Why Freeze Dry?
Using the freeze drying process has gained popularity to preserving food for a few reasons among them being long-term storage, and desire to have high quality food. Now, let’s consider why freeze drying was chosen in favor of other preservation methods: storing or simple dehydration? The answer is best found in the multiple advantages which freeze drying has to its disposal.
Freeze drying maintains the nutritional value, taste, and texture in foods superior to any other technique used in the past. In the freeze-drying process, food is dehydrated through removal of water content, but structures of the food particles are preserved. This means that water can be supplemented in a way that freeze dried food almost looks and tastes new all over again. Thus, for those who seek to buy foods in large quantities which are to be stored for months or even years, and for those who think of emergency scenarios, freeze-drying provides a method of preserving not only fruits and vegetables, but also meat, and even the ready-to-eat meals with little loss of nutrients as well as flavor.
The other benefit of freeze drying is that it leads to increased product shelf life. The affordable freeze dryer foods should preferably be used soon after preparation, but they can last for years, if not for periods, according to some food manufacturers. Due to this, it is recommended for purchasing foods for storing in case of unexpected situations or for saving time. Also, the freeze-dried food products are very light, which is an advantage so far as transportation is concerned. This has made them particularly popular among campers, hikers and any other people who do need stirring horrible nutritious meals while they are actively involved in their outdoor activities.
How Does a Freeze Dryer Work?
Freezing and dehydration as a science is quite interesting and at the same time not very complicated. The process of Freeze Dryer typically occurs in three stages: They include freezing, primary drying that involves sublimation of ice, and secondary drying that will involve desorption.
- Freezing: The first process of affordable freeze drying involves holding the food at a very low temperature. This is done in order to gel the structure and ensure that no harm is done to the food’s molecular structure. The food is then taken and sealed into what is commonly known as a vacuum pack and put in a chamber with subfreezing temperature.
- Primary Drying: Finally, when the food is frozen it is subjected to sublimation, meaning frozen water in the food evaporates without becoming liquid first. The manner in which this happens is by having the vacuum within the chamber in that way lower the pressure to where water can turn immediately from the solid phase to the gaseous phase at a much lower temperature than would be required under normal atmospheric conditions. In other words, moisture is extracted from the food without the use of heat, therefore retaining the food’s shape and nutritional value.
- Secondary Drying: The bound water means that after the sublimation process the moisture can still be found in the food in some extent. Secondary drying employs slightly higher temperature to complete the removal of this moisture. After which, the food becomes completely freeze-dried, and the food can possibly remain preserved for very long.
The whole process can range from several hours to some days, based on the sort and amount of foods to dry. Freeze dryers are very energy conscious and operate on an automatic basis such that you can set it then wait for it to complete the drying process without much interference.
Benefits of Freeze Drying
Freeze drying offers a range of benefits that make it stand out from other preservation techniques:
- Nutritional Retention: best Freeze drying also provides one of the largest benefits close to 100% of the nutrients that are normally contained in fresh food. Compared to other preservation techniques like canning or normal dehydration, freezing drying is absolutely harmless to nutrients. Retinols, vitamins, and minerals do not degrade during storage, thus offering quality nutrients to the users regardless of the time the juices were produced.
- Taste and Texture: Wave freeze-dried food has a very close resemblance to fresh food as compared to those foods that are preserved by other methods. After being dehydrated, many foods products can be rehydrated to their desired texture and thus are more presentable and enjoyable to take.
- Extended Shelf Life: Freeze-dried foods are good for consuming within 10 to 25 years, if properly stored in the right outlets like air tightly sealed containers and in cool dark places. Therefore, it is excellent for emergency use, storing food for a long-term and as a quick snack.
- Lightweight and Portable: After all the water has been extracted from the foods, freeze-dried products become very lightweight, which offers great mobility. This is especially beneficial for people who take extended trips in the wilderness, such as camping, hiking, or simple traveling as it caters to portable, highly energy food sources.
- Preserves a Wide Range of Foods: Freeze drying can preserve almost any form of food product – from fruits and vegetables, to meat and full meals. Due to this flexibility, it can well be used in a number of ways.
How to Set Up a Freeze Dryer?
