Frozen versus deep-frozen
Frozen and deep-frozen are often used in common language as synonyms, but they substantially differ from one another.
Frozen products reach -18 °C at the heart of the product in a very long time while deep-freezing allows long time food storage because the heart of the product reaches -18 °C very quickly.
The short time needed to reach this temperature differs deep-freezing from freezing.
During cooling, the water contained in the food tissue cells turns into ice. If this process takes place gradually and slowly ice crystals tend to swell with the consequent damage to intra-cellular tissues.
If low temperature is reached quickly as in deep-freezing, crystallization can be avoided, creating an amorphous phase that favors product stability during the next maintenance period and without damaging the structure of the food, and also preserving its organoleptic and nutritional properties.
Deep-freezing is therefore the best preservation system, enabling us to give the consumer a product comparable to the fresh one.