Cook chill has been around for a while. It can help equip any size kitchen for larger-scale
food production. It also has the added benefits of reducing labor costs while increasing
food safety. Cook chill offers these advantages, but also has many perceived limitations
that have driven some restaurants away from the concept. Today, however, blast chillers
have shattered many of these former limitations, making cook chill easier and more
practical for nearly any restaurant.
Today's Food-Safety Challenges Back to top
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates 76 million cases
of food-borne illnesses occur each year in the United States. The Economic Research
Service (ERS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that culprits such
as listeria, salmonella and E. coli can cost the foodservice industry billions of
dollars per year in losses. According to the FDA, the best way to combat the growth
of food-borne bacteria is to properly cool and store food (both hot and cold).
"The FDA Food Code mandates restaurants chill hot foods from 135 degrees Fahrenheit
down to 70 degrees Fahrenheit within two hours and then from 70 degrees Fahrenheit
to below 41 degrees Fahrenheit within four hours," explains James Piliero, Traulsen's
marketing manager. "Restaurants can't accomplish this by simply placing hot food
in a walk-in refrigerator or freezer."
There are many methods to safely chill hot, cooked foods in large batches, but they
all have their disadvantages. Tumble chill requires cold water, increasing utility
costs; quick chill is an uncontrolled process; nitrogen tunnels are cost prohibitive;
and blast freezing can damage food cells and affect taste. Other methods, such as
ice paddles, require employees to manually stir hot foods, which takes a long time
and can't be done afterhours, once employees have left.
Blast chillers are the only piece of equipment that meets the food-safety requirements
of the average foodservice operation. Blast chillers save labor when used as part
of a cook chill process because this system makes it possible to cook more food
less often. Cooking labor is then concentrated into fewer hours each week, meaning
restaurants can conceivably cook seven days' worth of food in only five, without
sacrificing food quality. Since their cooking labor is concentrated, it isn't needed
on a daily basis, lowering costs as this is generally more expensive than the labor
needed to reheat and serve food.
Blast chillers can help when restaurants implement their own HACCP (Hazard Analysis
Critical Control Point) program; however, there are many popular misconceptions
with regard to pan loading, chill time and capacity. The traditional cook chill
process requires products to be loaded in pans no more than two inches deep so that
they can chill in approximately 90 minutes. This requirement can create problems
when wanting to chill larger foods such as meat loaf, whole chickens, casseroles
or lasagna.
"The two-inch pan depth is actually a requirement of the 90-minute process," explains
Piliero. "However, in reality, that 90-minute time threshold does not appear anywhere
in the FDA Food Code, and so it is nothing more than an artificial time target developed
as part of the overall system. As long as restaurants can lower the food temperature
below 41 degrees Fahrenheit within the FDA's two critical control points, then their
food is safe. By making greater use of the time actually allowed by HACCP, it is
possible to greatly expand the chiller's performance envelope to encompass many
more products, like whole chicken."
Piliero also explains another point of confusion.
"The cook chill process also refers to a 135-degree Fahrenheit food-start temperature,
which raises a question: What about food hotter than 135 degrees Fahrenheit?" he
says. "It's important to remember that the time required to go from any temperature
above the Danger Zone down to 135 degrees Fahrenheit is not considered as part of
the HACCP chill time. Once again, as long as the food chills within the FDA's two
critical control points, the food will be safe. In these instances only, the total
time in the blast chiller can be greater than six hours."
Another common misconception is that blast chillers are rated by pound capacity,
and so are limited to chilling those food quantities only. In reality, this is not
the case.
"The only true loading limitation on any chiller is the number of pans it can physically
accommodate. As for food quantity, this is limited only by what will chill safely
within the two FDA critical control points" says Piliero. "For example, if a restaurant
wants to load 140 pounds of hot food into a 100-pound blast chiller, it's likely
going to take longer than 90 minutes to chill. However, it will still be safe as
long as this completes within the FDA's two critical control points."
Choosing the Right Chiller Back to top
There are many blast chillers on the market, so selecting the right one might be
confusing. The first factor to consider is size. Blast chillers range from a tabletop
size with capacities of 25 to 35 pounds, all the way to much larger 200-pound and
even 400-pound capacity roll-in/roll-thru models.
"Restaurants should keep a few things in mind when selecting a blast chiller. All
blast chillers are designed to perform the same task, and no one brand significantly
outperforms any other," says Piliero. "Controls that are easy to use, printers that
provide critical documentation, networking capability, energy use and lifetime service
costs are what distinguish one manufacturer from another."
Piliero explains because of the high training costs common in the foodservice industry,
restaurants should select blast chillers that are easy to use and require little
training. He also suggests selecting units that are flexible and offer multiple
modes and methods. Today's blast chillers can blast chill, soft chill and freeze.
They can also blast chill by temperature, time or product type.
Lastly, Piliero suggests selecting blast chillers that can be networked to PCs,
use NAFEM Data Protocol compliant software and capture complete chill cycle data,
including product and user names, chill and hold temperature history, and time,
in order to meet all the FDA Food Code's requirements. Proper documentation is a
key element of food safety. Documentation is just as important as the process itself,
and so it is required by the U.S. Health Department. It is also important to demonstrate
due diligence in the event a restaurant owner's operation ever experiences a food-borne
illness.
Every Kitchen Can Enjoy the Benefits of Cook Chill Back to top
Today cook chill is a popular method of food preparation in kitchens of all sizes
and types. Cook chill allows the kitchen staff to prepare foods ahead of time, then
safely chill them for storage and later rethermalization. The most important component
of the cook-chill process is a quality blast chiller that provides rapid chilling
of hot foods for safe refrigerated storage. In addition, blast chilling helps maximize
potential food shelf life, resulting in less waste, while also increasing food safety
and reducing labor costs.
Get more information about cook chill or about how Traulsen blast chillers can keep
your food safe, fresh and delicious.