Not all food storage is created equal. In fact, there is vast difference between dehydrated meals and freeze-dried meals, the two most common methods for food preservation. Here are 5 reasons why you should choose freeze-dried food for your long-term food storage supply.
1. Shelf-Life
When stored in a #10 metal can, meat, dairy, fruits and vegetables can all be stored for 25+ years without losing texture, taste, or nutritional value. No other storage method is capable of preserving meat and dairy for 25-years without significant effort. For example, dehydrated entrees (which generally do not contain meat) must be stored 55 degrees to obtain a 25-year shelf-life. Freeze-dried food can be stored at a comfortable 72 degrees. This benefit cuts down on food rotation and creates less worry about expiration dates.
2. Lightweight
When foods go through the freeze-dry process, 99% of the water is removed from the food. In most food items, water makes up a majority of the weight. When almost all of the water is taken out, you are left with a product that is very lightweight and easier to transport than dense food.
3. Ease of Use
Ready-made freeze-dried meals are so simple to prepare that even a child can do it. The only required ingredient is water. Simply add hot water to your food (cold water will work if you don’t have the means to warm it), and let it sit for about 10 minutes to reconstitute.
Freeze-dried ingredients like meat, fruit and vegetables are also available individually, so you can create your own dish by combining different freeze-dried items with your own grains, pastas, seasonings, etc.
4. Flavor
Freeze-dried entrees are made from real food. Freeze-dried lasagna started out as lasagna, freeze-dried chicken a la king started out as chicken a la king. During the freeze-dry process, the only thing taken out from the original meal is the water. All of the flavors and nutrients remain intact with the food. Other food preparation methods cause a depletion of flavors and nutrients during the preservation process. Additionally, other preservation methods generally contain preservatives.
5. Variety
Since the freeze-dry process can effectively preserve meat, dairy, fruits and vegetables, it is easy for food providers to create a variety of entrees. Freeze-dried entrees cover everything from meat dishes like beef stroganoff and chicken teriyaki to breakfast dishes like scrambled eggs with bacon or sausage. You can even find freeze-dried deserts like ice cream sandwiches and cheesecake.
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Indeed, freeze dried food’s advantages (especially its long shelf life and because of the variety of foods that can be freeze dried) make it the best choice for long term food storage. Even though freeze dried foods can be stored at temperatures up to 72 degrees, it still needs to be stored away from the sun and in a cool, dry place.
Your tin cans often have no labels. Do you have a mahcine that puts food into tin cans? I can hardly imagine you’d just remove all those labels for no reason. Also, never have heard of buying cans of oats or popcorn. lol! I like your shelves. Nice and shallow, so it’s not hard to see what’s in the back. Are they built onto the walls, or freestanding? How did you build them? Thanks for showing your lovely storage room.
I’m a little deyelad in responding but I appreciate all the comments posted here. I borrowed a machine to dry pack the oats and popcorn by myself. It was an adventure, and they are kind of labeled written on top with a ballpoint pen (not my favorite method of marking, but it worked). The food and the date it was stored was written on top.The shelves were hand built and are freestanding very close to the walls. They might be secured to the wall, but I think they aren’t. thanks
So if there is a disaster in the South. Room temperature could be in the 90’s How long would this product last under those conditions?
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Dave,
It really depends on how long the food is stored for in the 90’s. If its just a few days, the food will be fine. If it is kept at high temperatures for several weeks, you will most likely start to see reduced shelf-life. Even with the few weeks scenario, your food will still last for several years, but probably not the full 25.
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Is it possible to get a sample of your food before purchasing. We tried a sample from another company but did not like it.
I agree that freeze dried food is the way to go. It’s so easy to prepare. Even small children can cook with confidence. Life is so busy these days having something easy and delicious is what we all need.