• the thermal conductivity of the food.
Equipment
The two most widespread commercial methods of blanching involve passing food through an atmosphere of saturated steam or a bath of hot water. Both types of equipment are relatively simple and inexpensive. Steam blanching results in higher nutrient retention provided that cooling is by cold-air or cold-water sprays.
Steam blanchers
At its simplest a steam blancher consists of a mesh conveyor belt that carries food through a steam atmosphere in a tunnel. The residence time of the food is controlled by the speed of the conveyor and the length of the tunnel. Typically a tunnel is 15 m long and 1–1.5 m wide. The efficiency of energy consumption is 19% when water sprays are used at the inlet and outlet to condense escaping steam.
Alternatively, food may enter and leave the blancher through rotary valves or hydrostatic seals to reduce steam losses and increase energy efficiency to 27%, or steam may be re-used by passing through Venturi valves. Energy efficiency is improved to 31% using combined hydrostatic and Venturi devices.
Nutrient losses during steam blanching are reduced by exposing the food to warm air (65ºC) in a short preliminary drying operation (termed ‘pre-conditioning’). Surface moisture evaporates and the surfaces then absorb condensing steam during Individual Quick Blanching (IQB). Weight losses are reduced to 5% of those found using conventional steam blanching. Pre-conditioning and individual quick blanching are reported to reduce nutrient losses by 81% for green beans, by 75% for Brussels sprouts, by 61% for peas and by 53% for lima beans and there is no reduction in the yield of blanched food.
The equipment for IQB steam blanching (Fig.31.1(a)) consists of a bucket elevator which carries the food to a heating section. The elevator is located in a close fitting tunnel to reduce steam losses. A single layer of food is heated on a conveyor belt and then held on a holding elevator before cooling. The cooling section employs a fog spray to saturate the cold air with moisture. This reduces evaporative losses from the food and reduces the amount of effluent produced. Typically the equipment processes up to 4500 kg/h of food.