Technican’s TOMIN Liquid Cryo-Freezing process occurs at -30℃ and is substantially faster than air freezing.

Unlike during conventional air freezing, the food’s cells are not destroyed, so the food’s original delicious flavor is preserved.

Freshness is especially important with perishable foods. Koshida Shoten catches local seasonal seafood in Toyama Bay and immediately liquid freezes it with TOMIN, enabling them to offer seafood boasting the same delicious fresh flavor as when it was caught.

In addition, their seafood is only thawed and processed in the quantities necessary, significantly reducing food waste.

Upon trying TOMIN Liquid Cryo-Frozen food for the first time, Executive Director Koshida said: “I did a blind taste test and couldn’t tell the difference between frozen and fresh-caught.”

Prior to full-scale introduction, he asked locals to try TOMIN Liquid Cryo-Frozen food, but he didn’t reveal beforehand that it wasn’t fresh. Even people who often eat seafood from Toyama Bay said it tasted just like it was freshly caught, which gave the company confidence in this new direction.

Pictured above is pickled firefly squid from Toyama Bay, one of Koshida Shoten’s most popular products.

At Koshida Shoten, seafood is TOMIN Liquid Cryo-Frozen just after being caught. Before items are shelved for sale to the general public, they are thawed, packaged, and liquid-frozen again with TOMIN. In order to meet demand throughout the year, the caught and frozen seafood is sometimes stored for up to a year before being thawed and refrozen.

Even after this process, the seafood retains the firm and full texture it had when it was freshly caught. These products are growing in popularity as people discover that frozen food can actually taste delicious.

Mr. Koshida explains that he thaws and samples products that have been liquid-frozen for two to three years to test them and that their wonderful flavor still remains. While there may not be any inventory left from those particular catches to be put on the shelves after that many years, the testing has helped him experience firsthand the outstanding results that the TOMIN can produce.

The white shrimp pictured above was frozen for just under a year following the seasonal catch. With conventional freezing, the shrimp would have acquired a reddish hue. But thanks to the introduction of TOMIN Liquid Cryo-Freezing, the frozen shrimp looks exactly as it did when it was freshly caught.

This white shrimp is also sold as sashimi after a second round in the TOMIN.

White shrimp for sashimi are peeled one by one before being half-frozen and packaged. Before the introduction of TOMIN Liquid Cryo-Freezing, the peelings were discarded. Now, they are often used as a base for dashi stock or as a pasta topping and are sold to restaurants and inns. Conventional air freezing takes out all the umami flavor, making these consumption methods impossible. But now, with the TOMIN’s ability to lock in the umami flavor, these peelings that would previously have been discarded can now be sold.

Thanks to TOMIN, parts of Toyama Bay seafood that previously would have been thrown away can now be provided to customers. For instance, the pieces of yellowtail that get removed during processing are sold as an ingredient for rice bowls with pickled toppings.

At Koshida Shoten, the seafood is TOMIN Liquid Cryo-Frozen after the catch. It is then thawed based on demand and processed, packaged, refrozen, and shipped out. White shrimp are peeled one by one, and firefly squid is similarly arranged carefully by hand, one at a time.

“Some companies use machines for these processes, but it sometimes damages the product,” explains Mr. Sawaki as he works.

“I want to provide truly delicious food to our customers.”

This is the sentiment of many companies that have introduced the TOMIN, and that of Mr. Sawaki personally. He shares this sentiment because he was born and raised in Toyama and so is willing to put in the time and effort required to widely distribute the products created there.

One again, at Technican, we experienced the desire to expand the reach of TOMIN Liquid Cryo-Freezing. After all, products that undergo this process truly capture the passion of each individual producer, and we want those products to be enjoyed by as many people as possible.

Toyama Prefecture has adopted the slogan, “Spread Toyama cuisine!” Koshida Shoten is contributing to this aim, specifically by tackling the challenge of making locally harvested ingredients available for purchase. TOMIN Liquid Cryo-Freezing provides part of the solution.

A surprising number of customers that Koshida Shoten ship to are in Hokkaido, which has a plentiful supply of seafood itself. Firefly squid is certainly harvested in Hokkaido. However, as Mr. Koshida explains, “Customers want to savor the taste of seafood in the region where it can be caught. Technican’s TOMIN technology allows us to lock in the fresh-caught flavor, making it perfect for meeting this demand.”

Freshness is especially important with any seafood. Conventional air freezing damages the food, meaning that there was previously no choice but to refrigerate seafood, which resulted in a significant volume of waste. But new TOMIN technology has overcome this problem. It provides the perfect way to preserve and deliver products that are unique to their area and that capture the passion of the producer.

It was a privilege to have had yet another experience like this. We hope to continue expanding the reach of this technology, contributing to the future of the planet, and helping people enjoy every single type of food from around the globe.