Long thawing time associated to conventional refrigerator method is responsible for scarce responsiveness of food service thawing process to fluctuations in daily customers number. This results in food losses and indirectly in costs for space requirements; these issues are especially critical for quick service restaurants. Air impingement has been successfully used to reduce thawing time of food simulants, but to date scarce information about its effect on food is available. Aim of this doctoral thesis was to test the suitability of air impingement method as an alternative for food service thawing. This thesis first examined the effects of thawing on meat structure and their predicted consequences on frying performances. Successively, ideal requirements for a food service thawing method were identified. In a second stage, an air impingement prototype for thawing was developed. Frozen bags of chicken fingers, commonly thawed in quick service restaurants before frying, were chosen as study case. Combinations of thawing parameters, to be set in the air impingement thawing prototype, were thus optimized for chicken fingers. After application of the identified thawing cycles, structural modifications of the chicken fingers and their consequences on the quality of fried products were evaluated. These results were compared to those of refrigerator or microwave thawed samples. Finally, air impingement thawing versatility was evaluated on different food products. The results of the project demonstrate that air impingement thawing is well suited to noticeably reduce thawing time of the considered food service products and to address the identified requirements for food service thawing. Moreover, the performances of air impingement thawed animal products were reported for the first time. Application of this thawing method in field is currently studied in The Research Hub™ by Electrolux Professional. The focus will be on the processing implications of an industrialized appliance, which could not be evaluated on the prototypal application developed in this thesis.
I lunghi tempi associati allo scongelamento refrigerato ne limitano l’adattabilità alle fluttuazioni del numero di clienti nella ristorazione. Questo provoca perdite alimentari, in aggiunta a costi per gli spazi necessari al processo; problematiche critiche per i quick service restaurants. L’air impingement è stato impiegato con successo per ridurre i tempi di scongelamento di simulanti alimentari, tuttavia scarse informazioni sono disponibili sul suo effetto sugli alimenti. Lo scopo di questa tesi di dottorato era testare l’idoneità del metodo air impingement per lo scongelamento nella ristorazione. Nella prima parte di questa tesi, sono stati esaminati gli effetti strutturali dello scongelamento sulla carne e le relative conseguenze previste sulle prestazioni in frittura. Successivamente, sono stati identificati i requisisti per l’applicazione nella ristorazione. Nella seconda parte, è stato sviluppato un prototipo per lo scongelamento ad air impingement. Chicken fingers imbustati, comunemente scongelati per essere fritti nei quick service restaurants, sono stati selezionati come caso studio. I parametri di processo da impostare sul prototipo sono stati dunque ottimizzati per i chicken fingers. Successivamente all’applicazione dei cicli di scongelamento, sono state analizzate le modificazioni strutturali dei chicken fingers e la qualità del prodotto fritto. I risultati sono stati comparati con quelli di campioni scongelati in frigorifero o microonde. Infine, la versatilità del metodo air impingement è stata valutata su diversi prodotti alimentari. I risultati di questo progetto dimostrano che l’air impingement riduce notevolmente i tempi di scongelamento dei prodotti considerati e risponde ai requisiti per lo scongelamento nella ristorazione. Inoltre, per la prima volta sono state riportate le prestazioni di alimenti di origine animale scongelati con air impingement. Alcune implicazioni di processo che non potevano essere valutare sulla versione prototipale sviluppata in questa tesi, sono attualmente allo studio in The Research Hub™ by Electrolux Professional.
Scongelamento ad air impingement per alimenti fritti nella ristorazione
BOZZATO, ARIANNA
2021
Abstract
Long thawing time associated to conventional refrigerator method is responsible for scarce responsiveness of food service thawing process to fluctuations in daily customers number. This results in food losses and indirectly in costs for space requirements; these issues are especially critical for quick service restaurants. Air impingement has been successfully used to reduce thawing time of food simulants, but to date scarce information about its effect on food is available. Aim of this doctoral thesis was to test the suitability of air impingement method as an alternative for food service thawing. This thesis first examined the effects of thawing on meat structure and their predicted consequences on frying performances. Successively, ideal requirements for a food service thawing method were identified. In a second stage, an air impingement prototype for thawing was developed. Frozen bags of chicken fingers, commonly thawed in quick service restaurants before frying, were chosen as study case. Combinations of thawing parameters, to be set in the air impingement thawing prototype, were thus optimized for chicken fingers. After application of the identified thawing cycles, structural modifications of the chicken fingers and their consequences on the quality of fried products were evaluated. These results were compared to those of refrigerator or microwave thawed samples. Finally, air impingement thawing versatility was evaluated on different food products. The results of the project demonstrate that air impingement thawing is well suited to noticeably reduce thawing time of the considered food service products and to address the identified requirements for food service thawing. Moreover, the performances of air impingement thawed animal products were reported for the first time. Application of this thawing method in field is currently studied in The Research Hub™ by Electrolux Professional. The focus will be on the processing implications of an industrialized appliance, which could not be evaluated on the prototypal application developed in this thesis.File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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PhD Thesis_Arianna Bozzato.pdf
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https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14242/89190
URN:NBN:IT:UNIUD-89190