Increased Demand Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic
Frozen Food Sales in COVID-19 Pandemic
The shift from eating out to eating in the country has progressed in the self-imposed control of COVID-19 Pandemic, and the use of household frozen foods is increasing more than ever due to the increase in opportunities to eat meals at home. for example, frozen noodles are roughly divided into "ingredients" and "with ingredients", but as the number of cooking opportunities at home increases, and the ingredients are lunches that can be easily cooked due to telework and school closures, each of which has become a product that meets the needs of consumers. In addition, frozen foods have been evaluated for their stockpiling, convenience, and convenience of not having waste loss, and the approval rating has been expanding in recent years.
Various Factors That Are Driving Demand for Frozen Foods
The period of self-restraint due to COVID-19 Pandemic has increased demand for frozen foods, but other factors include an increase in the number of female workers and an increase in the number of elderly people. These factors naturally preceded the corona disaster, and it is unlikely that demand for frozen foods will decline sharply even if the corona disaster subsides. In addition, the market for frozen foods has been much more delicious than before due to the efforts of each food manufacturer.
Popular Frozen Foods in COVID-19 Pandemic
Popular frozen foods in COVID-19 Pandemic are udon in first place, croquettes in second place, and fried rice in third place. Udon is popular because of its ease of thawing and the variety of udon noodles that can be thawed simply by warming it in the microwave. Recently, frozen udon with ingredients has also been released, and it is useful for meals when there is no time because it is established as a dish just by thawing it as it is. In addition, in croquettes and fried rice, it is overwhelmingly less laborious than making your own, and it is a popular reason that it does not take time and effort to process oil, and you can arrange it to your liking. In the past, frozen foods were often used as side dishes for bento boxes, but with COVID-19 Pandemic increasing the time spent at home and more time to cook on their own, frozen foods that can be arranged to your liking are being used in situations other than side dishes of bento boxes.
In the frozen food sales of corona evil, there is a change due to the increase in people's "home time", such as the popularity of different kinds of products. Frozen foods, which were seen as side dishes for bento boxes, have gained popularity due to their convenience and variety of foods, and are expected to continue to play an active role in various situations.
What Is Freeze-Dried Food?
One type of food that is easy to cook is freeze-dried food. This type of food also increased demand due to coronal ravages.
Freeze-dried food is a food processed by a vacuum freeze-drying method in which the moisture of food once frozen is dried in a vacuum state. A major feature is that hot water and water are poured during cooking to restore it to the state before processing. originally, it was used as a preserved food for people who spend time in harsh environments such as antarctic expeditions and the self-defense forces, but freeze-drying technology has developed due to the increase in demand for cup noodles.
Any food seems to be freeze-dried, but foods that contain a lot of sugars seem unsuitable.
Machining Procedure
The processing of freeze-dried foods is roughly divided into two stages.
- Food with a high amount of moisture is rapidly frozen at about -30 °c.
- By depressurizing and vacuuming, moisture in food is sublimated (*) and dried.
* Normally, ice changes in two stages: melting and evaporation before becoming water vapor. However, in the vacuum state, the ice sublimates without melting and becomes water vapor.
Benefits of Freeze-Drying
Friez-dried foods have the following benefits:
- Highly resilient.
- Because it uses quick freezing, the quality is hard to fall.
- Freeze-dried food is small and lightweight, so it has excellent transportability and can be carried as an emergency food in the event of a disaster.
- Can be stored for a long time even at room temperature.
However, care must be taken regarding "it can be stored for a long time even at room temperature". Freeze-drying causes the food to form cavities, and when air touches them, it is oxidized by oxygen in the air, which deteriorates in quality. Therefore, proper packaging must have been made.