EXPERIMENTAL AND THEORETICAL-STUDY OF MODEL FOOD FREEZING - PART I - HEAT-TRANSFER MODELING

Textural or organoleptic quality of frozen foods is strongly related t o to freezing operating conditions which govern the ice crystal size. During this work, gelatin gel was used as a model food and was frozen in a freezing device which ensured a unidirectional heat transfer: The temperature profiles recorded inside the material determined the posi tion of the initial freezing front versus time and the initial freezin g temperature. Temperature profiles were obtained for several gelatin gel compositions, cooling temperatures and initial temperature values. The heat transfer could be approximately fitted by the Neumann model. Relationships between gel composition and initial freezing temperatur e value were also discussed (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Limited. All rig hts reserved.