Are you concerned about preserving the freshness of your product offerings, while needing help in controlling spiraling food, labor and energy costs? Irinox USA has the answer for you.
Established in North America since 2005, Irinox USA rapidly became the leading supplier for blast chillers, shock freezers and holding cabinets to foodservice kitchen designers and commercial and non-commercial foodservice operators. It is part of Irinox Corporation.
“We originally came here in 1994, knowing that we had the challenge of introducing the concept of blast chilling/shock freezing, which had proven its economic value in European kitchens,” says Ronald van Bakergem, the company’s new president.
Blast chilling and shock freezing preserve food products’ organic qualities, freshness and nutritional values. “As a pioneer in developing blast chilling and high-quality food preservation for the catering, confectionery, ice cream, bread-making and food industries, Irinox has always invested in continuous research and improvement of its technology,” he points out.
“We not only manufacture the equipment, but more importantly, we partner with food professionals and companies all over the world.”
Bakers have specific needs when it comes to producing a consistent product daily. “Produce can be too little and sales can be lost. A bare shelf is wasted space and is not generating any income. Produce too much and now you have to deal with waste. The bread-making process takes time in order to mix, form, proof, bake, rest, then make it available for sale,” Ronald acknowledges. “Irinox has developed a dough freezing cycle that will safely freeze raw dough and will not kill any of the yeast so that when the dough thaws, it will fully rise. Traditional freezing methods actually kill some of the yeast, resulting in an inconsistent product.”
The beauty of shock-freeze products is that they are protected and can be stored in a traditional freezer for future use. “Instead of preparing a batch of dough every day, you now have the option to produce to inventory, pull from inventory when needed, and replace when needed with a consistent product seven days a week. No need to start production at 10pm the evening before you open,” Ronald maintains. “All production can be done in the day time. This will allow for a better quality of life for all bread bakers. Irinox will also allow you to perfectly freeze par cooked and fully cooked breads as well.”
All Irinox reach-in models have programmable, on-demand thawing cycles. “Shock-freeze Irinox dough products and store in your traditional freezer. Pull from the freezer as needed and thaw on demand in a quarter of the time or pull the evening before and program the unit to hold in the frozen state until a specific time, then thaw it out for when you arrive the following day,” he says. “The dough is held in a controlled environment. The thawing feature can be used for any product whether it is bread, pastry, proteins and more.
All Irinox reach-in models have programmable, multi-phase, on demand proofing, capabilities, as well, with the chilling cycle adding 6-12 hours of fresh shelf life to breads, cakes or pastries.
Irinox has also developed cycles that will melt chocolate, or temper molded chocolate so it can be quickly ready for another stage of production. The Irinox shock-freezing cycle allows product to be prepared ahead for seasonal business, smoothing out labor needs and helping bakers take advantage of ingredient price swings.
Caterers, as well, use Irinox products. “All caterers do advanced preparation. It is the only reasonable way to serve large parties efficiently. With Irinox, prepare in advance with quality and safety,” Ronald says. “Yield increases of 3% – 10% are common when cooked products are chilled properly.”
He adds that Irinox has a special airflow design that does not dry products out. And the shelf life of blast-chilled products can be double and triple of more traditionally chilled products.
And Irinox equipment helps ice cream shops, too. “Ice cream or gelato is, for most shops, a short season. Some find it difficult to produce product while maintaining quality customer service and overseeing team members to ensure consistent portions are being served,” Ronald notes. “Another major area of concern is maintaining overrun. When product is not frozen quickly, overrun can be quickly lost, decreasing profits.”
Ronald notes that Irinox USA has succeeded in bringing awareness of this technology to the marketplace, as evidenced by the number of manufacturers now involved in the product category. “We’ve also raised awareness of how technology like ours can help foodservice operators deal with their escalating cost issues,” he says.
The company is doing so well it is moving into a new facility that will enable it to grow its young company and continue to better support the demands of its customers, according to Ronald. “Our new facility will allow us to grow our support staff, ship and receive, invest in local inventory and perform multiple product demonstrations in our state-of-the-art test kitchen,” he affirms.
Ronald, who has been in the commercial refrigeration industry for almost 10 years, says he’s been able to re-configure “go-to-market” strategies for other medium-sized organizations, growing their export areas, with the opening of several key markets in Latin America, including Brazil. But he’s most proud of what has been accomplished at Irinox.
“Today, I am proud of Irinox’s strength, stability and exceptional customer service and the commitment we’ve shown to the American market over the past 15 years,” he concludes.
To learn more about Irinox USA, visit their website.
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