A votator is a machine used in margarine manufacture — a scraped-surface heat exchanger that cools and works the fat blend. Warm blended oils enter the chilled cylinder, where they crystallise rapidly against the cold wall; rotating scraper blades continuously shave the crystals off and knead the mass, producing the fine, uniform crystal structure that gives margarine its smooth, spreadable texture. The votator is what turns liquid oil into a plastic fat without the graininess that slow cooling would produce. Variants of the same principle serve the chocolate, shortening, and processed-cheese industries. It is a fine example of texture being engineered by process rather than recipe.