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The basic concept is this: a Blast Chiller is able to chill or freeze your food much faster than an ordinary domestic freezer - thereby locking in its essential nutrients and vitamins while inhibiting the growth of bacteria.
Food safety
Bacteria grows at its quickest in the so-called 'danger zone' between 70 and 5 degrees celsius - if food stays for too long at these temperatures, there's a risk it can be unsafe for future consumption. A blast chiller can reduce the temperature of cooked food from 70 to under 5 degrees, in just under an hour and a half. You can then put it in the fridge, knowing it'll be safer for storage (for up to 70% longer) and later consumption.
These appliances have been more often found in commercial kitchens up until now - in a context where food safety and freshness is paramount.
But, of course, there are similar advantages to a domestic application - and here's a few reasons why!
Less Waste
With the declaration of a "war on waste", we're all trying to do our best to cut down on how much we throw away. With a blast chiller, you save on the amount of food wasted through better preservation and increasing shelf life. That also puts less pressure on you to use your fresh ingredients ASAP for fear they'll spoil quickly.
Fresh ingredients at the ready
With a Blast Chiller, you can buy the freshest produce at your convenience - and know you have a (preservative free) means to maintain their quality for a longer period of time. Seasonal fruits and vegetables are renowned for high levels of mineral salts and vitamins ... imagine if you had the ability to serve your family that kind of healthy food almost all year round?
Less evaporation
Rapid freezing will improve the quality of your food. Put very simply, when food is frozen in a conventional freezer (that is, slower than a blast chiller) ice crystals are formed in its cellular structure ... and at such a size as to be able to cause damage to the cell walls.
As a result - during the defrosting period - when the crystals melt, these cell walls rupture, causing liquid to seep out of the food, thereby taking with it weight, flavors and nutrients. That means a loss of colour, a leathery texture and dehydrated surface.
Meanwhile, a Blast Chiller will lower the temperature of your food at a rapid rate - causing water molecules in your food to freeze to a micro-crystallisation (as in, very small!) state! At this size, the molecules are not compromised - leaving the quality of the food intact.
Versatility
They represent a surprisingly versatile appliance solution - providing chefs with tremendous facility to manage their time and resources better. This is obviously a major advantage in a professional context - but it can also be applied readily to a busy domestic kitchen as well.
Got a spare rainy Sunday afternoon and want to make the most of the time cooking up a storm for the week (or weeks) ahead? A blast chiller is the perfect way to preserve the original quality of your food - so that when it comes to a Monday night, when you're too tired to cook for the family, you can pull a ready-to-eat-dish out of the freezer!
In fact, they can even be used to instantly stop the cooking process - in the middle of it - thereby allowing you to complete that particular dish and serve at a later, more convenient, time.
And for those who love to bake cakes, there's no more long waiting to apply the icing and garnish - a blast chiller reduces the temperature of the cake from 175 degrees to 25 degrees within 10 minutes - saving yourself an hour in comparison.
Smeg have a range of Blast Chillers
These superb products are currently available at Winning Appliances - as part of their magnificent "Dolce Stil Novo" collection. Not only are they a superb example of the functionality that defines the Blast Chiller, but they are also an incredibly stylish design piece.
If you want more information about how these products can bring exceptional functionality to your kitchen set-up, be sure to check in with our product experts either in-store or online!
