Larco Foods, NL - Highly efficient 9,000kg per hour soup production
Larco Foods, a specialist Dutch soup manufacturer, uses Steam Infusion to cook a range of stocks, broths and soups efficiently at rates up to 9,000kg per hour using a single 3,000kg cooking vessel.
Challenge
In a fiercely competitive market, Larco Foods aimed to cut operational costs and processing time for their broths and soups. The conventional steam jacket and heat exchanger cooking methods had certain shortcomings like uneven heat distribution, prolonged cooking duration, and a possible drop in product quality. After trying out the Steam Infusion system, Larco Foods opted to include the Vaction™ technology in their new cookhouse, provided by OAL, to decrease processing time significantly.
Solution
OAL delivered a turnkey solution to Larco Foods, covering the design, manufacturing, automation and installation of a system to manufacture 9,000kg (19,800 lbs) of soup per hour. A 3 tonne (3.3 US ton) cooking vessel has two Steam Infusion Vaction Pumps mounted on lances to enable high speed cooking. The project also included two holding vessels, a CIP system and a recipe control system.
Steam Infusion has reduced the production time of soups and sauces by over 50% and the site can now produce up to 9 tonnes (9.9 US ton) of soup per hour. The products produced with Steam Infusion have shown an increased flavour profile, which opens the doors to the possibility of ingredient reduction, driving further savings and healthier products for their customers.
“Since purchasing the Steam Infusion system we have reduced the production time of our soups and sauce by more than 50% as well as reducing energy whilst still maintaining our exceptional product quality.
We have also seen an increase in the flavour profile of our product which will lead us to the possibility of reducing ingredients such as salt, spices and flavour enhancers making our product healthier for our customers.”
Speak to one of our team to discover how you can improve your cooking processes with Steam Infusion
At a glance
Customer since: 2014
Challenge
Slow cooking times and uneven heating with traditional cooking technologies
Limited product development opportunities
Solution
Steam Infusion soup cooking
Recipe development support
Results
Cost leader in a highly competitive market
Over 50% reduction in energy consumption
Improvements in soup flavour profile
