If you work in a commercial kitchen or do a lot of baking at home, then you’ll know that a hot kitchen can play havoc with food safety and the integrity of your ingredients. You just have to try and make cake frosting in your hot kitchen to know what we’re talking about!
It’s with this in mind that many small businesses, home cooks, and restaurant owners are all opting for blast chilling offered by reach in blast chillers to keep food and drinks at the safest temperatures. This post explores the top benefits of using blast chilling to keep your food cool during and after food preparation.
What is Blast Chilling?
At its core, blast chilling refers to the process where raw and prepared food is rapidly cooled to a low temperature. The goal is to prevent bacteria growth by quickly cooling the food to the safe stage. Cool air is forced around the food item, allowing it to cool quickly without freezing or developing ice crystals that can cause food to become soggy.
Blast chilling is done by inserting this innovative technology into freezers and fridges, which are called blast chillers. Also referred to as flash freezers, these machines don’t have ice boxes as they keep everything at the chosen temperature. You can place everything from desserts and fresh produce to cooked food in your blast chiller to rapidly cool it until it’s needed.
Blast chillers are available in walk-in, reach-in, and even roll-in models. With a range of sizes and capacities on offer, you’ll easily be able to find the perfect model for your business or home kitchen.
Sometimes Cooler is Better
Whether you’re preparing salads, ice cream or meaty dishes, you will need to keep these meals at the right temperature to maintain the quality and consistency of your ingredients. Here’s a list of the top benefits of relying on blast chilling to achieve this.
1. Creates Optimal Food Safety
When you’re preparing food, it’s essential to keep your kitchen as cool as possible. This is because bacteria doubles every 15 to 20 minutes when it’s left out on a counter in a kitchen that’s hotter than 35° C. This is commonly referred to as the danger zone, and food left in this heat can quickly spoil and cause food poisoning.
While a blast chiller won’t cool your kitchen down, it will cool your ingredients or prepared dishes down to a safe temperature in a matter of minutes. The average blast chiller can reduce your food’s core temperature by 3 degrees in under 90 minutes. By adjusting the temperature setting, your flash freezer will go down to -18° C in less than 240 minutes. All you have to do is place your food or ingredients into the chiller as soon as it’s prepared.
2. Allows for Improved Food Quality
When you traditionally freeze food, you are left with a frozen mass. Defrosting or thawing causes food to lose its texture, nutrient content, flavours and colours. The hawing process can also leave your food soggy.
Blast chilling ensures that this doesn’t happen. Food doesn’t freeze into an ice block and also doesn’t have ice crystals forming on it. This means that there’s no freezer burn or sogginess. Since your food and ingredients are just cooled, they can easily be warmed or cooked without losing their flavour or fresh appearance. This is an effective way to ensure that your food is always consistent, keeping your customers coming back for more.
3. Reduces Potential Food Wastage
Whether you’re cooking for five or 50 people, you’ll know that one spoiled ingredient can ruin your whole dish. In some cases, food left out on a kitchen counter in a hot kitchen can result in a lot of it getting thrown out. This is especially the case with fresh produce or dairy ingredients.
A blast chiller increases your food’s potential shelf life by keeping it cool and fresh. Since nothing develops freezer burn, you can store anything from fresh produce to prepared pasta and casserole dishes well in advance. With this feature, you can also prepare sauces, marinades, and desserts hours before they’re needed. Another plus point is that you can cool drinks such as wine, cocktails, and even milk without risking spoilage or freezing.
4. Flexibility Creates Better Time Management
Using a blast chiller allows you and your team to better plan your meal services. You can either cook and prepare ingredients in advance, knowing they will be safe and fresh if cooled overnight. Alternatively, you may decide to prepare your ingredients closer to service because you won’t need hours to get them cooled. Adding flexibility to your day allows everyone to be more productive.
Final Thoughts
Blast chilling is an effective way to keep your ingredients fresh, tasty, and safe to eat. Investing in a blast chiller should be an essential aspect of every food business. Whether you need cooler temperatures for your cupcake frosting or you want the crispest afternoon salads, check out your local supplier’s latest catalogue for the perfect model for your space and your kitchen’s unique needs!
