Waterless Frenching now a step closer

There is nothing lamb lovers treasure more than a beautifully frenched rack of lamb but frenching cutlets is resource-intensive and processors have long been keen to find a better way.

Thanks to AMPC research, in partnership with Curious Creations, a safe, reliable and waterless alternative to manual lamb‑rack frenching is now within reach.

Work on improving an earlier prototype of an automated, waterless machine that can perform the task consistently, safely and efficiently has now wrapped up.

AMPC Project Officer Advanced Manufacturing Koentadi Hadinoto said a new machine prototype had been built and tested in commercial processing plants.

“The team redesigned key components, trialled multiple versions, and ran the updated machine on thousands of lamb racks. They also worked with plant staff to test durability, speed, ease of cleaning, and day‑to‑day practicality,” he said.

The improvements made to the prototype delivered a major boost in performance, lifting consistency from earlier levels of around 86 per cent to 98.5 per cent repeatability in commercial plant trials.