Bravo exposed the secret science of frozen dinners in last week's episode of Top Chef. Chef Rocco DiSpirito showed up to help contestants deconstruct frozen dinners.
IQF -- individual quick freezing -- became the buzzword of the episode. Freezing broth or sauce, pasta, and vegetables separately before combining them in the package is the key.
The TV Zone explains in this way:
Remember the days when frozen peas came in an icy block? That was pre-IQF. Now blanched fresh peas are placed on a conveyor belt and rolled into an incredibly cold blast freezer that instantly freezes each one—that’s why they rattle around in the package. The quicker you freeze something, the less its texture is affected by being frozen and then defrosted.
We always did this with cherries when I was a tot, and it worked wonderfully.
Just a hint... move fast when removing a quantity of berries from the bag. If there's a bit of thaw or any moisture gets in the bag, you can end up with a block of berries after all.
I speak as someone who's thwacking at a solid block of peas because the dratted things thaw partly in the car on the way home from the store. (Yes, horrors, frozen peas! But so useful.)
view wende in the twin cities's profile
I guess I have been lucky - I have just been tosssing the clamshells of blueberries into the freezer and they freeze just great. I haven't had any blocks, just individual frozen berries.
view hs's profile
Many Once a Month Cooking (OAMC) gurus recommend this technique for better results when heating up your frozen stash of dinners.
view Rivercat0338's profile