Lyophilization or freeze drying is the process that freezes a food item and then removes that frozen moisture in a drying cycle, allowing it to maintain a longer shelf-life.
Have you tried a freeze-dried item before? While it sounds like something only astronauts and the military would eat , freeze drying food is actually a great way to preserve your food to keep the flavour and appearance in tack.
When you gather crops and produce on your farm, sometimes you need to get creative in how you are going to use everything to it’s full potential! When you bring your harvest into the kitchen you can cook with it, freeze it, dehydrate it, can it or freeze-dry it.
What Can Be Freeze Dried?
Just about anything can be freeze dried; Fruits, vegetables, meats, meals and so on. At Generations Marketplace we even freeze dry ice cream!
Are Freeze Dried Foods Healthy?
Yes! Freeze drying keeps 90% of the nutrients in the food, so you still get most of the nutritional benefits that food item originated with
Can You Re-hydrate Food?
Also yes! You can keep it in the crunchy form it comes in or re-hydrate it to bring it back close to the original form. Re-hydrating takes some proper techniques, check out this website for more details.
Can You Freeze Dry Food At Home?
Freeze-drying has to be done in a freeze dryer with Harvest Right making a few sizes that are perfect for home use. Though the machines are pricy it is an amazing investment towards your journey of food preservation and storage. If food is not dried properly it will not last, so either purchasing freeze-dried food from a reputable source or do a lot of research before doing it yourself.
The Freeze Dryer
Freeze Dryer Settings
Food in the freeze dryer trays
Benefits of Freeze-Drying Foods
Their are many benefits to freeze-drying food. They can be stored for up to 25 years in the right packaging, making it the longest modern preservation method. Along with keeping most of their nutritional value they also look like the original product but with a nice added crunch.
You can store your freeze dried items in jars or special bags for storage. This also allows a quick easy healthy snack on the go. If you are travelling, camping or hiking packing freeze dried food is much lighter to carry! You also can use the food in recipes for baking, soups and other delicious homemade items. I always have jars close by the stove to add to my dishes.
Tip: Freeze dry double what you would use in a year, incase you have a bad growing season the following year you will have that food still to consume.
Freeze drying Ice Cream
Freeze dried leafy greens
Stop In and Try Our Freeze Dried Goodies
At Generations Marketplace, we enjoy freeze-drying a variety of foods especially all the amazing produce coming out of the gardens and we offer them all for sale in the marketplace. Come in and try some fruit or ice cream dried on-site!
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