ABSTRACT
Fish freezing is a preservation process, where the temperature of the fish is reduced to a specific level or range. The process accompanies the formation of ice crystals and a reduction in water activity, which consequently enhances the shelf life of the product. At the same time, the process also proves economically feasible in reducing the rates of reactions responsible for deteriorating the quality of food product, especially in case of perishable foods such as meat, fruits, vegetables, and fishes. Recently, different advanced techniques like impingement freezing, high pressure assisted freezing, and cryogenic freezing has been developed, which supersede the traditional methods in terms of freezing time and end products quality. Besides these techniques, considerations must also be given to different quality governing attributes like pre-treatments, storage environment, place, and system of freezing, thermodynamics of freezing, time, load, the size of desired ice particles, etc. The present chapter discusses different freezing techniques used for the fishes and its products. It also focuses on the role of different attributes in determining the product quality during and after freezing process and will provide a deep insight into the engineering aspects of the fish freezing.
