New publications: A critical review of dehydrofreezing of fruits and vegetables
Thursday, 27 March 2014
An on-line copy of our review of dehydrofreezing for Food and Bioprocess Technology has just been made available to those with access to this journal.
Dehydrofreezing is an adjunct to freezing in which a food is first dehydrated to a desirable moisture content and then frozen. It is particularly suited to fruits and vegetables. Since fresh fruits and vegetables contain more water than meat, and their cellular structure is less elastic, they are prone to more damage during freezing than meat. Removing some of the water prior to freezing theoretically allows the ice crystals to form and expand without damaging the cellular structure. Reducing the water content prior to freezing also has the potential to reduce the freezing time, the initial freezing point, and the amount of ice formed within the product. Despite being often cited as a new, novel or emerging technology, the concept of dehydrofreezing was developed in the 1940s. However, it has remained a niche process being commercially applied to products such as potatoes, carrots, and onions. In recent years there has been renewed interest in dehydrofreezing, and this review looks at the most recent innovations in dehydrofreezing research.
This review is the first in a series of publications planned this year from FRPERC on different aspects and technologies for improving food freezing. This work has been funded by Air Products and we would like to take the opportunity to thank them for their funding and support.
