IQF vegetables represent a significant segment of the worldwide frozen food market, especially in Europe. Even though this sector consists of a wide range of frozen vegetables, the most popular remain broccoli, green beans, and peas.
This growing demand is explained by the increase of interest in advanced and sustainable solutions from private processors. Simply delivering frozen vegetables to the market is no longer enough, especially if we’re talking about vegetables rich in nutrients such as broccoli. Consumers from Europe have a high interest in the nutritional value of the products, as well as in their appearance and overall quality. The EU is a major importer of IQF vegetables, the biggest consuming countries being the Western Europeans, followed by the Eastern European countries that are picking up this trend, as well.
Therefore, the demand for IQF broccoli is constantly growing, while frozen food processors are in a tight competition to supply this demand with high-quality products that meet high food safety regulations. In order to obtain great results with the final IQF products distributed on the market, IQF broccoli processors need superior freezing equipment that can ensure the preservation of the nutritional value and natural appearance of broccoli. The OctoFrost team has solid experience with the freezing of broccoli and can offer valuable information and guidance to broccoli processors.
IQF freezing on-site
Like in the case of every vegetable, right after the moment the broccoli is harvested, the respiration process begins, which translates in dehydration and heat release. This process has a negative impact on the nutritional value of broccoli because, once with the water, the nutrients will be lost, ass well. Taking into consideration the time lost between transportation, quality control, and the moment the broccoli reaches the supermarket shelf, it is quite possible that the product will lose more than half of its original amount of nutrients. This is the reason why the OctoFrost team recommends IQF freezing on-site. IQF or Individually Quick Freezing is the optimal method for achieving superior IQF broccoli. IQF technology preserves the product’s natural shape, color, and texture, enabling the frozen food processors to obtain high-quality IQF broccoli that will be sold at a premium price. One of the greatest challenges for IQF broccoli producers is to maintain a good separation of the products as they tend to stick to each other, create lumps and form blocks.
Optimal pre-treatment
In order to obtain excellent results, the broccoli needs proper pre-treatment before the actual IQF process begins. There are two important pre-treatment actions that need to be considered: blanching and pre-cooling. Blanching is basically the short time exposure of the vegetable to boiling water or hot steam in order to deactivate the enzymes that cause the broccoli to mature and start losing its nutritional value and natural appearance. As a general recommendation, every vegetable needs to be blanched and then immediately cooled to a temperature of 7 °C prior to freezing.
Performant IQF equipment
All the challenges of processing IQF broccoli can be overcome by choosing the optimal freezing equipment. What is important while freezing IQF broccoli, is to create the optimal fluidization inside the freezer. Delicate vegetables like broccoli can be easily damaged, therefore they require gentle handling. OctoFrost has multiple different freezing zones which allow a good control over the speed of the fans. In addition, the perforated bedplates ensure the optimal aerodynamics that contributes significantly to the perfect fluidization necessary in order to obtain superior IQF broccoli. IQF broccoli maintain their natural appearance, color, texture, taste and shape when they are individually quick frozen in the OctoFrost. This is possible because of the freezers unique bedplate configuration and its quick, controlled freezing process.
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