Definition

Adjective: - (of food) preserved by being frozen very rapidly: Describes food items that have been frozen using a process fast enough to maintain their original flavor, texture, and nutritional content.

Usage

This adjective is used specifically to describe the state and quality of food products. It emphasizes the method of preservation (rapid freezing) and its positive effect on preserving the food's qualities. - It typically precedes a noun (e.g., quick-frozen vegetables). - It is often used in commercial, culinary, or technical contexts.

Examples

• For best results in the stir-fry, use quick-frozen peas.
• The supermarket's aisle is stocked with various quick-frozen seafood products.
• This quick-frozen fruit retains almost all the vitamins of fresh fruit.

Advanced Usage

• Technical/Commercial Context: The term is common in food science, packaging, and marketing to distinguish products frozen by advanced blast-freezing techniques from those frozen slowly.
  • The label "quick-frozen" guarantees a specific standard of preservation.

Variants and Related Words

• Flash-frozen (adjective): A synonym with identical meaning, often used interchangeably.
  • flash-frozen fish
• Frozen (adjective): The general term for any food preserved by freezing. "Quick-frozen" is a more specific type of "frozen."
• Freeze (verb): The action. The process to create food is often called or .

Synonyms

• Flash-frozen
• Individually quick frozen (IQF) (This is a specific technical phrase where items are frozen separately and rapidly.)

Notes on Different Meanings

This word has a single, specific meaning related to food preservation. It does not have other common definitions or idiomatic uses.

Adjective

1. (used of foods) preserved by freezing sufficiently rapidly to retain flavor and nutritional value
   • frozen foods