Expand your fresh fish business with rapid freezing! A must-see from seafood processing and wholesale to restaurants

"I wish I could store fresh fish for a long time at the store..."
``I wish I could provide fresh, delicious fish to customers in faraway areas...''

I'm sure there are many seafood companies and restaurants that handle fish and other seafood that feel this way. Why not solve these problems with rapid freezing?

Due to the spread of the new coronavirus, business styles in the food industry such as restaurants are changing. The number of restaurants that are newly starting mail-order sales is increasing, and the number of people considering introducing refrigeration technology is also increasing.

However, when freezing fresh ingredients such as fish and meat, red blood-like drips may appear or the food may become discolored. These reduce the quality of the food, including its taste and aroma.

The freezing technology we recommend is rapid freezing.
Unlike regular rapid freezer can freeze food instantly. By installing rapid freezer, fresh ingredients such as fish and meat can be frozen and stored without sacrificing quality.

If rapid freezing the fish when it is fresh, you can restore the freshness it had before freezing when it thaws.

In this article, we will introduce the benefits of rapid freezing fish, how to freeze, store, and thaw fish without sacrificing quality, and an example of a restaurant that actually sells seafood that has introduced rapid freezer.

Advantages of rapid freezing fish

There are four major advantages to rapid freezing fish.

freshness

One, it can preserve the freshness of fresh fish.

In the first place, the freshness of fish decreases extremely quickly compared to other ingredients. Reasons for this include high water content, weak flesh of the fish, and rot due to the presence of internal organs and gills.

The fish may release water that looks like red blood. This is called drip, and the main ingredient is protein, and the flavor of the fish is also included in the drip.

Therefore, if a large amount is dripped out, it will lead to a decrease in the nutrition of the fish. Also, the moisture in the fish will come out, making the texture dryer than it should be.

However, drips can be prevented by using rapid freezing. Because it can be frozen faster than regular freezing, it can be frozen without destroying the fish cells, and the umami components can be frozen without leaking out.

death of parasites

Second, you can kill Anisakis.

Anisakis is a type of parasite that is said to infect seafood. When seafood infested with Anisakis dies, Anisakis gradually moves from internal organs to muscles, and when humans eat the seafood, Anisakis invades the human body.

When Anisakis enters the human body, it causes severe abdominal pain, and if it invades the small intestine, surgery may be required. In recent years, damage caused by Anisakis has been increasing, and many consumers are concerned.

Therefore, taking measures against Anisakis will lead to increased sales for fisheries businesses and restaurants.

One way to deal with Anisakis is rapid freezing. Anisakis is said to be killed by freezing at -20℃ for 24 hours.

However, it is difficult to maintain a constant temperature with a regular refrigerator, making it difficult to kill Anisakis. However, rapid freezer freeze at a lower temperature and at a faster speed, which shortens the time it takes for Anisakis to die and maintains a constant temperature, so you don't have to worry about the temperature rising. yeah.

Cost reduction

Thirdly, introducing rapid freezer will also lead to cost reductions.

In order to provide fresh fish, we can only distribute it to nearby areas. If you want to deliver to a remote area, you need to use airmail to transport it as quickly as possible.

However, distribution by plane is expensive.

By using rapid freezing, fish can be frozen, allowing for long-term storage and long-term transportation. When long-term transportation becomes possible, distribution by truck or ship becomes possible instead of by air.

Expansion of sales channels

Fourth, introducing the refrigeration business will lead to business expansion.

By introducing refrigeration technology, it is now possible to start a mail order business in addition to the restaurant that previously provided food on the spot.

In particular, the use of mail order has increased recently due to the new coronavirus outbreak. Therefore, introducing refrigeration technology and starting mail-order sales will lead to business expansion.

There are various benefits to rapid freezing fish in this way. Next, we will discuss specifically how to freeze, store, and thaw fish.

Ask about freezing fish

How to rapid freezing fish

The optimal freezing method differs depending on the species of fish and the shape of the same fish.

Here we will introduce some examples of freezing methods for each type and shape of fish.

Fish species

Red fish (tuna, bonito, swordfish, yellowtail, yellowtail, etc.)

Characteristics: High in iron and fat, soft. It has a rich and umami flavor.

[An example of freezing method]
Thoroughly wipe off moisture from the surface of the meat and freeze. If you are placing the meat in a storage bag before freezing, vacuum it to the extent that it does not crush the meat. Be careful not to apply too much pressure as drips may appear.
Red fish in particular is prone to discoloration, so it is important to thoroughly vacuum the fish after freezing.

White fish (sea bream, flounder, blowfish, sea bass, conger eel, monkfish, flatfish, flounder, kiss, bigeye, etc.)

Characteristics: High in protein and low in fat, white fish has a lot of collagen, has a firm flesh, and has a light taste.

[An example of freezing method]
As with red fish, wipe off any moisture from the surface of the meat before freezing. You can maintain higher quality by vacuuming after freezing.

Blue fish (horse mackerel, sardines, mackerel, mackerel, whitebait, etc.)

Characteristics: Among small red fish and white fish, this fish has a blue back.

[An example of freezing method]
We recommend freezing bluefish whole without processing the internal organs. It is said that the fewer times you touch the fish, the less likely it will spoil.

shape

Round (without any modification)

[An example of freezing method]
Wipe any moisture from the surface of the fish.
Basically, you can freeze food while maintaining its freshness using either rapid freezer that freezes food using cold air or rapid freezer freezes food using liquid.

However, for large, thick fish, it takes a long time to freeze them using cold air, so we recommend a liquid-type rapid freezer.
*If you are using a liquid type freezer, place the food in a storage bag before freezing and evacuate the food to the extent that it will not be crushed.

