Foster QC 600, QC 11 manual Cook Chill Operation, Program Soft Chilling, Program Hard Chilling Time

Introduction.

Cook Chill Operation.

Blast chilling is a process to reduce the temperature of cooked food by swiftly arresting the cooking process, locking in its colour, flavour, texture and nutritional value. Department of health guidelines state that to safely blast chill food the temperature must be reduced from +70°c to +3°c within 90 minutes.

Pre Chill ensures the correct cabinet temperature in the unit before chilling commences therefore improving the chilling performance.

Program 1

Soft Chilling.

Soft chilling is the process of rapid but gentle chilling of food.

This cycle brings down the food temperature to +3°c in no more than 90 minutes without the air or food temperature going below +2°c.

This prevents large ice crystals forming therefore maintaining the texture, consistency and appearance of food such as vegetables, rice, pasta, custard and fruit with no dehydration or cell damage.

Program 2

Hard Chilling Time.

Hard chilling is the process of general purpose chilling using time.

This cycle brings down the food temperature to +3°c in no more than 90 minutes and is ideal for chilling meat pies, lasagne, pasta and individually portioned meals. The air temperature for this process goes down to -15°c for the first 70 minutes of the cycle, to extract the maximum amount of heat from the product quickly. The air temperature then increases to +2°c for the final 30 minutes of the time to reduce surface damage and ensure quality.

Program 3

Hard Chill +

This program is for specialist chilling only and not recommended for normal use.

Program 4

Hard Chilling Temperature.

Hard chilling is the process of general purpose chilling using the food probe.

This cycle brings down the food temperature to +3°c in no more than 90 minutes and is ideal for chilling meat pies, lasagne, pasta and individually portioned meals. The air temperature for this process goes down to -15°c for the first 70% of the cycle, to extract the maximum amount of heat from the product quickly. The air temperature then increases to +2°c for the final 30% of the time to reduce surface damage and ensure quality.

Longer Term Storage – ‘Hold’ Mode (Conservation)

Upon the completion of the blast chilling cycle the controller will automatically enter the ‘Hold’ mode. This will either be because the selection set time has elapsed or the product core temperature has been achieved. When the hold period commences an alarm will sound for a period denoted in the service operating parameters.

The controller will determine the temperature to be maintained during the hold phase based on the chilling or freezing cycle that has been completed. If a soft or hard chill has taken place the controller will maintain an air temperature of 2°c, if a freeze program is completed the air temperature of -21°c will be maintained.

The hold mode is principally intended as a temporary storage facility offering the operator flexibility until the product can be unloaded into a longer term storage units at the correct storage temperature. On occasion this hold period may become extended to operate overnight or to provide emergency refrigeration backup. In such instances defrosting would automatically occur as necessary.

Model Details.

Cabinet Blast Chiller & Freezers. Controls located in the unit cover.

All of the cabinet range incorporate a bottom mounted refrigeration systems with the evaporator located on the back wall. The refrigerant used is R404a.

Door operated fan switches stop the fans when the door is opened. QC11, QC 600 all 230/1/50Hz 13amp.

QC11: Economy Blast Chiller, 11kg capacity with three GN1/1 shelves.

QC 600: Economy Blast Chiller, 40kg capacity

BQF 40: Bakery Quick Freeze,

2