Cod and rainbow trout as freeze-chilled meal elements

'Meal elements' are elements of a meal, e.g. portions of pre-fried meat, sauces, frozen fish or pre-processed vegetables typically prepared industrially. The meal elements are distributed to professional satellite kitchens, where the staff can combine them into complete meals. Freeze-chilling is a process consisting of freezing and frozen storage followed by thawing and chilled storage. Combining the two would enable the manufacturer to produce large quantities of frozen meal elements to be released into the chill chain according to demand. We have studied the influence of freeze-chilling on the quality attributes of cod and rainbow trout portions. Sensory profiling and chemical analyses were used to determine the changes in quality after slow thawing and subsequent chill storage and to find the high-quality shelf life.

Cod had a consistent and high sensory quality during the first 6 days of chilled storage, and the corresponding time for rainbow trout was 10 days. After this period the sensory quality decreased and chemical indicators of spoilage were seen to increase.

The consistent quality during storage and the high-quality shelf life are practically applicable and cod and rainbow trout seem potential candidates for freeze-chilled meal elements.