Challenging the 'Taste Degradation Upon Reheating' Issue of Frozen Gourmet Foods with Gas Moist Heat | Gochiso Honpo | Supervised by Michelin One-Star Chef Murashima
Sanc Co., Ltd. has commenced full-scale mass production of "next-generation lobster thermidor," supervised by a Michelin one-star chef, by introducing a German RATIONAL gas steam convection oven. This innovative approach utilizes the moist heat of gas and over 30 years of expertise to solve the long-standing problem of quality degradation in frozen gourmet foods upon reheating, meeting the growing demand for high-quality at-home dining.
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- 📰 Published: May 7, 2026 at 03:00
- 🔍 Collected: May 6, 2026 at 18:31
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Sanc Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka Prefecture; Representative Director: Koichi Kato) has commenced full-scale mass production of "next-generation lobster thermidor," utilizing ingredients like spiny lobster and common lobster, by introducing a German RATIONAL gas steam convection oven (hereinafter "gas steam convection oven").
The newly introduced RATIONAL steam convection oven is a gas-fired model, which is crucial for heating power among RATIONAL's top-share steam convection ovens globally. By leveraging the powerful thermal efficiency unique to gas, the quality standards for mass cooking in professional kitchens have been raised a notch.
Supervision is handled by Michelin one-star Chef Teruki Murashima (Héritage by Kei Kobayashi at The Ritz-Carlton, Tokyo). This initiative merges over 30 years of accumulated expertise in frozen and prepared food processing since the company's founding with the "moist heat" unique to gas. This has achieved the long-standing challenge in professional cooking of balancing "mass production" and "individual quality." Even after thawing and reheating, it maintains a plump elasticity and juiciness.
Market Background | The Spread of "Luxury Without Dining Out" Needs and Quality Issues with Frozen Gourmet Foods
As restaurant prices continue to rise and inflation persists, the market for "at-home gourmet" and "prepared meals," where people enjoy special meals at home instead of dining out, is expanding. Consumer selective purchasing is progressing, and the trend of "reducing daily dining out in favor of focusing on one dish to enjoy at home" is becoming prominent.
On the other hand, frozen gourmet foods have faced a long-standing issue of "texture degradation after thawing and reheating." Particularly delicate ingredients like spiny lobster (Ise Ebi) and common lobster can become "tough and shriveled" if protein coagulation proceeds even slightly too far. To meet the demand for "restaurant taste at home," professional cooking equipment and years of accumulated know-how in heating control were necessary.
To address this challenge, our company decided to introduce this equipment, tackling it from both equipment and technology perspectives.
Approach ① | Focusing on the physical principle of "moist heat"
What our company focused on this time is the physical phenomenon of moist heat generated by the combustion of gas.
Methane (CH₄) and propane (C₃H₈), the main components of gas, produce water vapor (H₂O) as a byproduct through a combustion chemical reaction. While electric ovens radiate "dry heat" from heating elements, gas combustion produces "moist heat" where the flame itself contains moisture.
Three effects moist heat brings to ingredients:
Improved heat transfer efficiency: An atmosphere containing water vapor transfers heat more easily than dry air, allowing heat to penetrate quickly and uniformly to the interior.
Suppression of moisture outflow: Because ingredients are heated while being enveloped, the physical outflow of moisture from cells is suppressed.
Promotion of Maillard reaction: The combination of high heat and moist heat quickly produces a savory browned surface and deep richness.
Ingredients heated without their structure being destroyed and with moisture retained tend to avoid a crumbly texture even after freezing, thawing, and reheating. This physical principle was the reason for selecting this equipment.
Approach ② | Combination of over 30 years of processing know-how and the latest equipment
The food processing industry has long faced the challenge of balancing "mass production" and "individual quality." Since its founding over 30 years ago, our company has accumulated expertise in heating control for frozen and prepared foods through wholesale to hotels and restaurants nationwide and the production of Osechi dishes.
The gas steam convection oven introduced this time adopts a redesigned heating program based on Chef Murashima's advice. This has achieved the following:
Texture maintenance: Responding to mass production while maintaining a plump texture.
Fast temperature recovery: Temperature quickly returns even after opening and closing the door, maintaining stable quality in mass production.
Reproducibility of multi-level cooking: Minimal unevenness between levels in the oven, ensuring consistent finish throughout the day.
At our own factory, which has received advanced certification, a system has been established to supply products of the same quality to both professional (hotel/restaurant wholesale) and mail-order (Gochiso Honpo) channels.
