Why does a commercial kitchen need a blast chiller?
Cooked food passes through the temperature danger zone, where bacteria grow fastest, as it cools. Australian food safety rules require cooked food to cool from 60°C to 21°C within 2 hours, and from 21°C to 5°C within a further 4 hours. A normal fridge or freezer struggles to do that with large batches, and putting hot food in one warms up everything else inside. A blast chiller is designed to pull heat out of food fast and safely.
Blast chilling vs shock freezing
- Blast chilling brings cooked food down to around +3°C, ready for the fridge. Ideal for cook-chill, sauces, stocks, roasts and prepped meals.
- Shock freezing takes food down to -18°C quickly, forming small ice crystals that protect texture. Ideal for pastry, desserts, seafood and batch cooking.
Our Atosa EBF models do both, from +3°C to -18°C, in fully automatic cycles.
How to choose a blast chiller
Tray capacity
Choose by the size of your biggest batch. The Atosa EBF-03 takes 3 trays, the EBF-05 takes 5 and the EBF-10 takes 10 trays (178 litres). All take GN1/1 gastronorm pans or 600 x 400mm euronorm bakery trays.
Probe or timed cycles
An internal food probe measures the core temperature of the food, so the cycle runs exactly as long as needed. The Atosa EBF range includes an internal food probe.
Ambient rating and refrigerant
Blast chillers work hard, so they need to cope with a hot kitchen. The Atosa EBF range is rated for 43°C ambient and uses natural R290 refrigerant.
Space
The 3 and 5 tray models suit a bench or stand, while the EBF-10 is a compact upright at 750mm wide, 830mm deep and 1435mm high.
Blast chiller vs freezer
A freezer is built to hold food that is already cold. A blast chiller is built to remove heat from hot food quickly. Use the blast chiller first, then move the chilled or frozen food into your fridge or freezer for storage.
Our blast chiller range
Alongside the Atosa EBF range, we stock Everlasting reach-in blast chillers and shock freezers made in Italy, from the 4 tray BCE0004 (10kg per cycle) to the 20 tray BCE2020 (82kg), all with a core probe and hard and soft cycles, plus the BCE9320 roll-in model that takes a full 20 tray trolley.
Delivery, warranty and our price-beat guarantee
We deliver Australia-wide by tailgate truck, usually within 2 to 5 business days to Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide and 4 to 12 days elsewhere. The Atosa EBF range comes with a 24 month labour and 48 month parts warranty, and Everlasting blast chillers with 2 years parts and 1 year labour. Prices are shown ex GST with the GST-inclusive price alongside. Found a lower price? Send us the link under our Price-Beat Guarantee and we'll send you a one-off discount code.
Blast chiller FAQs
How long does a blast chiller take?
It depends on the food, the batch size and the pan depth. Running the cycle on the internal food probe ensures each batch is chilled or frozen properly, rather than guessing with a timer.
Can I put food straight from the oven into a blast chiller?
Yes, that is what it is designed for. Use shallow pans and do not overload the trays, so cold air can reach every side of the food.
Can a blast chiller store food long term?
It holds food at temperature when a cycle ends, but it is not designed for long-term storage. Move chilled food to a fridge and frozen food to a freezer.
Do you deliver Australia-wide?
Yes. We deliver to every state by tailgate truck. Standard delivery is to your door.