CEREAL TOASTING OVEN

An elongated drum is mounted on rollers for rotation about its longitudinal axis. In order to move the cereal through the oven, the drum axis is inclined somewhat downwardly from a higher end, where the somewhat moist cereal mixture is introduced, to a lower end, where the dried and toasted cereal emerges. Drying and toasting is effected by a gas flame merging from gas pipe extending through the interior of the drum. Adjacent the input end of the drum a scraper blade is suspended from the gas pipe to within a fraction of an inch from the drum's inside bottom wall so as to dislodge any still moist cereal from adhering to the drum's inside wall. The scraper ends at a location where the cereal is sufficiently dry so that the tendency of the cereal to adhere to the wall no longer obtains. From this location to the outlet end of the drum, longitudinal ribs are provided to tumble the cereal and thereby equally toast the cereal throughout as the cereal advances through the rotary drum toward the discharge end.