5/6/2023 0 Comments Flashfrozen![]() Flash freezing captures the fish at the peak of perfection. The faster the rate of freezing, the smaller the ice crystals. Ice crystals only form between 25☏ and 31☏, so the longer a food item spends in this temperature range, the more ice crystals that form. The cellular structure loses its integrity and firmness, and the result is a mushy, less nutritious and less appetizing fish. When those crystals thaw, the damaged cells spill their contents into the surrounding flesh. When fish are frozen slowly (like they are in a home freezer), those larger, spikier ice crystals take up space within the cell and punch through the cell membranes, causing damage and loss of liquid. The slower the rate of freezing, the larger the ice crystals. Following laws of science, those water molecules chemically bond to form geometric ice crystals within each cell. If exposed to freezing temperatures, the water molecules within each cell (fish are about 80% water) become attracted to each other to form solid ice. What is the science behind flash freezing?Īfter a fish is taken from the water, its cellular contents begin to lose energy. We believe Birdseye would be delighted that today we have flash freezers not only minutes away from shoreline set nets, but also right on fish-catching boats, ready to flash freeze fish shortly after they're removed from the water. It was his life-changing innovations that revolutionized food production and eating habits. Fascinated and delighted, he began developing ultra cold freezers. Being a gourmet food lover - one of the original foodies, perhaps - Birdseye marveled that their fish tasted as good as fresh. ![]() His inspiration came from Inuit fishers, way back in 1911, who showed him how they preserved fish all winter in their ultra cold climate. ![]() We have the great adventurer, inventor and entrepreneur, Clarence Birdseye (yes, Birds Eye Foods), to thank for perfecting and implementing this basically miraculous flash freezing machine. Incredibly, fish are flash frozen in these ultra-low temperatures in just a matter of minutes. Generally, fish are frozen in flash freezers with temperatures about -30☏ (-34☌). different foods require different temperatures. The temperature of a flash freezer can vary from 14☏ (-10☌) to an unimaginably frigid -184☏ (-120☌). (Bacteria have little opportunity to multiply under these quick-freeze conditions, so the food remains free of harmful microorganisms.) When fresh-caught fish are flash frozen, their taste, color, texture and nutritional value are preserved, and product safety is ensured. It is the process of blasting very cold air at a very high speed across a food product in order to freeze that product as quickly as possible. What is flash freezing?įlash freezing - also called blast freezing - is a process that preserves the fresh qualities of the food that is being frozen. But unless that fish was caught off a pier behind the restaurant, it was almost certainly flash frozen miles away and shipped solidly frozen to your restaurant, where it was thawed shortly before being prepared for your dinner. It was delicious and flaky, with superb texture and color. If you’ve ever eaten a fresh caught fish served in a restaurant, well, you no doubt thought it was fresh - that is, never frozen. ![]() ![]() Having done that ourselves, we know our fish was mushy, tasteless and suspiciously lacking in nutrients. If you’ve ever eaten a fresh caught fish that you put in your freezer and thawed weeks later, you know the quality was disappointing. If you’ve ever eaten a fresh caught fish cooked over a campfire, you know how scrumptious fresh fish can be: firm yet flaky, inimitably tasty and not incidentally, bursting with nutrients. ![]()
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