Inox Bim Climatic Cabinet

Inox Bim Climatic Cabinets can perform complete and customizable cycles of controlled leavening, seasoning, maturation, ageing, defrosting, precooking, temperature and humidity control, and, more generally, food processing cycles by setting temperature, humidity, air sanitizing control, ventilation.

Available measures

There are three available measures of MacChef Climatic Cabinet: 700 litres – 900 litres – 1400 litres.

– The 700 litres, which can contain from 50 up to 70 kgs of foodstuffs.

– The 900 litres, from 70 up to 90 kgs

– The 1400 litres, from 100 up to 1400 kgs. This one has got two motors.

Motor compartment

Monobloc with 60 mm insulation (75 mm in the 900 lts version) with HFO polyurethane foam which has a GWP (Global Warming Potential) level equal to 0

Functions

There are 4 possible functions:

1) Heating

2) Refrigeration

3) Humidity management

4) Germicidal (through Ozone)

The cell operating temperature ranges from -6 ° to + 40 ° C

Humidity management

The humidification takes place through an atomizer nozzle: using water at room temperature, the process is already considerably simplified, as the problem of returning the water to temperature is eliminated. There is no steam generator, and therefore not a container of stagnant water, nor a resistance which, by heating the water, could generate limestone. No saturated steam is used: this is generally deemed as not necessary for seasoning or ageing. The probe, through the software, is able to detect the relative humidity (RH), the room temperature and the product temperature.

Digitalization

The device with digital control is totally automated.

Thanks to the remote control, moreover, it is possible to control the various activities (via web server, there’s no need of downloading apps nor programs), starting or finishing cycles and modify data and parameters. The programs can be created, customized, imported or exported (they are .csv file).

The Climatic Cabinet can be connected through Wi-Fi (recommended), or through ethernet cable or 3G/4G network. It complies with the requirement for “Industry 4.0” investment support as established by the European Commission.

There are, by default, some “resident program”, that cannot be modified (you can create a copy and then modify this one). Resident programs are marked with a yellow cockade.

The software is included. No installation needed

Evaporator

Through the evaporator, the air dries, cools and then loses moisture. From here it passes on a resistor, which will bring the air back to the right (and uniform) temperature, not adding humidity.

The evaporator temperature, and its evolution trend, can be viewed at any time on the display (in red).

Ozonator

As an optional, an ozone generator with time control can be requested.

Ozone is produced through the corona effect: an air flow is passed through by a high voltage electric discharge. The electrical discharge breaks the stable oxygen molecule and forms two oxygen atoms. These can be combined with the oxygen molecules to form ozone (O₃: an ozone molecule is made of three oxygen atoms).

By dehumidifying, an important vehicle for bacterial proliferation (water) is removed. But, on the other hand, the foodstuffs lose weight and volume, and, (especially in the “beef ageing” process), an important layer hardens and will no longer be edible. And here the ozone generator comes into play: in fact, this allows maintaining a higher relative humidity, sanitizing anyway excess bacteria.

One can set how many ozone discharges per hour to release. In the standard pre-set dry-ageing program, the setting requires 20 seconds of ozone current release every 20 minutes.

There is no such thing as air exchange in the MacChef Climatic Cabinet, as this is considered unnecessary: the generator takes oxygen from the environment to create ozone, but an outlet (on the bottom), avoid any risk of overpressure.

Weight Control

An optional very recommended for Seasoning is the Weight Control.

It is possible to check the weight of one or more samples: the system detects the weight loss that occurs during stewing and/or drying phases (see following paragraph) and, accordingly, setting the relative humidity of the cell (increasing or decreasing it).

Weight loss is the most significant criterion to indicate at what point the seasoning process is. The function of weight loss is also indicated for working with those types of cured meats whose characteristics of seasoning are not yet fully known.

Seasoning

Charcuterie seasoning consists of three phases:

1) Stewing: the foodstuffs start to lose excess water. It lasts from 2 to 4 days, and is carried out at temperatures ranging from 18 to 26 degrees. In this phase, useful bacteria proliferate, contributing considerably in eliminating harmful bacteria.

2) Drying: it continues with the loss of water, controlling humidity (which gradually increases from about 70 to about 85%) and ventilation of the surrounding environment. This phase can take up to 8 days. In the first drying phase, ozone is much more effective than other systems (such as UV, which acts only on air). Moreover, this allows to sanitize the internal surfaces. During the drying phase the PH decreases (through lactic fermentation), as do AW and temperature. The weight of the product drops from 9 to 16% (depending on the thickness of the casing)

3) Ageing: last phase, which lasts, on average, from 15 to 30 days (depending on the weight and type of foodstuffs). The humidity is kept around 80-85%, generating “noble rots” on the surface of the casing.

Meat aging

The MacChef Climatic Cabinet is ideal for Meat Dry Aging.

The animal skeletal muscle is particularly hard and not suitable for consumption after slaughter. This is the reason why the meat is left to mature (ageing) and soften for a few days. The period, as well as the various parameters, may vary depending on the type of meat, the anatomical piece, the age of the animal, etc.