How to store freeze dried food

It’s become a common question these days that how to store freeze dried food. Because the food you see on the shelf of a store is changing every day as per your convince. For example, if you want to eat your favorite berries in the off season, you need to visit a nearby store and pick a freeze-dried pack of berries.

The drying process is in use from thousands of years ago for preserving food. In the past few decades, the process of drying evolving a lot with modern science. Freeze drying is one of the excellent methods to increase the shelf life of a product.

What is freeze dried food?

Freeze dried food contain only 0.5-3% moisture; also, they are very light in weight. Freeze dried food is very helpful for people where people cannot grow fruits and vegetables because of extreme weather conditions.

Hikers, astronauts, and military peoples also use freeze dried food. Because freeze dried food is light in weight and it is easy to re-hydrate these food products plus they have a very good shelf life.

Products like coffee (Coffee which are preserved by freeze dried method are very rich in flavor and aroma), Fruits (Strawberries, kiwi, banana, apricot and many more fruits can be freeze dried and can be enjoyed off season), insects (they are also preserved for consumptions, they are rich source of protein which can be further used in nutritional supplements) and processed food product (chocolate, ice cream and bacon etc.) are common food items that are preserved by the freeze-dried method.

What is the science behind the process of freeze drying?

Freeze drying is also known as lyophilisation. The freeze drying process can be divided into three-step:

Step 1: Freezing phase

In this step, the product is cooled below its triple point to ensure that the sublimation process will occur, which will preserve the physical state of a product. Freezing is done very rapidly to prevent it from forming big crystals.

Step 2: Sublimation Phase

In this step, the pressure is reduced, and heat is added. Which will sublimate the water.

About 95% of the water is removed in the second step. All the water which is present in the free state is sublimated in this step.

Step 3: Adsorption Phase

In this phase, the water molecules which are ionically bonded to the product are removed. By raising the product’s temperature more than the sublimation phase, the bonds are broken between water molecules and the product.

It forms a porous structure. After complete drying, the product is sealed pack. Depending on the product type and category, the product is dried up to a 1% – 3% moisture content.

How to store freeze dried food?

If you are looking to store freeze-dried or dehydrated food that you purchased from a grocery or supermarket at home, you can try the following method to store them:

Mylar Bags

You can use Mylar bags on amazon to store freeze-dried food. Mylar bags are strong, flexible, heat seal able, and light in weight. They are also inexpensive, which makes them the first choice to store food. The laying in a Mylar bag creates an excellent barrier to oxygen, light, and humidity. These barriers will prevent microbial growth and spoilage of food products.

 Vacuum sealed plastic bags

If you are going to consume food within a week or two, you can use vacuum-sealed plastic bags. Make sure to remove all the air from the bag with the help of vacuum sealer on amazon.

Jars

An airtight jar on amazon can also be used for storing freeze dried food. Add an oxygen adsorber inside the jar and always sealed the jar tightly.

Silica gel desiccant

Whenever you store moisture-sensitive food like freeze dried food. You can always keep a pack of silica gel desiccant there. It adsorbs the moisture and helps to keep the product dry.

Ideal Storage condition

Temperature: keep the product where temperature variation is minimum. Also, try to keep the product in cold temperature to ensure long shelf life.

Light: Try to store products in a darker room.

Moisture: For maintaining the moisture of the product, add a moisture adsorbent in batch.

Oxygen: Always make sure to airtight the pack.

Benefits of freeze dried food

1. It extends the shelf life of the product.
2. Freeze dried food are light in weight due to reduced water content.
3. This preservation method can preserve seasonal fruits and vegetables throughout the year.
4. These products are considered to be more nutritious than fresh fruits and vegetables. When fresh products reached the customer, some nutrients are lost during the shipping and harvesting of the product.
5. In freeze drying most of the nutrient retains in the products compared to other preservation methods such as drying, which damages some % of nutrients in the final product.

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