The popularity of autoclaves in the modern world is constantly growing, and there are objective reasons for this. A properly selected unit not only facilitates the work of the company, but also ensures fast cooking and preserves most of the nutrients and vitamins.
Numerous companies in the canned food industry produce hundreds of types of products packaged in various types of containers: glass, tin cans, semi-rigid and soft packaging, etc. Regardless of the type of packaging and the type of raw material, canned foods have one thing in common: they are all exposed to high temperatures to kill microorganisms and make them more stable during storage. The value of canned meat, like any other product, is due to its long shelf life while maintaining its nutritional and flavour qualities. They can be used for quick cooking or consumption without further processing.
Tourism and outdoor enthusiasts are the ones who are the most likely to enjoy canned pork and beef stews during hikes and trips to the countryside. So what is behind the scenes, is this product really healthy and tasty, how is it prepared and with what equipment? Let's find out!
Before the canned food is put into the hands of the consumer, it is sterilised in an autoclave for canning.
The sterilisation process itself is based on the fact that the product to be stored for a long period of time is hermetically sealed in a particular type of container and then subjected to heat treatment to kill bacteria. The most common type of sterilisation (pasteurisation) is autoclaving, which is carried out using industrial autoclaves. Of course, you can also make stew at home, but the cooking technology will be slightly different.
However, horizontal batch autoclaves are recognised as the most suitable for large enterprises, both technologically and economically, in which cans are sterilised in rotating or fixed baskets. PHOTO 3 High pressure is generated in the inner chamber of such a device, and the products placed inside are heated to sterilise them:
- Canned food was resistant to negative external influences;
- the products had a long shelf life;
- the finished dishes retained their taste and nutritional properties.
To ensure reliable sterilisation, the distribution of the set sterilisation/pasteurisation temperature inside the autoclave must be uniform (with a deviation of 1 degree or less) between the packages of product placed in the autoclave. It is equally important not to overcook the product! Doing so would not only waste expensive energy, but also turn the tinned food into a dull, brown mass.
How to cook stew in an autoclave? Let's talk about the classic stages of cooking.
First of all, the product blanks are put into the autoclave in their raw state. Meat from various animals can be used as raw materials, including poultry, pork, lamb, beef, etc. It is important to observe the ratio of products and spices in accordance with the recipe and DSTU standards, otherwise the canned food will be bitter or have an unpleasant taste.
The cooking steps are:
- Loading the product with spices in the required quantity into the appropriate containers that have been previously inspected.
- Immersing canned food in an autoclave. After the product is loaded into the unit, it is sealed and pressurised to 1 bar.
- Heating of the device. During which the pressure gradually increases to 4 bar. To ensure that the final product is completely ready for consumption and does not contain harmful microorganisms, it is especially important to observe the temperature regime.
- Sterilisation process. It starts after the desired temperature is set according to the recipe. It requires maintaining a stable temperature for a certain period of time.
- Cooling of products. The last step is to reduce the pressure level and cool the product. Only then is the lid opened to remove the canned food.
In any case, the technological process of autoclaving involves heating the product to a predetermined sterilisation temperature, holding it at that temperature for a certain time and then cooling it to normal (room) temperatures. However, to achieve the desired result, you need a high-quality device and, most importantly, to avoid mistakes when choosing it.
We offer autoclaves from STERIFLOW that ensure that the temperature is distributed during the process with a deviation of only 0.5 degrees between product packages, which maintains the bright colour and desired consistency.
How?
These autoclaves use the "water cascade" technology, which means that superheated water irrigates the batch of product loaded into the autoclave as if it were a shower. Thanks to the pressure maintenance system inside the autoclave, the water temperature reaches the set values required for sterilisation/pasteurisation, and the integrity of lightweight polymer packages, retort bags, which can burst when the sterilisation chamber cools down without a pneumatic pressure control system, is preserved. The most important thing is that the superheated steam from the boiler does not enter the Steriflow autoclave directly, instead it gives its energy to hot water through a special all-welded Platular heat exchanger, and it is the superheated water that cascades over the loaded canned food. This is the main advantage - after the heating cycle, you can easily feed cold water into the heat exchanger instead of steam, and thus recover a significant proportion of the heat! This heat can be used to preheat a new batch of canned food before loading it into the autoclave, or to heat cleaning solutions, boiler feedwater, etc. Each additional degree of heating of a batch of product before loading into the autoclave saves 0.78% of the steam required for sterilisation. By not wasting heat during autoclave cooling, you can save up to 42% of gas or electricity, which has been proven in research.
Thanks to the "water cascade" technology, STERIFLOW autoclaves work with all types of packaging - glass and cans, retort packs, etc. Uniform heating and cooling thanks to the Platular heat exchanger eliminates thermal shock, which is dangerous for glass jars, and sterilises the batch perfectly evenly!
For the technologist, the STERIFLOW autoclave is a real convenience, as the MPI Expert control panel is used to control the system, which allows you to easily set all the parameters of the heating/cooling cycles, and the batch processing history is saved and always available for monitoring or checking. This makes STERIFLOW equipment easy to trace batches of product.
