Freeze Drying vs Canning:
Too Good to Be True?
There are many ways to preserve food. However, the most recent innovation, Home Freeze Drying, may be the best of all. Essentially, the food stays fresh until it is used. The flavors are fresh, the nutrition is as good as fresh, and the food can last up to 25 years on the shelf without adding preservatives.
History of Canning
In 1795 the French military offered a cash prize of 12,000 francs for a new method to preserve food. In response to that challenge, Nicolas Appert, a confectioner and chef in Paris from 1784 to 1795, began experimenting with ways to preserve foodstuffs. He had success with soups, vegetables, juices, dairy products, jellies, jams, and syrups. Appert placed the food in glass jars, sealed them with a cork and sealing wax, and placed them in boiling water.
Fifteen years later, in 1810, Appert was awarded the Navy’s prize by Count Montelivert, a French minister of the interior. Because of that, canning and bottling, one of the world’s largest industries, began. At the time, it almost seemed “Too Good to be True!”
Invention of Freeze Drying
Freeze drying food
The outstanding advantage of freeze-dried food is its long shelf life. When properly stored, many freeze-dried foods can be eaten 15 to 25 years after they were prepared. Even after that length of time the food’s flavor and nutritional value is almost as good as when it was fresh. It seems almost “Too Good to be True!”
Freeze drying came to wide public attention when it was used to create freeze-dried ice cream, an example of astronaut food. The freeze drying process is amazing. It allows one to preserve eggs, dairy products (such as cottage cheese, sour cream, milk) and all forms of meats, vegetables and fruits.
Today, most of us are aware that it is possible to purchase freeze-dried food for home storage and for camping, but are you aware that it is now possible to affordably freeze dry your own foods at home?
Why you should choose freeze drying over canning
When a traditional canning method is used to preserve, the food is heated in order to hinder the growth of microorganisms such as molds, yeast, and bacteria. These organisms may be present in the soil, on the food, in the air, on equipment or on work surfaces. Yeast, molds, and bacteria are destroyed during canning to prevent the food from spoiling. The correct amount of time to process varies with the kind of food. Sufficient heat for a specified length of time kills microorganisms and insures a safe product. The problem with heat is that it also changes the look of the food, the taste of the food, and the nutritional value of the food (nearly 60% of the nutritional value of fresh food is lost when canned). As everyone knows, canned meat and fish are not even close to being as good as fresh. And, whoever heard of canned sour cream or canned fresh eggs or even canned ice cream. Yet these, and a thousand other things, can be freeze dried.
On the other hand, freeze dried apples, bananas, roast beef, avocados, ice cream, and shredded cheese (along with everything else you can think of) continue to look and taste just the same as they did prior to being freeze dried.
Portability
Jars of bottled food are a problem when it comes to moving them anywhere. They are heavy and fragile. As you know, lugging boxes of canned goods to a storage room is a chore. Bringing a jar of peaches to work would be unusual. However, bringing a bag of freeze-dried peaches to work is easy. They taste better than potato chips and are much healthier.
Freeze dried food is light because all the water has been removed. A bag of apples that weighed 10 pounds when fresh, weighs about 1 pound after being freeze dried. Lifting and transporting freeze-dried food is easy because it is extremely light, which makes it a favorite for many when camping and backpacking.
Flexibility
which freeze dryer is right for you?
starting at
Food Per Batch
Fresh: 4-7 LBS
Freeze Dried: 1-1.5 GAL
Annually
Fresh: 840 LBS
Freeze Dried: 195 GAL
starting at
Food Per Batch
Fresh: 7-10 LBS
Freeze Dried: 1.5-2.5 GAL
Annually
Fresh: 1,450 LBS
Freeze Dried: 312 GAL
starting at
Food Per Batch
Fresh: 12-16 LBS
Freeze Dried: 2-3.5 GAL
Annually
Fresh: 2,500 LBS
Freeze Dried: 546 GAL
I've spent 45 years canning and I think freeze drying is so much less work and the finished product is much better. I consider my freeze dryer one of the best purchases I have ever made. All those canning jars are full of freeze dried food now.
I come from the world of canning and dehydrating for food preservation. Freeze drying is so much easier than canning and much more versatile.
In my opinion it is easier than dehydrating and the food is so much better. You really won't regret your purchase.
Nutrition value is much higher in freeze-dried foods than in dehydrated food. Texture is better, too!
I love canning but now that I freeze dry everything, I'm struggling to find anything to can!
We have purchased store-bought freeze dried foods in the past, so, we are familiar with the ins and outs and the quality and pricing available. With a freeze dryer, it’s less expensive and so much better tasting than anything you can buy. And we have full control over what we store and use.
We use our freeze dryer a lot. We use the freeze-dried food, especially vegetables from the garden. We freeze dry now instead of canning or freezing.
Every farmer should have one. You can save 100% of your food....always. Nothing goes to waste.
freeze drying
fits every lifestyle
