The customer for this freeze test is a popular store in Jiyugaoka specializing in fried xiao long bao. They recently purchased a machine for molding the xiao long bao to enable mass production, and this is why they are considering online sales of frozen products. They came to us for a TOMIN liquid freeze test in pursuit of this market expansion.

For this test, the customer sent us fried xiao long bao after heating and raw xiao long bao before heating. We focused on the following points throughout the freeze test:

• Reproducibility of xiao long bao wrapper and flavor after freezing and thawing

• Intactness of form and texture of the xiao long bao

• Reproducibility of xiao long bao filling (soup stock gelatin) after thawing

• Testing and comparison of results from freezing before vs. after heating

① Interview

You share with us what you would like to achieve with TOMIN Liquid Cryo-Freezing.

② Freeze test of products you brought

A series of processes including packaging, vacuum sealing, and freezing is conducted, replicating the actual TOMIN Liquid Cryo-Freezing process.

③ Demonstration

Liquid freezing tests and tastings are conducted using products prepared by Technican (various meats, sashimi, fruits, milk, gelatin, etc.).

④ Freezer model explanation

There are several models of TOMIN freezers. They differ according to how much product they can freeze per hour. We suggest a model based on the client’s needs.

⑤ Interview

We hold a Q&A session and provide our catalog.

⑥ Shipment of products you brought

Upon request, we can deliver the items you brought via TA-Q-BIN’s frozen shipping service.

Any air remaining in the packaging will slow down the freezing process, so you should remove as much air as possible. However, with soft products such as xiao long bao, you really need to pay close attention to this process. If you vacuum out too much air, you will crush and deform the product, so you need to be mindful of striking the right balance while you’re vacuum sealing.

In addition, the liquid causes items to float, and if the product moves around during the freezing process, it can be damaged. We have introduced freezing racks and other countermeasures to mitigate this issue.

The customer sampled food that was TOMIN Liquid Cryo-Frozen months ago and then thawed. One impression shared was: “I couldn’t detect any difference from fresh. The frozen products seemed as if they had just been made. I’m really impressed!” Another equally enthusiastic response was: “Chicken in particular immediately shows obvious signs of deterioration when it’s frozen, but when TOMIN Liquid Cryo-Frozen, you’d never know it was frozen!”

They did have concerns about the running costs. However, we were able to put their minds at ease by explaining that the electricity costs are comparable with those of a regular freezer and that the freezing liquid would be the only additional operating cost (one container a month, costing a few thousand yen).

The foods provided for the test were delivered back to the customer frozen. We reached out to them to find out what they thought. They explained that the original flavor and texture of the xiao long bao was incredibly well preserved but that some of the wrappers were torn, so they would like to run more testing on that.

Freeze tests results often surprise our customers.

Please contact us for more information.