At Frontline Food Consultants and Engineers, we are involved in providing turnkey solutions for the manufacturing and processing of frozen foods so that they do not lose their taste, texture or nutrition after freezing. Making precisely such products part of your frozen meals offering, We as a Frozen Food Consultant Recipe Development and Product Formulation Services focus on such offerings as single-serving meals and family-sized portions, full-guilt-free meals or meals that are gluten-free, vegan, or low-calorie. We target the optimization of formulations for freezing while paying attention to the quality of meals at the time of freezing, during the freezing period, and after defrosting.
We offer Equipment Recommendations & Acquisition services to guarantee that you get the right equipment for portioning, freezing and packaging. In our Process Optimization Services, particular attention is paid to cooking, freezing, and packaging processes to achieve constant and fast manufacturing. With Regulatory Compliance and Packaging Solutions, we guarantee your frozen meals are prepared and packaged to fit the necessary hygiene requirements from freezing and reheating to appealing consumer packaging.
What Are Frozen Meals?
Frozen meals are prepared and cooked and then packed and frozen ready for consumption when required. Frozen meals production starts with using quality raw materials such as proteins (meats, poultry, fish or any vegetable protein), vegetables, grains and sauces. Some of these ingredients are cooked or partially cooked to the required tenderness so that they can be reheated without the risk of turning uneatable dry. Once we have the ingredients procured and in their desired form, they are then portioned and packaged into meals mostly in trays or bowls. The assemblies facilitate equal mixing and distribution of the individual ingredients hence enabling ease in reheating. Seasoning, in the form of sauce or gravy, is usually incorporated into the food to avoid exhaustion during a reheating process and to also increase flavors.
After the assembly, the meals are rapidly frozen usually by using methods such as blast freezing or cryogenic freezing. Such methods help to achieve the target of freezing the food fast so as to retain, moisture, texture, taste, and nutritional value. Rapid freezing speeds up the formation of small ice crystals to countercheck the formation of large ones, which cause disruption of the cell structure of the food being frozen and makes it soggy or mushy when heated up later.
Types of Frozen Meals
Frozen meals are available in a lot of food groups for instance complete meals, appetizers and snacks. Let us review some major types of frozen meals in more detail in the sections below.
1. Full Meals
Frozen meals: Frozen meals are a form of convenience food that may cover a full meal usually, including a main dish and other sides foods. These can include pasta products such as lasagna, spaghetti, and other products such as roast chicken and a tape of vegetables.
Benefits: They are portioned out and provide protein, carbohydrate, and vegetables all in one neat little package. That is why they are useful for lunch or dinner in a short time.
Examples:
- Chicken Alfredo: Creamy past creamy pasta meal of grilled chicken, broccoli and Alfredo sauce.
- Chicken Stroganoff: This is well-cooked chicken with mushrooms and noodles in gravy.
2. Frozen Momos
Momos: Momos are a kind of steamed dumplings that are quite famous in Nepal, Tibet and sometimes in particular Nepalese states of India. They can be served with any sauce and are ready in different forms – as a steak or with meat or vegetables.
Benefits: Momos can be best taken as a snack or appetizer due to their great taste. It is quite simple to cook and may be steamed, microwaved, or pan-fried from frozen condition.
Examples:
- Chicken Momos: Steamed buns with chicken and a selection of vegetables spiced.
- Vegetable Momos: Fried and steamed dumplings with a stuffing that consisted of finely chopped vegetables to which spices had been added.
3. Veg Snacks
Vegetable Kebabs: Vegetable kebabs can be described as vegetables that are cooked on barbeque sticks with some spices added to the vegetables and at times to a side of tofu or paneer. It can be grilled, baked or even microwaved.
Benefits: These snacks are however beneficial and friendly providing varieties of both vegetables and proteins. Succulent and can be taken with dips or sauces.
Examples:
- Paneer Tikka Kebabs: Marinated paneer, bell peppers and onions roasted on basil.
- Tofu and Vegetable Kebabs: Tofu with zucchini, cherry tomatoes and peppers on skewers.
Spring Rolls: A spring roll is a thin paste roll stuffed with either vegetables or meat or both and then fried or baked to crisp.
Benefits: They are good appetizers, which can be easily cooked even if you have frozen ones; for instance, spring rolls. They are crispy and are very versatile, they can be served with dipping sauces.
Examples:
- Vegetable Spring Rolls: It contains cabbage, carrots, beansprouts, onions and so on.
- Chicken Spring Rolls: With all sort of condiments ranging from shredded chicken, vegetables, and spices.
4. Frozen Pizzas
Pizzas: Frozen pizzas can be small and contain traditional toppings such as cheese and pepperoni or be large and contain such toppings as spinach and Alfredo or barbecued chicken and Cheddar cheese.
