21  EP 3 800 019 A1 22  than 0.1 millimeter. of about 7° to 11°. a knife (14)extending radiallyinward toward the impeller(10)in a direction opposite the rotational direction of the impeller (10), the knife (14) hav- ing a corrugated shape to produce a food prod- uctslicewith generallyparallelcuts,wherein the food product slice has a periodic shape and a large-amplitude cross-section, wherein large-amplitude cross-section of the food prod- uct slice has an amplitude of about 2.5 to 9 mil- limeters; and means (26,27) for securing the knife (14) to the cutting head (12); wherein the knife (14) and securing means (26, 27)define a rake-offangle forthe knife assembly of less than 23 degrees. 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 12 5. An apparatusaccording toclaim1,wherein the knife (14) has a biased bevel comprising a bevel (54) that facesaway from the impeller(10),preferably where- in the bevel(54)ofthebiased bevelhas a grind angle 4. An apparatus accordingto claim1,wherein the rake- off angle for the knife (14) is less than 20 degrees, preferably wherein the rake-off angle for the knife (14) is about 17 degrees. 15. An apparatus according to claim1,whereinthe knife assemblies comprise a quick clamping device (26) for securing the knife (14). 14. An apparatus according to claim1,whereinthe knife assemblies comprise ashoe (22),a knifeholder(27) mounted to the shoe (22) and a clamp (26) securing the knife (14) to the knife holder (27). 3. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the large-amplitude cross-section of the food product slice has an amplitude of about 3 to 7 millimeters, preferably wherein the large-amplitude cross-sec- tion of the food product slice has an amplitude of about 3.8 to 5.7 millimeters. 13. An apparatus according to claim1,whereinthe knife assemblies have fingers (50)thatengage valleys de- fined by the corrugated shape of the knife (14), pref- erably wherein the fingers (50) of the knife assem- blies are beveled on a side of the knife assemblies facing the impeller (10). 12. An apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the knife assembliescomprise means (52)foraccurately aligningthecorrugatedshapes ofthe surfaces ofthe knife assemblies with the corrugated shape of the knife (14). 2. An apparatusaccording toclaim1,wherein the knife (14) comprises a cutting edge (48) having a knife tip (14a) and a radially innermost local extremity (14b) that protrudes farther toward the impeller (10) than the knife tip (14a) by a distance of less than 0.1 mil- limeter. 11. An apparatusaccording to claim10,wherein the cor- rugated shapes of the surfaces of the knife assem- blies are shaped differently than the corrugated shapes ofthe knives (14)tominimizesurface contact between the unsliced food product and the cutting head (12). 10. An apparatus according to claim1,whereinthe knife assemblies comprisesurfaces thatface the impeller (10) and have corrugated shapes corresponding to the corrugated shape of the knife (14). 9. An apparatusaccording to claim1,whereinthe pad- dles (16) of the impeller (10) are adapted to deform to conform to the shape of the food product. 8. An apparatusaccording to claim1,whereinthe pad- dles (16) of the impeller (10) comprise means (56) for absorbing impacts with the food product. 7. An apparatusaccording to claim6,whereinthe pad- dles(16)oftheimpeller(10)are inclinedata positive angle of between about 5° and 35°, preferably wherein the paddles (16) of the impeller (10) are in- clined at a positive angle of between about 8° and 20°,morepreferably whereinthe paddles (16)ofthe impeller (10) are inclined at a positive angle of be- tween about 12° and 15°. 6. An apparatusaccording to claim1,whereinthe pad- dles(16)oftheimpeller(10)are inclinedata positive angle. 1. An apparatus forcutting food product,the apparatus comprising an annular-shaped cutting head(12)and an impeller (10) coaxially mounted within the cutting head (12) for rotation about an axis of the cutting head (12) in a rotational direction relative to the cut- ting head (12), the impeller (10) comprising one or more paddles (16) circumferentially spaced along a perimeterthereof for delivering food product radially outward toward the cutting head (12), the cutting head (12) comprising one or more knife assemblies arranged in sets spaced around the circumference of the cutting head (12), each knife assembly com- prising: Claims