The installation of freeze dryer is easy but a little bit planning needed. There are home freeze dryers, and almost everyone can install the equipment without seeking the help of professionals. However, the following steps will help yo to get the best out of your machine:
- Choose the Right Location: Freeze dryers are as a whole not loud, but they do take up more space more so depending on the size. Before starting freeze drying, ensure that your freeze dryer is in a well-ventilated area, for instance the kitchen, garage or utility. It is also important to ensure that the working area is flat and strong, so that mechanics vibrations do not influence the freeze-drying.
- Ensure Power Supply:best Freeze dryers machine need electricity and if the electrical power network is instable, then freeze dryers will have instable electric power supply. Some of them can be connected to a normal power outlet in the house while others need certain voltage systems, check with the model. Some of the bigger models may require more power.
- Prepare Your Food: Make sure your food is prepared beforehand before freeze-drying it. Chop foods that are to be dried in equal sizes because this enhances effective dehydration. It is important to blanch vegetables before use in order to reduce the rate at which they lose their color, taste and texture. After preparation arrange the food on the trays which are provided with the freeze dryer, and don’t put one food piece over the other so that all the sides of the food get equally frozen and dried.
- Load the Machine: After your food has been prepared and arranged on the trays, put them in the affordable freeze dryer. Some models might have loading specificities in terms of where the foods should be placed, so it is recommended to load the manufacturer’s instructions.
- Start the Process: Teach how to power up the machine and choose the correct mode of drying it. The freeze dryer machine used in the experiment will apply the wave freeze, primary and secondary steps of drying independent of human operator interference. This process may take anything between 20 hours and several days, base on the quantity and kind of food that has been prepared.
- Storing Your Freeze-Dried Food: After the food has been properly dried right to the end, proper storage is required in order to increase its shelf life. Pack foods in moist-free containers such as plastic and aluminum containers or in vacuum sealed bags to avoid developing extra moisture. Retain the containers in cool dry places for better results to be obtained.
Which Food Dehydrator is Right for You?
The kind of food dehydrator to purchase depends on several factors and these include cost, size and usage among others. Here are the main considerations to help you decide:
- Budget: Prices vary dramatically when it comes to food dehydrators. A simple unit will set you back around $50, whereas complex, top of the line, industrial dehydrators are several hundred dollar units. Your decision will depend upon how frequently it will be used and the nature of the food that will be dried.
- Capacity: If you only plan on using the food dehydrator minimally or you live alone, then perhaps you need a small one. However, if you are a frequent dryer of large batches or if you wish to dry large quantities of foods at one time then try a large product with many trays.
- Heat Distribution: There are some dehydrators which have fans, which circulate heat evenly on the trays and that makes the drying process efficient. Some depend on convective airflow others depend on throughput airflow. If even the drying is something which you will be concerned, you should go for a model which has a built-in fan.
- Adjustable Temperature Settings: Some food require that they be dried at certain temperature while others require different temperatures for drying. Temperature control on the dehydrator shows that is has freedom of setting that provide the best results on the food being dehydrated.
- Ease of Use: Remember that it’s better to choose a dehydrator that can be easily assembled, washed and operated. Some models even have trays that are safe for the dishwasher, thus making cleaning the belongings easy.
- Noise Level: Some dehydrators are noisy, while others have a low noise level, if you are easily disturbed by noise or intend to place the machine in a location shared with other people, read the manufacturer’s information carefully to get the best product with minimum noise level.
Types of Food Dehydrators
There are two main types of food dehydrators, stackable and shelf dehydrators. They are both convenient in their own way, depending on what you’re looking for:
- Stackable Dehydrators: These are comparatively smaller in size and usually cost less as well. They include a set of trays which are tiered and the heating element commonest being situated at the bottom. These are good for those who are new at dehydrating or for those who do not use their dehydrators often or whose need is not for a large batch of food. However the temperature may not dry foods as evenly as a shelf dehydrator would.
- Shelf Dehydrators: These look like small ovens with the trays running horizontally, alongside the rear-mounted fan that distributes heat evenly. Mobile dehydrators are cheaper than shelf dehydrators, but the later generally provide better dehydrating results. They are particularly suitable for people who wish to dry more food at once or desire commercial quality results.
Conclusion
Freeze drying and food dehydration are excellent methods of food preservation with different benefits. Freeze drying retains the nutritional value and has longer storage ability, while food dehydrating can be easily done at home and it’s cheap. The choice between a freeze dryer and a food dehydrator depends on the intention of the owner, price range he/she is willing to spend as well as specific purpose of the wave freeze dryer or food dehydrator to be purchased.