Rapid movement can dramatically reduce cycle times in retorts, but controlling the force created by a heavy basket’s motion required years of additional development.
Accelerated heat transfer has driven many improvements in the conventional retort, or autoclave, over the last century. Container walls are the transfer point, and innovations like the end-over-end retort were developed to stir and rotate the food inside the container to promote even heating and reduce the thermal input needed for sterilization.