaining predetermined conditions in each reservoir suitable to allow a fermentation process to occur which results in the production after a specified time of a starter culture as a flowing substance having predetermined properties from the initiating culture and the mixed ingredients;   a second manifold for transferring the starter culture from each reservoir to at least one receiving container; and   an electronic control means operable to control the system to provide delivery of mixed ingredients to each reservoir in a specified sequence so that a first pre-set interval of time elapses from the start of fermentation in a first or subsequent reservoir before the delivery of the mixed ingredients into a succeeding next reservoir, that interval being less than the fermentation time of the starter culture in the preceding reservoir.   
     
     
         2 . The system as claimed in  claim 1  in which the electronic control means is operable to control the system so as to effect discharge of a desired first portion of the starter culture from a reservoir whilst retaining a desired second portion therein, said retained second portion comprising an initiating culture for subsequent production in that reservoir of a further batch of starter culture upon introduction of a next load of the mixed ingredients; and to allow a second pre-set delay interval to elapse after the discharge before introducing the next load of the mixed ingredients into the reservoir. 
     
     
         3 . The system as claimed in  claim 1 , in which the electronic control means comprise a programmable logic controller (PLC). 
     
     
         4 . The system as claimed in  claim 3 , in which the PLC is pre-programmed with information specifying the required amount of starter culture to be produced during a production run of the system. 
     
     
         5 . The system as claimed in  claim 1  comprising a plurality of reservoirs. 
     
     
         6 . The system as claimed in  claim 2 , comprising a first propelling means for transferring mixed ingredients into each reservoir via the first manifold and a second propelling means for transferring the starter culture produced in the reservoir into the receiving container via the second manifold. 
     
     
         7 . The system as claimed in  claim 1  in which the ingredients being mixed in the mixing vessel comprise at least one powdery ingredient and at least one liquid ingredient. 
     
     
         8 . The system as claimed in  claim 7  in which, the powdery ingredient comprises flour and the liquid ingredient comprises an aqueous medium. 
     
     
         9 . The system as claimed in  claim 7 , in which the system comprises at least one storage container for storage of the powdery ingredient, the storage container being connected to the mixing vessel via a delivery means, the delivery means comprising a delivery manifold leading from the storage container to the mixing vessel and the system further comprises a liquid manifold for supplying the liquid ingredient into the mixing vessel. 
     
     
         10 . The system as claimed in  claim 6  in which the PLC is programmed to control the second propelling means to discharge the starter culture produced in a reservoir, save for a portion of the starter culture which remains in the reservoir and is retained for a subsequent cycle of production of starter culture in this reservoir, the remaining portion being sufficient to serve as initiating culture for the subsequent cycle and in which a sensor means is provided connected between a reservoir and the PLC for enabling the PLC to determine the quantity of starter culture in the reservoir and preventing the quantity falling below a predetermined quantity on actuation of the second propelling means. 
     
     
         11 . A method for producing a starter culture using the system of  claim 1  comprising the steps of providing a plurality of reservoirs and:
 a) pre-loading the reservoirs with a desired amount of initiating culture maintained at an oppression temperature;   b) filling at least one first reservoir with a relevant amount of aqueous medium/flour mix;   c) allowing the contents of the first reservoir to ferment at a specified fermentation temperature for a pre-set fermentation time interval;   d) cooling the so obtained fermented starter culture in the first reservoir to an oppression temperature to stop the fermentation process;   e) discharging a desired first portion of the starter culture from the first reservoir whilst retaining a desired second portion therein, said retained second portion comprising an initiating culture for subsequent production in the first reservoir of a further batch of starter culture upon introduction of a next load of aqueous medium/flour mix;   f) upon expiry of a first pre-set delay interval from the start of fermentation in the first reservoir, filling a subsequent reservoir with a relevant amount of aqueous medium/flour mix;   g) allowing a second pre-set delay interval to elapse after the discharge before introducing the next load of aqueous medium/flour mix into the first reservoir; and   h) repeating steps c) to f) in respect of the subsequent reservoir as if it were the first reservoir.   
     
     
         12 . A method as claimed in  claim 11  comprising the step of retaining at the end of the production run a portion of the starter culture obtained in the last-used reservoir for use as an initiating culture in a subsequent production run of the system. 
     
     
         13 . A method as claimed in  claim 12 , in which the fermentation time is about twelve hours including filling and cooling time, the fermentation temperature is about 21° C. and the oppression temperature is about 16° C. 
     
     
         14 . A method as claimed in  claim 13 , wherein the time allowed for discharging and using the produced starter culture from a reservoir, the first pre-set delay interval and the second preset delay interval are each about three hours.