Wide Variety
Diversity of Frozen Foods
Nowadays, not only side dishes for lunch boxes but also frozen foods for the dining table have become popular. There are not only rice dishes such as fried rice and pilaf, but also meat, fish, fried foods, gratin, pizza, noodles, and even products that simply freeze vegetables. In other words, they are not only can be microwaved and eaten as is but they also can be used as ingredients!
Classification of Frozen Foods
Today, a wide variety of frozen foods are developed and sold, and they can be divided into four major categories.
- Frozen fresh fish and shellfish for raw consumption
- Unheated food
- Heated food
- Heated food before freezing
- Unheated food before freezing
Let's take a closer look!
Frozen Fresh Fish and Shellfish for Raw Consumption
Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare's “Standards for Frozen Foods” defines as frozen foods of fresh fish and shellfish, cut or peeled, and frozen for raw consumption. This refers to frozen foods that have been prepared and can be eaten without heating. Examples include sashimi and peeled fish and shellfish.
Unheated Food
Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare's “Standards for Frozen Foods” defines as frozen food that has been manufactured or processed and does not require heating when served. This refers to frozen foods that do not required heating and have already been processed. Examples include frozen vegetables, boiled octopus, and frozen cake.
Heated Food
Heated foods represent frozen foods that need to be cooked before eating. It is further split based on whether or not the food is cooked before being frozen.
| Heated food before freezing | This is the most common type of frozen food that has been heated just before freezing. Fried foods such as croquettes and fried fish are in this category. |
|---|---|
| Unheated food before freezing | These is frozen foods that have not been heated before freezing. Frozen dumplings and shumai are categorized in this category. |
Ice Cream Is Not a Frozen Food
Flavored ice, lact ice, ice milk, and ice cream (the difference in names depends on the milk content). None of them are considered as frozen foods.
Wait?! What?! But they are in the freezer!
First of all, frozen foods are frozen for preservation and to be cooked or thawed. They are not made to be eaten in their frozen state.
On the other hand, as for the aforementioned four types, they are generally eaten in their frozen state. For this reason, they are outside the definition of frozen foods and are treated as different items.
There is also a difference in shelf life. Frozen foods are required to display the expiration date on the packaging. However, ice cream, for example, is allowed to omit the expiration date because once it melts, it changes its state and can be recognized as abnormal by its appearance. This means that there is no problem even if the expiration date is not indicated.
Frozen foods can be divided into four categories, depending on whether they need to be heated or not. However, the diversity is immeasurable.