100% Quebec Company
Fresh Products
Fresh and Frozen Products
Fresh Food, Frozen Food or Quick-Frozen Food?
A Question of Great Importance
Expert Advice
"In my experience, many things have changed with time. I believe the evolution in quality of frozen products has been the most important development in the food industry in recent years.
Controlling protein portions also helps stabilize recipe costs, as cooking staff are becoming less and less trained and present in the kitchen.
The objective here is to provide you with a better understanding of the reality of professional cooking, and, above all, to help you choose products that will facilitate your operations and reduce your ingredient costs".
Expert Advice | Chef and Consultant Ian Perreault
Frozen or Quick-Frozen Foods?
FREEZING
means subjecting a product to a temperature of less than -18°C. The temperature is lowered slowly, thus eliminating all biological activity.
Freezing food causes crystals to form, which can alter the product’s quality, like the tenderness of meat, for example. These crystals also inevitably create excess water when the food is being cooked.
QUICK-FREEZING
is a technique that transforms the water inside food into ice very quickly and at very low temperatures (below -30°C).
Unlike frozen products, quick-frozen products are "put to sleep" more rapidly and are then stabilized at -18°C.
Stop your judgement!
We hear all kinds of criticism about frozen and quick-frozen products.
ADVANTAGES
-
-
100% natural preservation method
-
Preserves the food’s taste and nutritional qualities
-
Saves time in the kitchen
-
Less waste: no more forgotten vegetables in the fridge bin
-
Most fresh vegetables are picked before they're ripe. They can spend several weeks in storage before arriving on grocery store shelves, thus losing their nutritional qualities. Frozen vegetables are picked when ripe and then frozen immediately, which preserves their vitamins and delicate minerals. They're therefore "fresher than fresh"! Frozen vegetables are also often cheaper than fresh products and can save time.
STRENGTHS
- Meat can be aged
- Easier setup for kitchen crews
- Higher product quality
- Suited to all types of cuisine
- All chefs love fresh food
WEAKNESSES
- Price variations
- Greater losses (shorter shelf-life, more fragile)
- Product quality deteriorates quickly
- Complicated delivery and inventory
- Must be stored in a cold room
- Products must be rotated often
Frozen Products
STRENGTHS
- Portions can be calculated more easily
- IQF (Individually Quick-Frozen)
- Chefs prefer non-bulk products
- Stable price
- Allows you to manage variations in customer traffic
- Facilitates the creation of standard recipes
- Ensures a stable supply
- Allows you to manage portion costs
WEAKNESSES
- Loss of quality and freshness
- Loss of product weight
- Impossible to refreeze (except in some cases)
- Some products contain preservatives
- Can be time-consuming to ring up in-store
- Not suitable for all recipes
- Chefs have unfavourable opinions about them
- Less flavour
- May contain brine or nitrites
Other Influential Factors
Type of Restaurant
- Seating capacity
- Customer traffic
- Lunch/dinner
- Menu prices
- Seasonal
- Menu design
- Tab
Type of Chef
- Age
- Culinary training
- Culinary culture
- Previous experiences
Type of Equipment
- Oven
- Cold room
- Freezer
- Sous vide
Type of Cuisine
- Seasonal
- Market-based
- Regional
- National
- International
Blackboard of Average Shelf-Life of Frozen and Quick-Frozen Foods
The goal: to reduce losses of quality and time
Viandes
|
Organ meat (liver, heart, etc.) |
3 to 4 months |
Lamb |
6 to 9 months (8 to 12 months according to Health Canada) |
|
Bacon |
1 to 2 months |
Beef (steaks, roasts) |
6 to 12 months |
|
Cretons |
1 to 2 months |
Cooked ham |
1 to 2 months |
|
Pork |
8 to 12 months |
Meat sauce for spaghetti |
4 to 6 months |
|
Hot dogs |
1 to 2 months |
Fresh sausage |
2 to 3 months |
|
Dried sausage |
Cannot be frozen |
Veal |
4 to 8 months (8 to 12 months according to Health Canada) |
|
Cooked meat with sauce |
4 months |
Cooked meat without sauce |
2 to 3 months |
|
Sliced meat sous vide |
1 month |
Smoked meat, deli meat |
1 to 2 months |
|
Ground, cubed or thinly sliced meat |
4 months |
|
|
Chicken and Turkey
|
Whole raw poultry |
10 to 12 months |
Raw poultry in pieces or cubes |
6 to 9 months |
|
Cooked poultry with sauce |
6 months |
Cooked poultry without sauce |
1 to 3 months |
Eggs and Vegetarian Protein
|
Whole eggs in their shells |
Cannot be frozen |
Raw egg whites |
9 months |
|
Raw egg yolks |
4 months |
Tofu |
1 to 2 months |
Fish and Seafood
|
Cooked crab |
1 month |
Shrimp |
2 to 4 months |
|
Oysters without their shells |
2 to 4 months |
Mussels without their shells |
3 months |
|
Clams without their shells |
3 months |
Scallops |
3 months |
|
Fatty fish (salmon, trout, etc.) |
3 months |
Lean fish (sole, tilapia, etc.) |
6 months |
|
Cold-smoked fish |
2 months |
|
|