Throughout the year, lychees, the delicious tropical fruit, are now available regardless of the season or region! During a guest appearance on the "Guangdong Voice Hotline" program, Liang Qinru, the Deputy Director-general of the Department of Science and Technology of Guangdong Province, revealed on the 7th that the Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences has successfully developed an advanced ultra-low temperature freezing technique, effectively addressing the bottleneck issue in traditional lychee preservation methods. This breakthrough overcomes the challenges of maintaining color and preventing rapid quality deterioration that was commonly associated with traditional freezing methods for lychees.
Lychee, a delicacy from southern China, has always been beloved for its exquisite taste. However, its preservation has been a challenge for farmers and businesses alike, with even refrigeration only extending freshness for 3 to 5 days.
Liang Qinru mentioned that around June last year, they utilized ultra-low temperature freezing technology to preserve two to three hundred tons of freshly picked lychees. These are now gradually being released into the market. Upon thawing, their color remains vibrant, and their taste is still delightful.
The key to this preservation technique lies in rapidly pre-cooling the freshly picked lychees, reducing bacteria and maintaining color, precise packaging, rapid freezing (at -35°C or below), and frozen storage, all of which maximize cell protection, enabling year-round storage.
Upon thawing, the lychees retain their vibrant color and translucent flesh and maintain over 90% of their nutritional quality, meeting consumers' demand for fresh lychees throughout the year.
Hu Shengchun, the Director of the Division of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of the Guangdong Science and Technology Department, introduced that last year's frozen lychee products are already retailing on major e-commerce platforms, and consumer acceptance of this new product is extremely high. On some platforms, 400 grams of lychees sell for over 80 yuan. It is reported that this year's technological advancements are expected to preserve over 2,000 tons of fresh lychees.
Source: Yangcheng Evening News
