Heat Transfer During Freezing and Thawing of Foods*

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Publisher Summary

Food engineers dealing with the freezing or defrosting of foods are often faced with the need to predict temperature history curves, and freezing or thawing times. Such knowledge may help them in the design and optimization of equipment, the evaluation of storage and handling practices, and the prediction of quality losses during storage. Common practice, however, is to rely mainly on empirical experiences for these predictions. This is due to the limited availability of theoretical formulas that can be applied properly for such complicated systems as foodstuffs; the fact that all available formulas are, at best, taken as approximations and correction factors must be employed. The marked variability in the thermal properties of individual foodstuffs resulting from varietal differences, agricultural practices, seasonal variations, growth locations, and the likes. As these parameters appear in the theoretical formulas, their availability becomes of major importance. This chapter summarizes the available procedures for predicting temperature distribution and temperature history curves, and for predicting the freezing or thawing times of frozen foods.

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    *

    A paper of the Journal Series, New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station. The preparation of this review paper was supported in part by the United States Public-Health Service Grant No. FD-00119 from the Food and Drug Administration.

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