Benefits: They are convenient to prepare and consume and they can be eaten with the other toppings of your choice. Pizza in the freezer is easy for a family or informal get-together.
Examples:
- Margherita Pizza: Pizza (margherita) with its tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese and green basil.
- Pepperoni Pizza: Its topped with tomato sauce, with a layer of mozzarella cheese and pepperoni cuts.
- Frozen Burgers
Burgers: Meat that can be used in preparing frozen burgers include chicken, chicken, turkey and plant based protein. They arrive at the consumer’s premises pre-seasoned and this means they only need to be cooked.
Benefits: Fully grown-up burgers are easily portable and nutritiously valuable food item that can be accompanied with a complement of toppings and side orders.
Examples:
- Chicken Burgers: Traditional ground chicken patties that only need to be grilled or pan-fried.
- Veggie Burgers: Processed from beans, vegetables, and grains; these are plant products.
6. Frozen Breakfast Items
Breakfast Burritos and Sandwiches: Breakfast food that is typically sold frozen are burritos and sandwiches in which they can make use of sources such as eggs, cheese, sausage and vegetables.
Benefits: It can be noted that these items present a convenient, handy and easy-breakfast, which may be reheated in a microwave or an oven.
Examples:
- Egg and Cheese Burrito: Come with eggs, chopped and mixed with cheese and anything green.
- Sausage Breakfast Sandwich: Patty, meat product made of minced meat, formed into a shape of a patty and cooked, served with an egg and cheese on an English muffin.
Freezing Technologies
Blast Freezing:
- Objective: Quickly cool in food products to minimize physical characteristics, textural patterns, and nutrient quality degradation.
- Process: Blast freezer helps food to be exposed to a stream of very cold air which ranges between -30°C and -40°C.
- Applications: This category is normally applicable on meat products, seafood and prepared dishes and meals.
Cryogenic Freezing:
- Objective: Get extremely low temperatures within a short duration using cryogenic gaseous media.
- Process: Food is spray-coated or soaked in liquid nitrogen or CO2 at sub zero temperature of -196° C.
- Applications: Shrink packaging appropriate for small, valuable goods such as fine meals and sensitive products such as berries.
Individual Quick Freezing (IQF):
- Objective: Store specific items of food in the freezer individually to avoid sticking together.
- Process: Viands are spread on belts or flats and are rapidly frozen with air-blasted cold air or liquid gases.
- Applications: Appropriate for fruits and vegetables, seafood and small pieces of meat.
Plate Freezing:
- Objective: Freeze flat-pack foods effectively.
- Process: Food undergoes through a process where they are sandwiched between metal plates through refrigerants.
- Applications: Most suitable if used for fish fillets, meat patties, and any pre-packed vegetables.
Tunnel Freezing:
- Objective: The storage of frozen food products on daily basis.
- Process: Products to be cooled are conveyed through a tunnel through which cold air has limited circulation.
- Applications: Ideal for generating large quantities of frozen food such as pizzas, breads and pastries.
Packaging for Frozen Foods
Vacuum Sealing:
- Function: Vacuum action in it removes air in the packages in order to avoid freezer burn and oxidation.
- Applications: Employed with meat and seafood products as well as the processed and ready to eat foods.
Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP):
- Function: Uses controlled levels of specific gas to replace air in the package and thus increase the time a product takes to become stale.
- Applications: Popular foods include fruits, vegetables and bakery products.
Shrink Wrapping:
- Function: Closely shrink-wrapped films placed around the product to prevent exposure to moisture or other contaminant.
- Applications: In the poultry, meat cuts and cheese production sectors.
Flexible Packaging:
- Function: Products that include packaging such as pouches and bags that one can use in heat sealing.
- Applications: Expanded for use for raw vegetables like green beans, baby carrots, fruits and snacking foods like corn nuts etc.
- Engines and Equipment’s Employed in Freezing
Engineering and Equipment Used in Freezing
Blast Freezers:
- Function: To maintain quality of food products, freeze them at a fast rate.
- Design: Large rooms with strong fans to blowing cold air.
Cryogenic Freezers:
- Function: Those are for reaching extremely low temperatures in a short amount of time.
- Design: Systems which require utilization of liquid nitrogen or carbon dioxide for fast freezing process.
IQF Equipment:
- Function: Independently in a few flashes quell small divisions of foodstuffs.
- Design: Hazardous locations such as with conveyors installed with controlled temperatures from cold air or cryogenic gases.
Plate Freezers:
- Function: Properly flash freeze flat packed foods.
- Design: These are metallic plates through which refrigerants are passed then used to freeze foods placed in between.
Tunnel Freezers:
- Function: Recurring deep icing of food products in large quantities.
Design: Large tunnel with specially designed environment for continuous and long process runs.