BLAST CHILLER

By “positive blast chilling” we mean the process by which the core temperature of a cooked product is lowered from + 65 °C to + 3 °C within 90 minutes. Once chilled the product must be stored in a refrigerator at a temperature of +2/3 °C for maximum 6 days, after that, it will be reheated to service temperature (minimum + 65 °C ) within 1 hour before being served.

By “negative blast chilling” we mean the process by which the core temperature of a cooked product is lowed from + 65 °C to -18 °C within 4 hours. Once frozen the product must be stored in the freezer at a temperature of -20 °C .

This is an essential instrument to control the bacteria proliferation of fresh and of cooked food: it is supplied with a powerful ventilated refrigeration system allowing the operator to obtain a uniform and quick freezing of the stored product.

The blast chiller is supplied with a core probe, with one or more reading points, so to ensure the required temperature has reached the core of the food.

Positive and negative blast chilling are processes which inhibit the formation of ice macro-crystals in the food, in fact, ice macro-crystals usually form in the food when traditional freezers are used. With a traditional freezer, the time needed to reach the right temperature at the product core is much longer, about 14/15 hours.

Advantages of the blast chiller proposed by LORES:

• It maintains the product quality as the food structure does not change: its fibres remain unchanged, as confirmed in the defrosting process. If a product is frozen correctly, it does not release lots of liquids, as its fibres are preserved properly.
• Positive chilling + 3°C to the core: possibility to store a previously cooked product for 5-6 days avoiding all hazards of bacteria proliferation.
• Negative chilling (freezing) –18°C to the core: possibility to store a previously cooked product for long periods (some months) avoiding all hazards of bacteria proliferation.
• Energy saving in the positive or negative chilling processes, as the product is chilled very quickly (90 minutes from +65 to + 3°C ), or it is frozen to -18°C (within maximum 4 hours) and it will be served some months later on.

Before starting the positive or negative chilling process, Lores Grandi Cucine recommends to pay special attention to the product thickness: the thickness must be suitable with the type of product so to ensure the required core temperature is reached within the time established by the international hygiene and safety Standards.