Introduction to the quick-frozen food industry
1. What is quick-frozen food?
Quick-frozen food is a quick-frozen food that is processed at a rapid low temperature (below -18°C). The water and juice in the food tissue will not be lost, and at such a low temperature, microorganisms will basically not reproduce, and the safety of the food is guaranteed.
2. Classification of quick-frozen food
1) Aquatic quick-frozen food: sea shrimp, frozen fish, shrimp, etc.
2) Agricultural quick-frozen food: edamame, peanuts, asparagus, bell peppers, bamboo shoots, corn, mixed vegetables, etc.
3) Livestock quick-frozen food: pork, chicken, duck, goose, etc.
4) Prepared quick-frozen food: refers to quick-frozen food that is processed and quickly frozen with more than two kinds of fresh, agricultural, aquatic, and livestock products as raw materials.
3. Characteristics of quick-frozen food
The advantages of quick-frozen food over traditional food are mainly the following:
1) Convenience: Quick-frozen food can reduce cooking time and energy, and is particularly suitable for fast-paced modern life.
2) Safety: The production process of quick-frozen food adopts strict hygiene standards, which can avoid the risk of infectious diseases such as bacteria and viruses.
3) Rich in nutrition: During the production process, quick-frozen food can retain the nutrients of the raw materials, which is beneficial to human health.
4) High stability: Due to the use of freezing technology, the nutrition and taste of quick-frozen food do not change much, and the stability is higher.
5) Convenient storage: Quick-frozen food can be stored for a long time under refrigerated conditions, avoiding the problem of traditional food being easily perishable.
The production process of quick-frozen food
1. Raw material processing
The raw materials of quick-frozen food can only be cooked after screening, cleaning, peeling, deboning, cutting, and other processing. Different foods require different processing techniques, such as fruit needs to be cored and peeled, and meat needs to remove fascia and bones. The raw material processing link is crucial to the quality of quick-frozen food, and the quality of raw materials directly affects the subsequent links.
2. Cooking
After the raw materials are processed, cooking is carried out. There are many ways to cook quick-frozen food, such as steaming, boiling, frying, baking, etc. Compared with traditional foods, quick-frozen food usually pays more attention to time and temperature control when cooking. This can ensure that the protein and other nutrients in the food are not destroyed.
3. Cooling
After cooking, the food needs to be cooled to make it lose temperature quickly and avoid bacterial growth. There are many cooling methods, such as natural cooling, water cooling, air cooling, etc., and different methods are used according to different food types and processing technologies.
4. Cutting
After cooling, the food needs to be cut. This link has a great impact on the appearance and taste of the food. Cutting is usually done by machine, which can ensure the uniformity and beauty of the product.
5. Packaging
After cutting, quick-frozen food needs to be packaged. Packaging materials need to have multiple characteristics such as transparency, heat sealing, and moisture retention to ensure the quality and shelf life of quick-frozen food. The continuous advancement of modern packaging technology also provides more options and possibilities for the production of quick-frozen food.
6. Freezing
After packaging, quick-frozen food needs to be frozen. The freezing process needs to control the temperature and speed to fully retain the nutrients and taste of the food. At the same time, it is necessary to ensure that there are no bubbles and ice inside the food to avoid affecting the quality of subsequent cooking and eating.
