Preserving food is crucial for the food retail industries as well as households. If you’re looking for the ultimate solution to preserving your food, then you have to give freeze-drying a try.
Unlike other food preservation techniques, freeze-drying ensures food quality and does not compromise any flavors. It’s also known for preserving the natural look of food, which other food preservation techniques can’t achieve well.
Freeze drying also helps keep your food edible for long periods. You can keep them safe from eating for as long as 25 years. And while you’re likely not to keep food that long, it’s still an assurance for good food, especially during emergencies.
A freeze dryer is a good option for creating a stash of preserved foods. It might cost a little more, but freeze drying offers numerous eco-friendly benefits.
Difference Between Freeze Drying & Freezing Food
While both techniques involve bringing the temperature of food items to frigid levels, freeze-drying takes things a step further.
Regular freezing stops the growth of microorganisms, as they cannot cause food spoilage at cold temperatures. While they keep their original look, the food tends to be mushy when defrosted. That’s because moisture content forms large crystals that affect food quality when defrosted.
Freeze drying, meanwhile, freezes and vaporizes the ice crystals without returning them to their liquid state. By removing these ice crystals, the moisture content of food is expelled, with no chance of spoilage due to the lack of water for microorganisms to develop.
How a Freeze Dryer Works
A Freeze Dryer subjects your food to three stages to achieve that perfectly preserved look and taste. First, your food is subjected to freezing temperatures below -20 to -40 degrees Fahrenheit, depending on what you’re preserving. Freezing at this stage is often quick to prevent any large crystals from forming inside. This step is achieved by pre-freezing the freeze dryer.
Next stage would be Sublimation Drying, wherein food gets locked in a vacuum, which vaporizes the ice crystals without turning into liquid. All vapor accumulated is sucked into a condensation unit that turns it into ice.
The last step is Desorption Drying, which puts your food back to room temperature while melting ice in the condensation unit. This phase also removes any remaining water content. At this phase, your food is ready for long-term storage.
Freeze Drying Maintains Natural Nutrients
Keeping the natural nutrients locked in is a key concern for people, especially when preserving food. Additives are the cheaper way to achieve this, but they add an artificial feeling to your food. But with a Freeze Dryer, preservation is way better than putting additives.
Freeze Drying your food means being able to preserve them without additives. Unlike store-bought preserved food that’s freeze-dried, you don’t have to worry about synthetic materials. Because there are no added ingredients that may be harmful to your body, you also preserve the food’s natural nutrients. If you’re very particular with the preserved food you eat, freeze-drying them ensures quality.
Freeze Drying Keeps Your Food Fresh
You could easily store food bought from the local market in the freezer, but keeping it locked in the ice chest does affect its look. On the other hand, a Freeze Dryer does something better than leaving food in frigid places.
Aside from locking in nutrients, Freeze Dryers also help keep the fresh look of your food. Nothing looks more attractive than a piece of fruit or vegetable that still looks freshly picked, even after months of storage.
It’s this kind of preservation that makes preserved food more delicious. Colors still pop out, and even the aroma and flavor of your food are maintained, even after weeks.
Freeze Dryers Adapt to Your Needs
The nice thing about freeze-drying is that it’s not a one-trick pony. You can freeze-dry your food based on how you want to use it in the future. You can quickly turn them into a powder form to add flavor to dishes. If you have a kid who avoids eating vegetables, freeze-dry them and mix them into soups to add more nutrients to a meal. It’s also an excellent way to create seasonings without artificial ingredients.
You can add freeze-dried food to your existing dishes. Since you freeze dry food for different applications, expect a lot of ways to add flavor.
And in fact, it’s not just adding it to your flavor. Freeze-dried food enhances your existing dishes to give them more dimension. Imagine putting freeze-dried fruits or vegetables on your oatmeal. You can then take it up a notch as a noontime meal from being a breakfast dish. You can even turn them into a snack for a more healthy alternative.
Freeze Drying is Eco-Friendly Too
Now, you don’t need to worry about throwing away wilted or overripe fruits and vegetables because of the preservation techniques involved. Freeze-drying keeps food fresh, without any chemical additives that compromise quality. If you’re very particular about your organic lifestyle, freeze-drying will do wonders for your food handling.
Choosing a Freeze Dryer
Before you jump up to buy a Freeze Dryer, please note that many of these machines are meant for industrial or commercial use. But that does not mean you can’t get one. There are a good number of Freeze Dryers that are designed for home or family use, such as the Harvest Right Freeze Dryer.
Freeze Dryers also come in different capacities and may take a few days to complete. To help you get the most of it, look at Freeze Dryers that match your food consumption until it’s time to run another batch before your supplies run out.
Author bio – A guest blogger has contributed this advertorial post
