Is Freeze-dried or Dehydrated the Better Choice

When you create your emergency stash of storage food, you may find yourself wonder whether you should choose freeze-dried or dehydrated foods. Well, they are both excellent choices and will store perfectly in your food storage buckets. The biggest differences between the two is nutritional value, cost and taste.

Freeze-dried Food

Some people are just recently being introduced to freeze-dried foods while others have been appreciating it for 25 years or longer. You can buy it in pouches or cans. The cans are great if you have a storage pantry, but the pouches store great in a bucket, or they are ideal to take hiking, keep in an emergency kit in your car, etc., because they are super light. All you have to do is add cold or hot water, and they are ready to eat.

When stored properly, some cans can have a 20-year shelf life, but even pouches are good often as long as seven years. Unlike canned items, freeze-dried food returns its full flavor. The process locks in color, freshness, shape, aroma and texture. Basically, the food is cooked and then flash frozen in a vacuum chamber that is about -50 degrees Fahrenheit. When low-level heat is applied, ice crystals evaporated, as opposed to returning to liquid. This removes as much as 98 percent moisture from the food. The fact that it retains nutritional value is a huge benefit, especially if you are in an emergency situation.

How is Dehydration Different?

Dehydrated foods go through a similar process and are also good for about the same amount of time and take up minimal space. The big difference is that although dehydrated foods cost approximately one-third of freeze-dried foods, they  don’t measure up in nutritional content or taste. That being said, dehydrated food is still an excellent choice to use to stock your food storage buckets.

 

It should also be noted that when using cold water to prepare them, freeze-dried can be ready in as little as 5 to 10 minutes while dehydrated could take as long as 1 to 2 hours. Obviously, if you are at home, preparing the meal early and letting it hydrate, the time frame is not a big deal, but if you are out hiking or broken down on the side of the road, freeze-dried is the better option.

The great thing about dehydrated is that you can do it yourself at home, which makes it convenient, affordable and practical. All you need is a dehydrator or a convection oven, and you can package, label and store your own food.

So which do you stock in your food storage buckets? A little of both doesn’t hurt! You can stock up on bulk amounts of dehydrated foods (or make them yourself), and then add in a few freeze-dried ones for the nutritional content. Just be sure to use separate containers for both, and label everything clearly.

 

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