Blast Chillers

While refrigeration equipment is designed to keep menu items at food-safe temperatures, blast chillers quickly draw down the temperature of menu items to food-safe temperatures.

Essentially souped-up freezers, blast chillers are most often used by large institutions like hospitals, which need to produce and store food in high volume. They’re also high-dollar pieces of equipment that need to be well-maintained to work at peak efficiency.

Maintaining blast chillers is important from a safety standpoint since temperature consistency is key for HACCP reporting.

The menu will help determine if a foodservice operation requires a blast chiller and, if so, the appropriate size. More delicate food like bakery items may be better suited for a softer, more gradual chill process, while meat and other heartier products can withstand a hard chill that brings food temperatures down to an almost frozen state more quickly.

Blast chillers bring down food temperatures from 160 degrees F to 38 degrees F in 90 minutes or less to reduce the time food is in the danger zone of between 41 degrees F and 135 degrees F. Because this chilling method forms microcrystals on products, food retains its quality, appearance, nutritional value and flavor.

Blast chillers are a key piece of equipment for industrial operations that want to cook, then store, large quantities of food. They’re also big-ticket items that operators should be careful with to protect their investments.