Tearing Machine – What is Squid and Fish Jerky Tearing Processing?

A tearing machine is equipment that tears cooked squid or fish jerky along the grain into thin strips, processing it into forms such as shredded squid and jinmichae. Productivity and strip uniformity depend on thickness adjustment and multi-layer feeding functions.

What is a tearing machine?

Tearing is a processing method that creates strips by pulling raw material apart along its muscle fiber grain, unlike cutting with a knife. When fibers are cut across with a knife, the cut surface can become hard and tough, but when the material is torn along the grain, the fiber bundles remain intact, giving a softer bite and better rehydration recovery. For this reason, tearing is advantageous for products where chewiness matters, such as shredded squid, jinmichae, and fine shredded squid.

A tearing machine uses rotating tearing rotors to grip the raw material in the grain direction and tear it into strips of uniform thickness. It can handle both fine-strip and wide-strip specifications. If the raw material is too dry, it crumbles; if it is too wet, it sticks to the rotors. Therefore, controlling moisture to a semi-dried state before tearing determines the final strip shape.

Key functions

Thickness can be precisely adjusted from about 2 mm to 10 mm, allowing one machine to handle everything from fine jinmichae to wide matjinmi. It can feed 3 to 4 layers of raw material at the same time, greatly increasing production volume.

Inverter speed control adjusts tearing speed according to raw material condition, while an open structure and safety cover support both easy cleaning and operator safety.

Choosing between a tearing machine and a shredder

A standard tearing machine is suitable for small-volume, precise tearing, while a high-performance shredder with dual-row rotors is suitable for mass production. Select equipment based on raw material type, such as squid, pollock, cod, or filefish, and the target production volume.

Jepid tearing equipment includes a standard tearing machine with 2–10 mm thickness adjustment and a high-performance shredder for large-volume processing with dual-row rotors.