As a common ingredient in modern fast food industry, restaurant chains and home kitchens, frozen potatoes are popular due to their convenience, freshness and easy processing. So what is the process for freezing potatoes?
The main processing steps of freezing potatoes:
1. Raw material selection and cleaning
High-quality freezing potato products are controlled from the source. First, disease-free and undamaged potatoes are selected to ensure the taste and stability of the product. After manual or automatic selection, the potatoes enter the cleaning stage, usually using a bubble cleaning machine or a brush roller cleaning machine to completely remove surface dirt and impurities.
2. Peeling
After washing, potatoes need to be peeled. In large-scale production, steam peelers or friction peelers are usually used. Steam peeling can quickly soften the skin, combined with brushing to keep the integrity of the potatoes; while friction peeling is suitable for occasions with thin skin and moderate production.
3. Cutting
Potatoes can be cut into different shapes according to different customer needs. Common shapes include: strips, cubes, blocks, corrugated shapes, etc.
The cutting machine has a variety of blade molds that can be quickly replaced to meet various specifications. Accurate cutting can ensure the consistency of subsequent processing and reduce waste.
4. Blanching
The cut potatoes need to be blanched, usually by boiling them in hot water at about 80°C for 2-5 minutes. The purpose of blanching is to inactivate enzyme activity and prevent oxidation and discoloration. It can also remove some starch and improve the texture of the product after freezing.
5. Quick freezing
The blanched potatoes need to be quickly cooled and enter the quick freezing stage. Usually, a fluidized quick freezer or tunnel quick freezing equipment is used to perform quick freezing at below -30°C, so that the core temperature of the product quickly drops to below -18°C, maximally locking in moisture and nutrients and maintaining the taste of the product.
6. Packaging and storage
The freezing potato products will enter the packaging stage. The packaging is usually vacuum packed to extend the shelf life. The packaging specifications can be customized according to customer requirements, such as 500g, 1kg, 2.5kg and other forms.
The final product needs to be stored in a cold storage below -18°C and transported under full cold chain control to ensure that the product quality remains fresh when it reaches the end customer.
The whole process is automatically completed by the frozen potato line.