quick-freeze

American

[kwik-freez] / ˈkwɪkˈfriz /

verb (used with object)

to freeze (cooked or uncooked food) rapidly, permitting it to be stored almost indefinitely at freezing temperatures.

quick-freeze British

verb

(tr) to preserve (food) by subjecting it to rapid refrigeration at temperatures of 0°C or lower

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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Etymology

Origin of quick-freeze

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

quick-freeze quick-froze quick-frozen quick-freezing

It has a stop-and-start rhythm of quick-freeze balletic poses and long pauses set against bursts of larger movements and loud footfalls.

From New York Times ● Mar. 10, 2023

For faster freezing: Some freezers have a quick-freeze shelf that should be used.

From Washington Post ● May 13, 2020

Now it’s core staff, hair-netted and suited up, spreading fat sea scallops across a mechanized belt and running them through two brine tanks and two washes and then a quick-freeze.

From Washington Post ● Apr. 8, 2020

He went back home to Gloucester, worked out a commercial quick-freeze process, set up the business that became the foundation of the frozen-foods industry.

From Time Magazine Archive

When friends -raved over a dish of Franey's sweetbreads in champagne sauce, without realizing that it had been frozen, Franey and his staff of 15 Howard Johnson chefs went into the quick-freeze business in earnest.

From Time Magazine Archive

The North Pole, settling near Siberia, quick-froze the mammoths.

From Time Magazine Archive

All of the bagged shrimp you see in the freezer cases has been individually quick-frozen, which preserves the texture of the seafood during the freezing process.

From Washington Post ● Jul. 15, 2022

Another option is to buy quick-frozen fillets, which are from fish caught and frozen immediately, she said.

From Washington Post ● Aug. 17, 2021

“You can buy individually quick-frozen shrimp from the grocery store, but there is a significant quality difference between fresh shrimp and frozen shrimp,” Morris said.

From Washington Times ● Oct. 10, 2020

That’s where LePage’s dream of processing plants comes into play—cooked and individually quick-frozen lobsters can be shipped worldwide with ease.

From Slate ● Aug. 21, 2012

After experimenting with an old soft-drink machine, Captain Lloyd K. Rudd and Sergeant K. Cyrus Melikian developed an automatic dispenser that uses a quick-frozen concentrate called Kwik-Kafe.

From Time Magazine Archive

The author also cites such wildly remote possibilities as quick-freezing incurables until cures can be found, administering rejuvenating shots of DNA and even duplicating an entire human body from genetically coded snippets.

From Time Magazine Archive

Among many "quick-freezing" problems are how to preserve taste, appearance and nutrition values upon defrosting.

From Time Magazine Archive

Among the deals which he negotiated was the purchase of a 49% interest in Frosted Foods, Inc., owner of the Birdseye quick-freezing process.

From Time Magazine Archive

For the city trade he advocates a branch plant system whereby self-service locker plants have their dressing, quick-freezing and administration handled by a central unit.

From Time Magazine Archive

She had heard of things like that on the quick-freezing fresh water of the lakes—small boats adrift crowded with men sitting upright in them, ice-coated, frozen, lifeless!

From The Indian Drum by Edwin Balmer

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023