The idea behind this technology is that heat is exchanged using a liquid, i.e. water, much more efficiently than using steam, as in steam autoclaves.
Looking for the most productive equipment?
STERIFLOW (France) is the world leader in the production of horizontal autoclaves and the original developer of the water cascade heat treatment technology. This highly efficient heat treatment technology is designed for pasteurisation, sterilisation or pressure cooking of canned vegetables, fruit, fish, meat and dairy products, as well as ready-made first and second courses, animal feed and pharmaceutical products packaged in almost any type of packaging, including glass, tin cans, PET bottles, soft plastic packaging, plastic trays, doy-pack retort packs, sachets, aluminium and plastic single and multi-component trays (containers), as well as Tetra Recart multi-layer cardboard retort packs.
The list of products manufactured by STERIFLOW includes:
- static horizontal autoclaves with a capacity of 1 to 11 baskets and a diameter of 900 to 2300 mm;
- Rotary/rotary horizontal autoclaves, with a capacity of 1 to 7 baskets, with a diameter of 1300 to 1800 mm;
- laboratory autoclaves with a capacity of 1 to 2 baskets, 900 mm in diameter.
- DALI horizontal autoclaves for sterilisation or pasteurisation of dairy products;
- unique innovative autoclaves with the SHAKA system.
Perhaps the most popular models in the STERIFLOW range are the static autoclaves. Everything is simple: baskets with products are loaded into the autoclaves and water circulation begins, which irrigates the products. We heat it up, kill all the bacteria, and cool it down to normal temperature.
Autoclaves with stirring options are so-called DALI systemswhere the baskets inside the autoclave are placed on a chain with pushers. During operation, the chain moves in one direction or the other, and the products in the packaging are shaken, which improves heat transfer. This is especially important for liquid products.
Rotary autoclaves have a lattice basket design. These baskets are loaded, clamped at the top and bottom inside a special drum and during the heat treatment process, the drum with the baskets rotates inside the autoclave. What are the advantages of such autoclaves? Firstly, the product packaging is irrigated from different sides, and secondly, the products are mixed, which means that the efficiency of the process increases. Rotary autoclaves are, of course, more expensive and have a lower load factor than static autoclaves. Since part of the volume is occupied by the drum inside, the products are loaded much less, but it is up to the customer to decide what they need.
And the last know-how from STERIFLOW is SHAKA - super shaking.These autoclaves are small, single-basket autoclaves. The basket inside is shaken at a high frequency, very sharply. This frequency of oscillation increases heat transfer and significantly reduces the cycle time, which has a positive effect on the quality of the final product. STERIFLOW SHAKA autoclaves with water cascade technology and an all-welded heat exchanger are the pinnacle of engineering. Not only is the product irrigated with superheated water, but it is also shaken horizontally by a special mechanism that accelerates heat transfer inside the package by up to several times! The oscillation frequency of the basket with the loaded product is up to 150 rpm. The basket design ensures the integrity of the glass packaging during shaking, which has been proven over the years of operation of such autoclaves in the EU
We've already talked about sterilisation, i.e. high-temperature heat treatment, in which products are heated above 100 degrees and withstand the time it takes for microorganisms to die. As a result, sterilised products can be stored at room temperature for several years.
There is also pasteurisation, when heat treatment is carried out at a normal temperature of less than 100 degrees. The temperature and time of pasteurisation are selected depending on the type of product and shelf life requirements. This process inhibits bacteria, and the shelf life of the product is, of course, reduced, but its useful properties and taste are preserved for longer.
For pasteurisation, such autoclaves have an additional "do not overheat" option, and another heat exchanger is installed for cooling, because during heating and holding, the products cannot be cooled using the main heat exchanger.
Steiner-Ukraine is the official representative of STERIFLOW in Ukraine and offers professional equipment for your production. If you want to expand, modernise or create a completely new production facility for canned fruit, vegetables, meat or fish, don't hesitate to contact us!
Today, French STERIFLOW autoclaves are working reliably in Ukraine: This includes the sterilisation of canned vegetables (Agrospetsproekt LLC) and the production of sausages (Saltovsky Meat Processing Plant), canned fish (Prolyv TM), condensed milk (Imperial Plus TM Sladosvit), crab sticks in polymer packaging (Aquavit TM, Vodniy Mir TM), and pet food (Gav TM, Meow TM, Club 4 Paws TM).
The possibilities of autoclaves are not limited to sterilisation, they can also cook food!
Call us and we will help you understand in detail what you need and offer a reliable solution. We guarantee professional advice, timely execution of orders, qualified service, supply of original spare parts, support both during the warranty period for the equipment and in the post-warranty period.
We care about the equipment used to produce meat products, so your products are in good hands. We are always open for cooperation.
STEINER-UKRAINE PRIVATE ENTERPRISE
23, Industrialny lane, office. 305
Kyiv, 03056, Ukraine tel: +38 (044) 390 73 38
e-mail:info@steiner.com.ua
www.steiner.com.ua
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