Simply put, a blast freezer is a freezer that is very cold.
Blast freezers are sometimes referred to as shock freezers. This type of freezer storage rapidly brings down the temperature of (usually) cooked or fresh produce, freezing it very quickly to lock in the taste and nutrition of the food for optimum quality for consumers.
They are widely used in the frozen food industry for ice cream, pre-prepared meals and vegetables or fish; however, as they are very adaptable to the needs of businesses, there is no limit to the industries that can benefit from a Blast Freezer.
Why use a Blast Freezer?
When you freeze food, the water inside crystallises into ice. The longer the freezing process takes, the larger the ice crystals can form. Larger ice crystals damage materials by causing phenomena like cell bursting, which affects the quality and flavour of foods.
Rapid freezing causes the formation of tiny crystals, which do minor damage and preserve food at a higher quality. Even more usefully, once the food is "blast frozen", it can be moved into a standard freezer for longer-term storage, as long as it stays cold enough for food at the correct temperature, of course.
How Do You Blast Freeze?
Many blast freezers use blower fans that force cold air across the freezer's contents to chill it rapidly. Others can work in other ways depending on the design. They can be equipped with trays that move about to position foods and often include various compartments for freezing.
An average freezer can typically handle foods at room temperature or even heated as long as the freezer's capacity is not overloaded. Put a lot of hot food in the freezer, and its temperature will rise, which will negatively affect its cooling capacity.
Safe Freezing with a Blast Chillers
Aside from the integrity, quality, and taste of the food, blast freezing also offers a health and safety benefit in that frigid temperatures slow down bacteria's growth. Contamination is significantly reduced if the food is handled safely and then put into the freezer immediately after preparation.
This benefit to food safety is one of the reasons why blast freezing is very popular in commercial food preparation areas, as it greatly reduces the risk to customers and consumers.
CRS can provide custom Blast Freezers to meet the unique needs of your company's requirements, including:
- Internal person trapped alarm systems with fridge shutdown and battery backup
- Control System with Pack Controlled and touch display
- Remote diagnostics and alarms
- Manual override controller and display
- Sensor failure alarm
- Person trapped alarm
CRS assists in improving the productivity of your business with Blast Freezers, which is not limited to a specific industry. For more information about tailored cold storage, speak to one of our professionals today!
