Picture the following scenario: It is your final year in college. Your friends and you have decided to go camping in the woods for a week, to commemorate the four years of schooling you have gone through together. Apart from sleeping in tents, you have decided to carry outdoor dried food kits that will sustain you throughout your escapades. They only dilemma you are grappling with is whether you should buy dehydrated or freeze dried outdoor food kits. If you ever find yourself in this dilemma, this comparative analysis of both food kits can help you make a good decision:
Shelf Life
Recently, there has been a raging debate whether dehydrated food have a longer shelf life than freeze dried outdoor food kits. To draw an informed conclusion, individuals must understand the techniques used, while preparing both foods. Companies that dehydrate food use low-heat ovens and dehydrators to remove up to 98 percent of water from food. Water evaporates to form moisture and finally escapes into the environments. On the other hand, companies that prepare freeze dried foods use a pressurized vacuum to sublimate around 98 percent of water from food, directly into the environment directly. Though freeze drying is faster than traditional food drying techniques, foods dried using both methodologies have an average shelf life of between seven and 25 years depending on the type of food involved. If short time storage is your only concern, freeze-dried or dehydrated outdoor food packs can work well for you, if handled well. For long-time storage however, freeze dried food tend to have a longer shelf life.
Nutritional Value
Even though shelf life is important when choosing dried food packs for storage or outdoor adventures, investing on brands with the highest nutritional value is among the best decisions one can make. Whether freeze-dried foods have a higher nutritional value than their dehydrated counterparts is debatable. What matters is the quality of food used, preparation techniques, and the methods of storage. Generally, if you want dried foods for cooking on a camp fire or stove (pasta, rice, grains, etc.) it is advisable that you buy dehydrated ones. If on the other hand you want dried pre-made foods such as lasagna, beef stew, or bean stew that you can eat on the go(with hot water of course), buying freeze-dried outdoor kits is a good decision. Make sure, however, the company producing the brand you are contemplating buying uses quality products and machine-based techniques that preserve as much nutrients as possible.
Net Weight
Weight is a concern or many campers and one of the reasons why many consider stocking on outdoor dried food kits that fresh or raw ones. The net weight of both dehydrated and freeze dried foods is lighter that raw ones. However, dehydrated ones tend to be more compact compared to freeze dried ones, courtesy of the heating process employed during preparation. The freeze drying process creates bigger holes in food during preparation. While this increases bulk lightly, it prolongs the shelf life of food, and makes it easy to reconstitute when preparing lunch of supper. Weight, on the other hand, is nearly same as that of dehydrated foods. Again, make sure that you are buying quality before opening your wallet.
Shelf Life
Recently, there has been a raging debate whether dehydrated food have a longer shelf life than freeze dried outdoor food kits. To draw an informed conclusion, individuals must understand the techniques used, while preparing both foods. Companies that dehydrate food use low-heat ovens and dehydrators to remove up to 98 percent of water from food. Water evaporates to form moisture and finally escapes into the environments. On the other hand, companies that prepare freeze dried foods use a pressurized vacuum to sublimate around 98 percent of water from food, directly into the environment directly. Though freeze drying is faster than traditional food drying techniques, foods dried using both methodologies have an average shelf life of between seven and 25 years depending on the type of food involved. If short time storage is your only concern, freeze-dried or dehydrated outdoor food packs can work well for you, if handled well. For long-time storage however, freeze dried food tend to have a longer shelf life.
Nutritional Value
Even though shelf life is important when choosing dried food packs for storage or outdoor adventures, investing on brands with the highest nutritional value is among the best decisions one can make. Whether freeze-dried foods have a higher nutritional value than their dehydrated counterparts is debatable. What matters is the quality of food used, preparation techniques, and the methods of storage. Generally, if you want dried foods for cooking on a camp fire or stove (pasta, rice, grains, etc.) it is advisable that you buy dehydrated ones. If on the other hand you want dried pre-made foods such as lasagna, beef stew, or bean stew that you can eat on the go(with hot water of course), buying freeze-dried outdoor kits is a good decision. Make sure, however, the company producing the brand you are contemplating buying uses quality products and machine-based techniques that preserve as much nutrients as possible.
Net Weight
Weight is a concern or many campers and one of the reasons why many consider stocking on outdoor dried food kits that fresh or raw ones. The net weight of both dehydrated and freeze dried foods is lighter that raw ones. However, dehydrated ones tend to be more compact compared to freeze dried ones, courtesy of the heating process employed during preparation. The freeze drying process creates bigger holes in food during preparation. While this increases bulk lightly, it prolongs the shelf life of food, and makes it easy to reconstitute when preparing lunch of supper. Weight, on the other hand, is nearly same as that of dehydrated foods. Again, make sure that you are buying quality before opening your wallet.