If you are interested in freeze drying food for food storage, it is important to know whether or not it is healthy for you before you invest money and time into it. People used freeze-dried foods in the military, when camping, for emergency preparedness or simply for easy nutritional meals.
Unlike canned and some frozen food, freeze-dried food maintains most of its nutrients. It also boasts a much longer shelf life than that of any other packaged food.
Long before manufacturers produced and sold freeze-dried foods, the Andes Mountains housed the Peruvian Incas who learned to freeze-dry naturally. They used the mountains' high altitudes and low pressure with the warm sun rays and freezing temperatures at night to preserve food.
World War II usage, however, made freeze-drying more well known and commercialized. Freeze-drying and storing food for long periods of time requires no preservatives, as opposed to canned foods.
This serves as a great heath benefit of freeze-dried foods compared to canned and frozen foods since this quality eliminates the need for additives or potentially harmful chemicals for long storage times. The amount of antioxidants found in fresh fruits remains nearly as high in its freeze-dried state.
These antioxidant photochemicals may protect against esophageal and colon cancer. The photochemicals found in freeze-dried food also reach the blood just like they would when consuming fresh fruit.
Freeze-dried foods last longer than any other food. The U.S. government has stored and tested the food after 30 years on the shelf and found the nutritional values just as high as their fresh counterparts.
Manufacturers must take the food through a specific process to maintain long shelf lives and uphold nutritional value. First, the food is flash frozen and put in an extremely cold vacuum around negative 50 degrees Fahrenheit.
Then they expose the food to low heat and slowly the ice evaporates, removing 98 percent of its moisture. If you are interested in doing this for your dog's food, this is a great idea.
Although you are not as likely to find this product on your grocery store shelf or even your specialty pet supplier, there are several brands available online. Freeze dried dog food is actually made from cooked fresh foods with nearly all of the water content removed through a special process.
The result is a light and dry product that is packaged in air tight containers for future use. Freeze dried dog rations remain viable for years as long the packaging is not damaged or opened.
This is because all micro-organisms need water to survive, so the spoilage process goes into suspended animation. When you're ready to feed your pet, all you have to do is open the package, add a little water to reconstitute the food and Fido's dinner is ready to be served.
Now for a little freeze drying 101. Water comes in three stages: solid, liquid, and gas.
The freeze drying process converts the moisture in the dog food directly into vapor, skipping the liquid stage altogether. First, the dog food is placed on shelves inside of the dryer.
Then, the temperature inside of the unit is lowered to freeze the food. At this point the moisture is still present but the molecules have been isolated.
Next, the unit generates a small amount of heat while it simultaneously operates a vacuum pump to pull air pressure out of the chamber. This lack of pressure converts the moisture straight from liquid to gas that is then pulled out of the dog food in a gradual process that can take days to complete.
The moisture vapor is collected and condensed on freezing coils to gauge when the sufficient moisture is removed from the food. The final product is then packaged and sealed with an oxygen absorbing material as a final preventative measure against spoiling.
Dehydration may seem like a slightly simpler solution to removing the moisture from the dog food, however, using the freezing process prior to extracting the moisture preserves more of the nutritional content of the food. Virtually all of the proteins, vitamins, essential fatty acids, and minerals remain intact, so your pet derives the most nutrition possible from his feed.
This is a great way to save up food for the future. Try freeze drying today!
Author Resource:-
Terry Daniels is an accomplished expert in family preparedness and has been giving seminars for over 15 years. He recommendsFreeze Dried Foods to be included in your emergency food storage.
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