Shock freezing is the process of intensive cooling of various types of products for long-term storage. Chambers with this method of freezing are widely used in domestic refrigerators. What are they? What refrigerators with shock freezing are, read in this article.
How it all began
A sufficiently long period of time storage of products was carried out in simple refrigerators and village cellars. Man dreamed of a food paradise. It became possible since the shock freezers appeared. Its author is an American natural scientist Clarence Birdsay. The discovery was at the beginning of the last century. The scientist drew attention to how the inhabitants of Labrador store fish. Island fishermen laid out their catch on the ice. The fish was frozen in minutes. This was facilitated by the arctic wind. When the scientist tasted a dish of fish frozen on ice, he was pleasantly surprised. It turned out that quickly frozen fish retained its taste, aroma and beneficial properties.
Since that time, scientists began to actively work on the creation of installations for the freezing of products. They proved that the quick freeze method is the most effective for preserving foods while preserving vitamins, essential oils, perishable protein and other beneficial properties.
Traditional cooling technology
Low-temperature refrigerators, with which the Russian user is familiar, freeze food at a temperature of 18 to 24 degrees below zero. This requires at least two and a half hours. Depending on the temperature inside the product, three ranges stand out.
The task of the first stage is to cool the product, the second - in the transition of a liquid to a solid state. Fast heat transfer occurs with a slight decrease in temperature. The product begins to freeze, that is, 70% of the liquid crystallizes. At the last stage, he is bewildered. The temperature drops in proportion to the work done by the refrigerator.
Shock freeze
In this process, the key role is played by the speed of freezing, that is, reducing the temperature environment to 30-30 degrees below zero at a rapid pace. This is ensured by the accelerated movement of the coolant, the role of which is played by air. Its movement is due to the ventilation of the evaporator. Thus, the product is influenced by a very strong flow of cold air. The freezing process is carried out in three stages:
- First, the product cools to three degrees of heat or to zero. Moisture crystallizes on the surface of the product. Moreover, the cooling rate is such that many harmful bacteria do not have time to develop.
- Freezing is the process of transferring a product from a liquid to a solid phase. It occurs when the temperature drops to five degrees. Speed is also important, because during the rapid transformation of the fluid inside the cells into ice, small crystals are obtained that do not allow the tissue structure to collapse.
- Freezing occurs when the temperature drops rapidly to the point of the thermometer 18 degrees below zero. The structure of the product is fixed, and it is stored for a long time.
If you continue to lower the temperature, there will be unjustified power consumption and deformation of the frozen product. Therefore, there is no need to continue lowering the temperature.
What foods can be frozen?
Refrigeration equipment with shock freezing chambers prepares food for storage for a long time. At the same time, their quality is not lost. Fish, minced meat, meat, fruits, vegetables, mushrooms and much more are subject to freezing.
The equipment allows you to cool finished products: dishes for the first and second, side dishes, vinaigrettes and salads, bread, desserts, pastries. After several hours of freezing, it can be successfully transferred to a simple freezer, and if necessary, transported to any place.
What are shock freezer installations good for?
Such a freezing technique has its advantages. Using the method of forcing three modes - cooling, freezing and freezing, shock freezers they preserve the tissue structure in the product, reduce the activity of the environment in which bacteria can develop, different types of which live in different temperature zones.
When using slow freezing, the product does not lose the presence of all types of bacteria in it, and shock freezing simply does not allow them to develop, and many parasites die. The most important advantage is the preservation of the quality of the frozen product. After defrosting and preparing a dish from it, all useful properties are preserved, the taste and aesthetic appearance remain unchanged.
Sagi refrigeration units
This Italian-made equipment, the development of which began back in the 80s of the last century, has gained worldwide recognition. It has become indispensable in the food industry, catering establishments. Sagi Blast Freezer features high performance and low energy consumption.
All production processes are controlled by a computer system. It defines the “smart” properties of a product. The technology does not allow surface freezing, the temperature is evenly distributed over all points of the product. The shock freezing system is suitable for convenience foods and various dishes. To configure it there is a convenient control panel.
Sagi freezers are available in different models. Some have 5 levels of containers for loading products, others - 10. For 5-level cameras, the body and interior are made of stainless steel. The legs can be adjusted in height. The freezer is convenient for cleaning, as its corners are rounded, and there is a hole through which condensate drains.
The fan protection panel opens. The door has a device for automatically stopping the system when it is opened, which does not allow wasting energy. In addition, the camera has thick walls, up to 70 mm. They are protected by polyurethane foam. This saves electricity. The refrigerator of a shock freezing household or industrial stably works at an ambient temperature to 32 degrees.
Refrigerator Electrolux
The chamber is designed to quickly cool and freeze food. Italian-made Electrolux shock-freeze refrigerator has various models, one of which is RBF201. The chamber houses 12 gastronomic containers. Water is drained out or drained into a container. In this model of the refrigerator, the evaporator of the freezer has anti-corrosion protection. All corners of the structure are rounded, which makes it easy to clean.
Electrolux Refrigeration Specifications
The camera is capable of cooling 64 kilograms of food from 90 to 3 degrees above zero. It only takes 90 minutes. In this chamber, you can freeze 56 kilograms of food to 18 degrees of cold in 240 minutes. There are cooling modes, there are only three. With the help of soft cooling, air temperature decreases to minus two degrees, strong - to 12 below zero and shock freezing - 35 cold.
In addition, the camera is equipped with a function of the storage mode. Its inclusion is carried out automatically immediately after completion of the freezing of the product to 18 degrees below zero. Shock Freezer Refrigerators equipped with a thermal probe, which automatically determines the appropriate mode. Using this setting, you can set the temperature for cooling and time yourself. Operation of the equipment is possible in an environment with an air temperature of 32 degrees Celsius.
Food is cooled and stored by efficient ventilation. The walls are protected by polyurethane foam insulation. Equipped with an air cooling system, a shock freezer refrigerator. The characteristics of the device allow you to place it above the camera itself. Stainless steel is used to finish the cabinet and the inside of the cabinet. Tightness when closing a door is reached due to an insert from a magnet.
The refrigerator has a height of 2.3 m, a width of 80 and a depth of 83 and a half cm. The weight of the refrigerator is 235 kilograms. Wall thickness reaches 60 mm.
Using
Today, a refrigerator with shock freezing is very popular. For home, this type of household appliance is indispensable. But, deciding to purchase, you should know that in addition to the refrigerator, you will also need a combi-steam machine. With its help, frozen foods are heated. Moreover, their initial appearance does not change. Instead of this unit, you can use a microwave oven. For storing frozen foods, the following conditions must be observed:
- Repeated freezing of the same product is not allowed.
- The freezer should be thawed every month.
Shock freezer is a household appliance for continuous use. Its goal is to cool products in a short period of time, while maintaining hygiene, economy and quality.
Shock freezing refrigerators are widely used in industrial production. Their need is due to the preservation of semi-finished products, which are produced in large volumes. These units are used in the kitchen of sanatoriums, hotels, large and chain restaurants. Catering establishments are not an exception , where the capacity is not very large. For any enterprise, it is important that the freezing equipment not only works, but also makes a profit. This is achieved due to economic efficiency when using cameras with shock freezing.