Comment from Supervising Chef Teruki Murashima
"I have experience with both electric and gas cooking, and there are differences in the finished product. Especially for high-end and delicate ingredients like spiny lobster and common lobster, even slight dryness from electric cooking can affect the mouthfeel. On the other hand, the moist heat from gas has the property of not easily letting escape the inherent moisture and umami of the ingredients. Modern consumers now expect the same standard for a reheated dish at home as they would for a dish eaten out. I believe that operating cooking equipment based on the same principles as a professional kitchen at a factory level is one answer to meeting this expectation. We pursued with Sanc Co., Ltd. a quality that can reproduce 'that deep impression/satisfaction experienced at a restaurant' when reheated at home."
[Biography of Supervising Chef]
Teruki Murashima
Keywords:
The newly introduced RATIONAL steam convection oven is a gas-fired model, which is crucial for heating power among RATIONAL's top-share steam convection ovens globally. By leveraging the powerful thermal efficiency unique to gas, the quality standards for mass cooking in professional kitchens have been raised a notch.
Supervision is handled by Michelin one-star Chef Teruki Murashima (Héritage by Kei Kobayashi at The Ritz-Carlton, Tokyo). This initiative merges over 30 years of accumulated expertise in frozen and prepared food processing since the company's founding with the "moist heat" unique to gas. This has achieved the long-standing challenge in professional cooking of balancing "mass production" and "individual quality." Even after thawing and reheating, it maintains a plump elasticity and juiciness.
Market Background | The Spread of "Luxury Without Dining Out" Needs and Quality Issues with Frozen Gourmet Foods
As restaurant prices continue to rise and inflation persists, the market for "at-home gourmet" and "prepared meals," where people enjoy special meals at home instead of dining out, is expanding. Consumer selective purchasing is progressing, and the trend of "reducing daily dining out in favor of focusing on one dish to enjoy at home" is becoming prominent.
On the other hand, frozen gourmet foods have faced a long-standing issue of "texture degradation after thawing and reheating." Particularly delicate ingredients like spiny lobster (Ise Ebi) and common lobster can become "tough and shriveled" if protein coagulation proceeds even slightly too far. To meet the demand for "restaurant taste at home," professional cooking equipment and years of accumulated know-how in heating control were necessary.
To address this challenge, our company decided to introduce this equipment, tackling it from both equipment and technology perspectives.
Approach ① | Focusing on the physical principle of "moist heat"
What our company focused on this time is the physical phenomenon of moist heat generated by the combustion of gas.
Methane (CH₄) and propane (C₃H₈), the main components of gas, produce water vapor (H₂O) as a byproduct through a combustion chemical reaction. While electric ovens radiate "dry heat" from heating elements, gas combustion produces "moist heat" where the flame itself contains moisture.
Three effects moist heat brings to ingredients:
Improved heat transfer efficiency: An atmosphere containing water vapor transfers heat more easily than dry air, allowing heat to penetrate quickly and uniformly to the interior.
Suppression of moisture outflow: Because ingredients are heated while being enveloped, the physical outflow of moisture from cells is suppressed.
Promotion of Maillard reaction: The combination of high heat and moist heat quickly produces a savory browned surface and deep richness.
Ingredients heated without their structure being destroyed and with moisture retained tend to avoid a crumbly texture even after freezing, thawing, and reheating. This physical principle was the reason for selecting this equipment.
Approach ② | Combination of over 30 years of processing know-how and the latest equipment
The food processing industry has long faced the challenge of balancing "mass production" and "individual quality." Since its founding over 30 years ago, our company has accumulated expertise in heating control for frozen and prepared foods through wholesale to hotels and restaurants nationwide and the production of Osechi dishes.
The gas steam convection oven introduced this time adopts a redesigned heating program based on Chef Murashima's advice. This has achieved the following:
Texture maintenance: Responding to mass production while maintaining a plump texture.
Fast temperature recovery: Temperature quickly returns even after opening and closing the door, maintaining stable quality in mass production.
Reproducibility of multi-level cooking: Minimal unevenness between levels in the oven, ensuring consistent finish throughout the day.
At our own factory, which has received advanced certification, a system has been established to supply products of the same quality to both professional (hotel/restaurant wholesale) and mail-order (Gochiso Honpo) channels.
Comment from Supervising Chef Teruki Murashima
"I have experience with both electric and gas cooking, and there are differences in the finished product. Especially for high-end and delicate ingredients like spiny lobster and common lobster, even slight dryness from electric cooking can affect the mouthfeel. On the other hand, the moist heat from gas has the property of not easily letting escape the inherent moisture and umami of the ingredients. Modern consumers now expect the same standard for a reheated dish at home as they would for a dish eaten out. I believe that operating cooking equipment based on the same principles as a professional kitchen at a factory level is one answer to meeting this expectation. We pursued with Sanc Co., Ltd. a quality that can reproduce 'that deep impression/satisfaction experienced at a restaurant' when reheated at home."
[Biography of Supervising Chef]
Teruki Murashima
Keywords: