Why Freeze Dried Food?
Freeze-dried fruit is shelf-stable fruit that has undergone a process to remove nearly all of its moisture while retaining flavour and nutrients. It’s very light, with a dry, crispy texture and intense, concentrated fruit flavour.
Freeze-drying fruit preserves the berry or pieces of fruit exactly as it is, minus the liquids. Freeze drying “is a process in which water is removed from a product after it is frozen and placed under a vacuum, allowing the ice to change directly from solid to vapour without passing through a liquid phase.” This process leaves the fruit a crispy shell of the fresh version.
Unopened, freeze-dried fruit so can last 25 to 30 years, only if stored under ideal conditions. Meanwhile, it retains most of its sugars so the fruit tastes like it did before the freezing. Freeze-dried fruit can be used in many of the same ways as you would use sun-dried and dehydrated fruits.
For example, you can put it in baked goods, candy bars, and trail mix.
What is Freeze Dried Fruit?
Freeze drying fruit is a process used to preserve fresh produce so it will be shelf-stable and last longer without preservatives. The goal of freeze-drying fruit is to preserve its nutritional profile. Freeze-dried fruit can be used as a healthy snack, to add sweetness to dishes, and in baking.
The process of freeze-drying fruit commercially involves putting the berries or pieces of fruit in a vacuum chamber with a below-freezing temperature. The solid water molecules in the fruit to become a gas, leaving the food and dissipating. Through this process, the fruit and berries remain intact, and much of the nutrition found in the fresh fruit stays as well. After it’s processed, freeze-dried fruit must be packaged in airtight, moisture-proof packaging to maintain freshness.
Uses for our Freeze Dried Fruit.
The simplest way to use freeze-dried fruit is to eat it out of hand, alone, or as a component of snack mix or trail mix. You can also use freeze-dried fruit as a topping on cereal, yogurt, or ice cream. It’s also a great option for hiking, camping, and traveling because it’s so light and compact.
With such a concentrated flavor, freeze-dried fruit is a great way to add intense fruit flavor (and often color) to a recipe without adding extra liquid. Because it’s so crunchy, it can also be used whole, crumbled, or powdered as a garnish to enhance the texture and appearance of a dish.
For many applications, freeze-dried fruit must be pulverized into a fine powder in a blender or food processor. (Be sure to remove the desiccant packet from the package before dumping its contents into your blender.) It can also be broken up with the hands or crushed under a frying pan or rolling pin for a coarser crumble.