9781422281345

The Inventor of Frozen Foods C larence Birdseye (1886-1956) from the United States invented a quick-freeze process in the 1920s. Working as a field naturalist in the frigid Arctic, Birdseye saw firsthand how freezing freshly caught seafood kept its taste and texture when it was thawed out and eaten several weeks later. Setting up his first company in a New York fish market in 1922, Birdseye first froze seafood and then moved on to freeze meats, fruits, and vegetables. For people living far from the coast or farming areas, rapid freezing increased the availability of foods such as fish and veg- etables. However, if vegetables are frozen directly, chemicals called enzymes cause a slow deterioration in color and flavor, even at low temperatures. To prevent this, most vegetables are blanched before they are frozen. This action destroys the activity of the enzymes.

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Food Technology