The Big Chill

Other options include dehydrofreezing, a method of dehydrating a food to a certain moisture level then freezing it, thus reducing the amount of moisture to manage, and ultrasound-assisted freezing, which uses acoustic energy to fracture ice crystals into smaller, more-benign particles.

These technological tools prompt the question as to whether it is always advantageous to freeze products as quickly as possible. The short answer, Gerber suggests, is yes—but it is wise to first conduct a cost-benefit analysis.

“A lot of the fast-freezing technologies require new capital or new systems,” says Gerber. “You are constantly trying to balance the science with consumer acceptance, cost and how easy it is to run. That’s the perennial battle for food scientists.”

Some mechanical freezers can lock in the flavor and color of individually quick-frozen strawberries in as little as 10 minutes, reports P. J. Mecozzi, president, Del Mar Food Products Corp., Watsonville, CA.

But—hypothetically—if the freezing could be done in half the time, would it yield a better berry?

“I think incrementally it would,” Mecozzi says. “But I would certainly be concerned about how much energy we expended and what the benefits are.”

In the ongoing struggle to balance overall quality with cost-effectiveness, multiple approaches to bringing better products to market often find the most favor.

James Scarpa is a Chicago-based writer who specializes in food, beverages and the business of restaurants. He is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America and a veteran of the foodservice industry trade press.