Freeze drying is a recently used method of preserving food
stuffs. It involves many things like
- freezing of the food
- removing the moisture of food within a vacuum (where there is no air)
- sealing the food in air-tight storage medium
Emergency Freeze dried foods storage meals can be easily transported at normal temperatures, can be stored for very long time period, and be easily eaten up with minimum preparation. Once food is prepared to eat the food look like and taste the same as the original, natural products.
First it was developed during World War II as
in the way of preserving blood for battlefield injuries, not requiring any
refrigeration or damaging the organic nature of the plasma and later the same
method was applied to the food products. The first freeze dried food produced
was coffee. A lot varieties of eatables are freeze dried food.
ADVANTAGES
- 98% of the moisture has been removed from the food
- food become light weight so it can be import and export easily at cost effective prize.
- anyone can easily carry the food along with them
- the food remains clean free from bacteria and yeast as because the dehydration process has been taken place.
- the color, vitamins and flavor is preserved and its structure also so people prefer this method rather than preserved by any other methods.
- it is also benefited in emergency conditions.
Choosing Natural food can be inconvenient because as fresh foods tend to spoil quickly when they are exposed to air and light. And sometimes you may find that it is very bulky to carry them along with you.
Microwave oven can
dry our food but diminish the natural content of the food but in freeze dried food there is minimal
change in nutritional content of the
food.
The cost of dried food is bit high as it is dehydrated or the water content has removed but you get the value for your valuable money. Many astronauts and mountain climber used them as this the best option for them to survive as, as they face many harsh conditions throughout their lives.
STEPS INVOLVED ARE AS FOLLOWS
- First you have to freeze the food.
- It must be rapidly frozen at a very low temperature.
- After freezing, the food is placed in a medium where there is no air and in this stage small amount of heat is applied to the system.
- After the water is removed we put some chemical which absorbs oxygen
- above step help in the food to be stored in normal condition
- After the package is unsealed, the food can be used easily for next twelve to nine months provided it should be kept in cold places.
All the above features make it more demanding
in the market nowadays.
