Food Freezing & Freeze-

drying
Iqbal Nugroho
23411660
Quick Freezing
The liquid content of foodstuffs, containing
proportions of sugars and salts, has a band of
freezing temperatures from 0C down to (18)C and
lower. If these liquids freeze slowly, long ice crystals
are formed which pierce the cell walls and change the
resulting texture.
Quick Freezing
If this damage is to be avoided, the product must be
frozen rapidly, so that the crystals do not have time to
grow. The process is only applicable to products
which are eaten raw or lightly cooked, such as
strawberries, peas and beans.
Air Blast Coolers & Tunnels
Where the product shape is irregular, the only way to
extract its heat will be by using a cold fluid
surrounding it. The most common of these is air. The
air temperature will be of the order of (40)C and the
air speed over the product will be high, to get good
heat transfer.
Air Blast Coolers & Tunnels
Discrete pieces of product, such as peas, slices of
carrot, beans and items of this size, can be conveyed
on a perforated belt, with the cold air blasting up
through the holes, to both cool the product and agitate
it, to prevent it sticking either to the belt or to other
similar pieces.
Air Blast Coolers & Tunnels
Flat pieces of product, such as fish fillets, would suffer
a change in shape in a free air blast and are better on
a flat moving belt. Here, some of the heat goes direct
to the cold air and some by conduction to the belt,
which is usually of stainless steel. This tunnel can be
designed to absorb much less fan power and, since
fans input energy which must then be removed by the
refrigeration system, the tunnels will be more energy
efficient.
Air Blast Coolers & Tunnels
Air Blast Coolers & Tunnels
Air Blast Coolers & Tunnels
Larger items, such as tubs of ice-cream, take a long
time to harden and a straight conveyor would be too
long for convenience. Such conveyors can be wound
into a spiral shape and contained within a coldroom
with air blast coil.
Contact Freezing
Products in regular-shaped packages, such as ice-
cream in flat cartons, are pressed between horizontal,
flat, refrigerated plates. These can be opened apart
slightly to admit the product and are then closed by
hydraulic rams to give close thermal contact. When
freezing is complete, the plates open again to remove
the packs.
Contact Freezing
Contact Freezing
The vertical plate freezer is used for a loose product
such as wet fish, which is packed into the gaps
between the plates. When the freezing is complete,
the product is removed as a solid block and may be
75 mm or 100 mm thick.
Contact Freezing
Contact Freezing
Trays of product to be frozen can be loaded onto
trollies, which are taken through an air blast tunnel.
The evaporator coils will usually be in the upper part
of the tunnel, with air flow across the trays.
Contact Freezing
Material to be frozen can be fully immersed in a cold
liquid. This might be a brine, in which case the
material may have to be wrapped in a plastic bag to
avoid contact with the liquid. The sodium chloride and
glycol brines cannot be used cold enough to get
complete freezing, so this may be a first pre-cooling
stage before a final air blast. Alternatively, liquid
nitrogen (196)C or carbon dioxide (78.5)C can be
sprayed onto the surface.
Freeze-drying
Freeze-drying is a special form of drying that removes
all moisture and tends to have less of an effect on a
food's taste than normal dehydration does. In freeze-
drying, food is frozen and placed in a strong vacuum.
The water in the food then sublimates -- that is, it
turns straight from ice into vapor. Freeze-drying is
most commonly used to make instant coffee, but also
works extremely well on fruits such as apples.
Freeze-drying
The process is carried out in a vacuum chamber fitted
with refrigerated contact freezing plates, heaters and
a vacuum pump. Between the chamber and the pump
may be a refrigerated separator to prevent too much
of the moisture entering the pump. The product is
placed in containers on the plates and frozen down to
about 25C, depending on the product, but
sometimes as low as 50C.
Freeze-drying
The vacuum and, at the same time, a carefully
controlled amount of heat, is then applied, to provide
the latent heat of sublimation (ice to vapour) without
allowing the temperature to rise. As the water is
driven off, the product collapses to a dry powder. This
is extremely hygroscopic and must be packed in air-
tight containers as quickly as possible on completion
of the cycle.