When fruits and vegetables are frozen, the water they contain freezes, increasing in size and breaking the cell walls. When they are defrosted, water escapes from the cells, leaving the fruit with no texture in a puddle of the fluids and minerals it contained, losing its flavour and aroma.
Nevertheless, after years of research, Cryosalus has patented a system which they called Hibernation, based on principles that regulate the optimal water levels in the cells, so that when the fruit is defrosted, the walls do not break and the juice, vitamins and minerals are not lost.
"I have named it Hibernation, a term that computer experts will understand straight away. If you leave your computer in hibernation, it goes back exactly where it was before. The same thing happens with the fruit; when it wakes up, it is just the same as fresh fruit, with its same shelf life. If we called it freezing, people would mix it up with the normal process," explains its inventor, the engineer Manuel Bellsolell.
With this system, the fruit can be stored for up to 2 years without the loss of any properties. "Bacteriological analyses of the fruit show the same levels that it had when it was fresh," he says.
This new solution offers multiple advantages according to Manuel Belsolell. "Imagine the amount of tonnes of fruit wasted, in the plantations, during transport and distribution. Hibernation would solve this problem, preventing the fruit from deteriorating or get spoiled on the way. The fruit could even be stored and then be sold during the most commercially interesting periods in terms of prices," he states.
As for its sales channels, Manuel explains that the retail will still be difficult, taking into account that it is a young and small company. "For supermarkets we should invest in great promotional campaigns, although we do not have the money now. We communicate with the hospitality industry, particularly restaurants and catering. Cooks and chefs let us know what they need and we offer them finished desserts, such as our fruit brochettes and delicious chocolates filled with frozen fruit. The chocolates are fun because you never know what flavour you will get, whether banana, orange or strawberry. They were a true hit amongst visitors of the Gourmet and Alimentaria fairs."
Furthermore, "we believe that our products can become popular in northern European countries, such as Sweden or Norway, where they cannot enjoy fruit as fresh as the one we have in a producing country like Spain. To export the fruit to faraway destinations it is necessary to harvest it green for it to mature on transit, but thanks to Hibernation, the fruit can be harvested at its optimal moment of natural ripeness."
FreshPlaza has been able to test how, after defrosting, or rather "waking up" the fruit, it surprisingly keeps its aroma, texture and flavour. If nobody told you that the pineapple hibernated, you would think it was just purchased from the greengrocer.
