Why Freeze-Dried products are amazing
Freeze-drying is a brilliant way of retaining the shape, flavour and nutrients of fresh fruit, vegetables and other food while massively prolonging the shelf life. Bacteria thrives when there’s moisture, so with the liquid removed, you can keep these products almost indefinitely.
But what is ‘freeze-dried’? Some people think the freeze-drying process is hugely complicated and involves a shedload of nasty chemicals, but this couldn’t be further from the truth! It’s completely natural, and involves freezing something inside a vacuum chamber, which reduces the air pressure hugely. When heat is let back in, the ice trapped in the products converts directly into water vapour and is siphoned off, leaving the freeze-dried goods significantly lighter in weight but looking pretty much the same.
So are there any health benefits of freeze-dried goods? The answer is a very pleasing yes! They’re almost indistinguishable from the benefits of the fresh versions. Way more nutrition is retained compared to conventional drying, which can degrade the vitamin and phenolic content of fruit and vegetables.
So let’s have a look at all the wonderful possibilities freeze-drying offers….
In an Australian study published at the start of 2021, researchers found that freeze-drying was vastly better than oven-drying for retaining vitamins, while an investigation by scientists at Sheffield Hallam University found that freeze-drying strawberries has no significant impact on their excellent nutrition profile. Goods such as Freeze-Dried Broccoli or these Freeze-Dried Beetroot Pieces are great store cupboard ingredients for boosting the flavour and nutrients in soups, stews and all kinds of dishes, while adding a handful of Freeze-Dried Blueberries to your morning porridge or cereal can help you start the day with a whack of heart-healthy flavonoid antioxidants – not to mention the delightful colour and lip-smacking taste!
One of the reasons that freeze-dried goods are so popular is that they transform something with a soft, squishy mouth-feel into a whole different beast, and make it beautifully crispy and crumbly. For foodies who love different textures, their first experience of biting into Freeze-Dried Strawberries or munching on some Freeze-Dried Banana Slices is an absolute revelation! Their exciting crunch is just one of the things that makes them a brilliant on-the-go snack, ideal for mid-morning elevenses or for putting into the kids’ lunchboxes.
Sometimes when you taste conventionally-dried fruit, it tastes like all the flavour has been surgically removed – but not with freeze-dried fruit. Just bite into some of our Freeze-Dried Kiwi Fruit Pieces or open a packet of these incredibly moreish Freeze-Dried Mandarin segments and you’ll see the taste is fully retained, and not only that – it’s gorgeously intensified. That makes them perfect for adding to cakes, biscuits and a whole host of other dishes without being scared their taste will get lost in the mix. Why not try adding a handful of these unusual Freeze-Dried Green Olives next time you make a ciabatta?
Buy fresh berries on a Friday and you’ll be lucky if they’re still good to eat after the weekend. Freeze-dry them and there’s a very good chance they’ll still be excellent half a decade later! This means freeze-dried goods are essential ingredients in any cook’s store cupboard – instead of hurrying to use up your fruit and veg, you can add a spoon here and a spoon there and make it last almost indefinitely. Why not keep a packet of Freeze-Dried Rhubarb Powder or some delectable Freeze-Dried Mango Pieces on standby for when your yoghurt, porridge or rice pudding needs an extra level of tangy fruitiness?
If you’re passionate about food and are always on the lookout for exciting ingredients, freeze-dried products will be right up your street! Chocolatiers have been using them for years – why not join in and try making these luscious Almond Raspberry Truffles? Lift your breakfast cereal bowl by scattering in a handful of these massively healthy Freeze-Dried Pomegranate Seeds. You could even try making a cheese & pickle sandwich with the winning, crispy texture of this awesome Freeze-Dried Cheddar Cheese!
Freeze-dried goods can do all the things the original pre-dried ingredient does… and more! Canny mums and dads know that adding a few spoons of Freeze-Dried Broccoli Powder to pasta sauce will mean fussy kids who usually push anything green to the side of their plate will get lots of healthy nutrition without even knowing about it. Experimenting with our range of freeze-dried goods really pays dividends for the adventurous cook. You’ll find that adding some tangy Freeze-Dried Lemon Powder to lemon drizzle cake really takes it to the next level of gorgeousness, while adding some Freeze-Dried Green Pea Powder to your cheese scone mix will make your taste buds go into a trance!
Some people are dubious about the price of freeze-dried goods, but anything with a high water content which has had the water removed will necessarily be very much lighter in weight. So if you bear in mind that 100 grams of freeze-dried strawberries equates to roughly 1 kilogram of fresh strawberries, you’ll see the prices are actually pretty fantastic!
