In the food industry, knowing your IQF, your NFC your Fruit and your Vegetables is key to ensuring you get the quality produce you need for your shop, hotel or restaurant.
At JC Dudley almost all of our vegetables and the majority of our fruit and fruit juices are available IQF (individually quick frozen).
Examples of IQF foods are fruits like apricots, loganberries, strawberries, blueberries and peaches and vegetables like peas, carrots, ginger and green beans.
At JC Dudley almost all of our vegetables and the majority of our fruit and fruit juices are available IQF (individually quick frozen).
Examples of IQF foods are fruits like apricots, loganberries, strawberries, blueberries and peaches and vegetables like peas, carrots, ginger and green beans.
IQF Process Development
The IQF (individually quick frozen) process was developed by mistake!
Whilst ice fishing in Canada, a biologist realised that when he caught a fish from underneath the ice on this particularly cold day (40-degrees-below-zero) the ice would instantly freeze solid around the fish when he threw them onto the snow. The biggest surprise however, was that some of these fish were still alive after they had thawed...
This phenomenon happens because when something freezes quickly, it creates smaller ice crystals than when it freezes slowly. Larger ice crystals damage cells and tissues, but smaller ice crystals do not do the same damage, and so your fruit and vegetable (and meat and fish too), if frozen quickly, will remain as tasty and intact as the moment they were harvested.
The humble pea is renowned in fact for being perfectly formed and still sweet and tasty when defrosted, and it is common place for homes around the UK to have a bag of frozen peas for an almost instant 1 of their 5 a day. In fact, it is far more likely that a household would have IQF peas than they would have freshly picked peas, unless they grow their own of course.
In fact, after just 24 hours, peas can become grainy and taste a little bland. Frozen peas, however, are picked and frozen at the peak of ripeness. This stops the process of sugars turning into starch, keeping the fresh picked taste we have all come to love.
IQF also means that fruit and vegetable seasonalities are affected in a positive way, and peas are not just for summer!
Frozen peas can retain the fresh picked quality for about 12 months in the freezer (if properly stored), and will usually remain safe to eat long after that time.
The ice-fishing biologist who made this discovery went on to apply this process (now known as IQF) to commercially packaged foods. His name was Clarence Birdseye.
JC Dudley and IQF Fruit, Fruit Juices and Vegetables
At JC Dudley, we can source the very best IQF Fruit, IQF Fruit Juices and IQF Vegetables for your shop, restaurant or hotel, saving you the time of not only sourcing, but of building up those trusted relationships with quality suppliers and vetting them for years. We work with only the very best IQF suppliers, and bring them to your table, already tried, tested and approved.
Knowing that our supplies offer high quality, reliability and excellent service level means you can get on with the business you are good at and leave the IQF sourcing to us.
To find out more about our IQF Fruit, Fruit Juices and Vegetables and the other products and services we have on offer, browse our site or contact us.
