7 Benefits of Having Freeze Dried Food on Hand
Freeze Dried food is one of the best resources you can invest in for long-term food storage and emergency preparedness. Its versatility allows it to be used for more than just food storage.
It is true that Freeze Dried food is primarily used as a smart emergency preparedness resource, but there is more to it than that. You can use Freeze Dried foods for snacks, camping meals, tasty desserts, cooking and baking ingredients, and more! The only thing that limits the use and effectiveness of Freeze Dried foods is imagination.
Here are a few of the many benefits and uses of having Freeze Dried foods.
The Longevity Feature
How long does Freeze Dried food last? These foods can last over 25 years if they are stored correctly.
The most significant factor affecting Freeze Dried foods is exposure to moisture. The dryer you can keep your food, the longer it will last. Likewise, food packaged using nitrogen gas will keep nutrients from breaking down over time.
Regardless of these factors, the fact remains that these foods last a very, very long time.
Fresh for Decades
Most foods have a shelf life of only a few days. Dryer food staples, like grains and sugar, can last for months or even years. Dehydration and canning foods can preserve your food even longer, in most cases by months and years.
No method can currently match the amount of time you can preserve food through freeze drying.
Freeze Dried goods remain useful for so long because the low water content keeps nutrients from breaking down as fast as they would in any other method. After days in the fridge or months in cans, water can break down the vitamins and other nutrients that our bodies need to function.
Whereas eating food with deteriorated nutrients still gives you the calories you need to survive, you lack the necessary supplements your body requires for essential functions. The meager amount of water in Freeze Dried foods keeps nutrients intact for decades. Even after years of sitting on a shelf, these foods can still provide you with the necessary nutrients to live a long and healthy life.
Easy to Transport
Water makes up a large part of the food that we eat. In fact, in many of the most common foods we consume, over half of the mass is made up of water. This is especially true for staple foods such as fruits and vegetables.
Because 98-99% of water is removed from foods in the freeze drying process, the overall mass of food decreases. The decreased mass makes them lighter and easier to transport. This feature is perfect for camping or backpacking trips and is particularly useful for emergency 72-hour kits.
Their lightweight nature is ideal for situations that require you to move fast. Grabbing a 72-hour kit stuffed with cans will be much more complex and laborious than doing the same with lightweight food packets.
Easy Meal Preparation
When the time comes for you to dip into your food reserves, few emergency rations are as easy to prepare as Freeze Dried foods. Most Freeze Dried foods are preserved in their fully-prepared state. Rehydrating and consuming food is a fast and painless process.
In most cases, all you will need to do to prepare your meals from a Freeze Dried meal kit is hot water. Within 15 minutes of breaking out your food, you could be eating a hot meal.
Your meal will contain foods preserved at the peak of freshness. So, not only does your food have a fast preparation time, but it is also as fresh as preserved food can get.
Comparable food rations, such as Meals Ready-to-eat (MREs) and dehydrated foods, have a stale, processed taste. You can almost taste the age of the food and the flavor!
Having meals made and preserved in rapid succession eliminates the feeling that the food you are consuming is old. The meals you eat will taste more fresh than similarly marketed food storage rations.
Ideal for Camping and Backpacking
Freeze Dried food is lightweight and easy to prepare. This makes it an excellent addition to camping and backpacking supplies.
The military uses freeze drying techniques to create rations for its soldiers because of how conveniently they can be packed and moved from location to location.
If either of these two hobbies is one you enjoy, consider preparing your next trip with this lightweight and nutritious food!
Uses Apart From Food Storage
Maintaining food storage using Freeze Dried foods does more than pack your pantry for the event of an emergency; it gives you materials you can use in everyday life to add options to snack on, whether that be healthy treats or sweet indulgences.
For instance, Freeze Dried fruits and vegetables are an excellent snack for your children’s school lunch or a good road trip snack.
You can introduce a new element of creativity to your snacking and food preparation with Freeze Dried foods. Have you ever thought of chocolate-covered Freeze Dried fruits? How about adding a little powdered yogurt to your frosting to make your cupcakes stand out?
These are just some of the slight variations you can add to bring new elements to your homemade treats, and they’ll be unmatched by any of your peers!
Included Calorie Count
When trying to adhere to a diet or maintain a healthy percentage of calorie intake, counting the calories you are consuming can be arduous. You may need to adhere to a specific calorie count during an emergency scenario to ration your food appropriately.
Conveniently, most food storage preparation companies include the total calorie count of their meals and nutrition information. Rather than calculating individual bits of food item by item, you have an accurate calorie count for the meal in its entirety.
It is a small convenience but comfortable nonetheless, especially in unfamiliar circumstances.
Candy Jans: A Supplier of Freeze Dried Sweets
Whether you intend to use your Freeze Dried foods for long-term food storage or as a secret ingredient in your legendary desserts, these foods have widespread applications.
If you want to add some sweet variety to your pantry, check out our inventory of Freeze Dried candies!