Bananas have been one of the most popular and consumed fruit worldwide for hundreds of years. It’s not surprising that this delicious fruit is a favorite among adults and children. They are a great choice for a quick power snack, being easy to digest for a quick energy boost. They also are low in cholesterol and fat, along with being important sources of potassium and fiber. These health benefits combined with low-cost and worldwide availability make it no surprise that the banana is so popular.
The big problem with this popular fruit? They spoil easily! This means the normal methods of refrigeration cannot maintain their original freshness and texture. With improper storage and moisture maintenance, regularly frozen bananas will clump together or become freezer burnt. That is where the IQF Banana comes in.
IQF Freezing and Bananas
The best way to achieve high quality frozen bananas is with IQF freezing. By individually quick freezing the banana, processors preserve all the benefits of the product for a longer period of time. Today, bananas are sold in different forms, from fresh to frozen, but frozen bananas open the possibilities for a wide range of banana products. Frozen bananas are popular for yogurts, smoothies, and ice cream, along with desserts and snacks. By using the IQF method, you can maintain the banana’s texture, smell, taste, and nutrients, while also having perfect separation.
Freezing Bananas
Banana’s are a difficult product to handle because they are sticky and have a high amount of natural sugars. This means obtaining high-quality IQF banana is not an easy task. The first step towards obtaining high-quality IQF banana is choosing a high-quality raw banana. The raw material must have a firm texture and overripe products must be separated and removed before freezing. A single overripe banana can destroy the entire batch because of the stickiness of the pulp that can get stuck on the bedplate and mix with the raw material.
After selecting the raw material, the banana is pretreated. Before slicing or dicing, the bananas are pre-cooled and put into an ascorbic acid batch to help avoid oxidation. The ascorbic acid should be around 0 degrees Celcius and the banana should only be placed in for a few seconds. Otherwise, the final product will be at risk of forming corals. If the ascorbic acid is too warm, there could be problems with the separation of the IQF banana.
The best way to prevent issues when freezing bananas is to individually quick freeze them. By individually quick freezing the bananas, it helps keep them separate, preventing them from clumping together. It also makes it so the skins of the bananas stay separate from one another and eliminate the risk of pulp freezing on the skin of the bananas.
AFE And Bananas:
No matter what your needs may be, the way you treat your products is critical to the quality and safety of each finished product. Choosing the right industrial refrigeration equipment streamlines your process for higher quality, healthier products. We offer hygienic design standards that routinely outperform our competitors. Bananas are very delicate. Without proper processing, these products spoil rapidly or can become contaminated. Look to AFE for a wide variety of exceptional quality equipment to keep your bananas cool during processing, or frozen after creation. From space-saving design to site-built equipment, we can help you find the equipment that is right for your needs. Have confidence in the health of your fruit with AFE.