Deep freeze meal prodn. - using mixer for frozen ingredients with spray of coating and coolant, to freeze coated ingredients without freezing them together

摘要

For the prodn. of deep-frozen ready-to-eat meals or vegetables, with or without meat or seafood contents, already frozen components of the meal which roll freely are mixed in a rotary mixer and sprayed with a coating of sauce of liquid fat at a controlled temp. above the freezing point, so that the coating material is fluid. The foodstuff coating is reinforced by continued rotation and the introduction of a coolant, pref. liq. nitrogen, so that they are evenly coated without freezing together. The mixer is pref. a rotating drum with a horizontal axis, or a conical screw mixer, or an agitator within a fixed drum. Apart from the coolant channel, the operation is under vacuum to move and premix the materials. USE/ADVANTAGE - The technique is used for mfg. deep-frozen goulash and other ready-to-eat meals, together with herbs and other flavourings. The method gives a deep frozen ready-to-eat prod., with solid components, with low energy consumption, and without additives such as starch or wax coatings, in portions without risk of the mixt. sepg..