Freeze-dried food offers the advantage of looking fresh, tasting fresh, staying
fresh, weighing less than fresh foods
The following attributes of freeze-dried foods highlight some of the main reasons
they are a storage favorite:
Fresh appearance. Freeze-dried foods are first flash frozen and
then have the moisture removed so they maintain much of their original shape, texture,
and appearance.
Fresh taste. Freeze-dried food is not dried via heat processing
so it retains more of the aroma and flavor of the original food. The freeze-drying
process also maintains most of the original food nutritional content. Freeze-drying
simply removes the water, not the flavor.
Lasting freshness. The freeze-drying process removes water and
oxygen, the two primary causes of food deterioration. This helps keep the food tasting
fresh.
Low storage weight. Freeze-dried foods have approximately 98 percent
of their water removed, resulting in foods that typically weigh 75 to 90 percent
less than the original food. The freeze-drying process results in foods that are
exceptionally light. This makes the food easy to package, transport, and store.