Flash Freezing: What is it?

Flash freezing is an accelerated process of rapidly freezing your fish quickly without compromising on quality, texture or taste. 

Catch-n-Carry allows fish to be caught, processed and frozen solid within hours, not days after you reel in your catch. 

Click here to request Flash Freezing service if paying by credit card.

Click here to request Flash Freezing service if paying with cash.

Click here to request Flash Freezing full-service if paying with credit card.

Click here to request Flash Freezing full-service if paying with cash.

How is this any different than freezing my fish with freezer bags and using my freezer?

Well, quite simply, your home freezer is not designed to freeze foods, it’s designed to keep frozen foods cold.

When you put unfrozen foods in your freezer, it takes hours to freeze them fully. During this lengthy time, ice crystals form between the fibers of your fish and actually “break” the fibers and force the nutritious juices right out of your fish.

For example, it might take ten hours to freeze a package of fish via conventional freezing (i.e. you putting it in your freezer at home). But using IQF technology, it might only take 90 minutes. Crucially, instead of spending fully six (out of ten) hours in the 31º to 25º zone in the conventional method, it only spends 25 minutes there using IQF.

Flash Freezing: How does it work?

Flash Freezing focuses on rapidly freezing fish so as to maintain proper retention of moisture, flavor and texture. It accomplishes this via high speed internal cooling. It rapidly cools down the internal temperature in the freezer, making it much easier to ensure efficient cooling. Quickly freezing the foods produces ice crystals that are small, and thus do not cause damage to the fibers of the food. This is because ice crystals only form between 31 and 25 degrees Fahrenheit. And the longer a food item spends in this temperature range, the more ice crystals form.

The key to IQF (individually quick frozen method) is speeding the food through this 31º to 25º F temperature zone as quickly as possible. 

Vacuum-Sealing:  What is it?

When food is vacuum-packed, air is sucked out of the packaging and then the packaging is hermetically sealed. Fish packaged this way is very popular.  Vacuum sealed fish helps keep fish fresher for longer.

Vacuum sealing is a great and efficient method for separating fish into meal-sized portions that will thaw quickly without making a mess.

One of the culprits in food (including fish) going bad, is the addition of air (which aids in breeding bacteria).

Freezer Bags:

How many of us have used freezer bags to store our fish??  What typically happens?  A few weeks or months after frozen, your fish becomes freezer burned?

Why…

Putting food in a plastic zipper-sealed bag or a plastic storage container leaves air behind.

Even pushing the air out of a plastic bag by hand isn’t going to vacuum seal it. That air-tight seal might make your fish go from lasting only one to three days to being good for up to two weeks in the fridge.

Catch-n-Carry uses a combination of both!! 

We flash freeze your fish and then vacuum seal your catch to lock in that fresh caught taste, flavor and texture.  Using this technique, we’re able to reduce freezer burn and the formation of large ice crystals that degrade your fish.  Letting you enjoy your fresh catch months to a year later.