processing can potentially impart agitations that do not subside
with an increase in intensity. Although, the first reciprocating cooker
was patented by Gerber (1938), not much scientific research
has been carried out in this area since then. Walden (1999)
acquired another patent for a retort utilizing reciprocation agitation
of the containers. He used a much higher intensity of reciprocation
as compared to Gerber and demonstrated that it helped to
reduce the process times and improve product quality. They
claimed that with the new system a 10-fold reduction in process
times could achieved, as compared to conventional static
(Walden and Emanuel, 2010). However, they made no attempt to
investigate and understand the phenomenon of heat transfer
occurring during the process. There is also paucity of scientific literature
on the effect of reciprocation on the associated heat transfer,
processing efficiency and product quality.