This is an example of frozen round horse mackerel. This time I am using cold air type rapid freezing.

Semi-dressed (head attached but guts removed)
[Example of freezing method]
The semi-dressed fish are basically frozen in the same way as the round fish.
Like rounds, larger fish can be frozen faster in liquid, resulting in higher quality frozen fish.

Fillet (head removed, filleted into 3 pieces)
[Example of freezing method]
①First, wipe off any moisture on the surface of the flesh with kitchen paper or similar.
②When freezing fish fillets, it is best to freeze them skin-side down. Experimental results have shown that if the fish fillet is frozen flesh-side down, the muscles of the fish will come into contact with the tray and relax, leading to deformation of the entire fish.

If you are freezing them in storage bags, make sure they are not overlapping each other and vacuum seal them so that the flesh does not get crushed before freezing.
However, if you can freeze the food without packaging, it is better to place it in a storage bag and vacuum seal it after freezing, as this will allow you to vacuum tighter, which will help maintain freshness better.
Here is an example of freezing salmon fillets.

View materials on rapid freezing

Storage of rapid freezing fish

Storage method

How you store fish after it is rapid freezing is also important.

This is because seafood contains unsaturated fatty acids, which are easily oxidized and cause the fish to dry out, resulting in a loss of texture, taste, and other qualities.

Therefore, it is important to prevent frozen fish from coming into contact with air during storage.

Create a vacuum using an airtight storage bag to prevent air from getting between the fish and the storage bag.

storage period

The storage period of fish after freezing also depends on the freezing method.

・If frozen raw: 2 to 3 weeks
・If frozen with seasoning: 3 to 4 weeks

It has been with. However, the above period is a guideline and may vary depending on the ingredients.

View information on rapid freezing fish

How to thaw rapid freezing fish

We used rapid freezer to freeze the food to avoid degrading the quality of the food, but it is pointless if drips appear when thawing. Here are some examples of defrosting based on our years of research.

You want to prevent dripping of raw foods like fish, but thawing them at room temperature must be avoided for hygienic reasons.

When cooking fish for use, it is better to cook it while it is still frozen or partially thawed, as this will prevent the moisture and nutrients contained in the fish from escaping.

When using fish without heating it, we recommend thawing it in an environment with a small temperature difference from the outside, such as in the refrigerator or ice water. This prevents dripping from the fish and helps maintain freshness.

Also, when defrosting fish, it is important to make sure that the fish is not under pressure. If you thaw the food with the vacuum still on, you may get vacuum burn or drips may come out due to pressure during thawing.

In particular, if you thaw red fish in a vacuum, the texture will be poor.

Another method is to use a thawing machine, which allows you to thaw the entire fish evenly and evenly, reducing drips and achieving higher quality thawing.

Next, I would like to introduce a store that has actually installed rapid freezer.

Ask about how to thaw fish

Introduction example of rapid freezer

Here we will introduce an example of a person who has actually installed rapid freezer to freeze seafood.

Aquaculture seafood processing company

This company decided to introduce rapid freezer because it wanted to expand its sales channels for processed fish and seafood products. However, expanding sales channels and providing food to customers in other prefectures took at least two to three days, and the problem was that the freshness of the food deteriorated.

They realized that rapid freezing would help maintain freshness, so they started thinking about using quick freezing. In fact, after introducing rapid freezing, we have been rapidly expanding the sales channels for our ingredients.

In addition, from 2019, we started selling products made by rapid freezing tiger puffer fish. Normally, tiger puffer fish is left to rest for two to three days to bring out its flavor, but when rapid freezing is used, Even if you don't let it sit, the flavor is concentrated and it's even more delicious than fresh food.” has received high praise.

In addition, the introduction of rapid freezing has made it possible to respond to sudden customer requests and has also eliminated food waste.

Seafood processing and wholesale company

At that time, this company was providing sea bass for weddings, and the season for catching sea bass is limited, but the company received requests from wedding venues to use the fish all year round, so they started thinking about freezing the fish. .

However, with normal freezing (slow freezing), drips appear and the quality of the fish deteriorates, so when I was looking for a way to freeze fresh fish as is, I learned about a technique called rapid freezing. This was the impetus for this company to introduce rapid freezing.

The method of utilizing rapid freezing is to purchase ingredients when they are cheap, rapid freezing them, store them, and sell them when their value is high. Then, within six months of its introduction, it replaced rapid freezer.

It has also received a very high reputation in terms of quality.
For example, frozen tuna turns black in about a week, but tuna frozen by rapid freezing does not change color and can be restored to its original quality by soaking it in water and thawing it. That was it.

Restaurant (sushi restaurant)

At the time, I was considering replacing a different type of rapid freezer that I had been using for about 10 years, and a friend of mine introduced us to our company.

Because the freezing process was not completed in time and employees were having to work longer hours, we decided to upgrade to a model that can freeze more dormitories in order to improve the working environment.

They freeze their sushi and have a central kitchen, so they freeze the sushi toppings in one place, deliver them to each store, and serve the sushi at each store.

After replacing it, it seems that the amount of freezing has increased and the speed of freezing has increased. It seems that the amount frozen at one time has increased by 6.25 times. After introducing rapid freezing, work was completed on time and the working environment improved.

See more examples of rapid freezing

Conclusion

What did you think.

This time, we introduced rapid freezing of fish. It is often thought that it is difficult to freeze raw foods like fish to maintain their freshness.

However, if you use rapid freezing and practice the correct freezing, storage, and thawing methods, you can still provide fresh fish to your customers even after thawing.

If you are interested in rapid freezer or would like to experiment with rapid freezing fish, please contact us.