Several kinds of food are preserved for several different reasons, including options to help avoid processed foods, prepare for emergencies, and preserve a garden harvest! Nowadays, it appears that a huge corner of the market is experimenting with food preservation. Some breakthroughs that have gained recent attention include the preservation of bacteria and other beneficial components of fermented foods. Those of you that offer fermented products to your consumers must be familiar with the care it takes to keep them in optimal shape. Their shelf life is shorter than that of canned food, with most products lasting for about 6 to 12 months after packaging. While opening the products doesn't do much to alter their shelf life, the quality of the food may be affected once exposed to air. The freeze drying process can eliminate many of the pesky downsides of manufacturing, packaging, and distributing fermented foods to your consumers. Below, we will summarize the benefits of the freeze drying process in general, as well as how fermented foods take a spotlight when it comes to this increasingly popular form of food preservation:

1. The most durable foods are freeze dried.

In terms of food preservation, freeze drying is quicker than canning and more flexible than dehydrating. Freeze dried foods will survive 7 to 8 times longer than those preserved using other methods. Freeze dried food has a remarkable shelf life of 25 years in comparison to less than 5 years for food that has been dehydrated, canned, or frozen regularly.

2. Superior quality food can be freeze dried.

Food that has been freeze dried doesn't shrink or become tougher; instead, it keeps its original flavor, color, and shape! The preserved food can easily be revived by simply adding water at any time. Ice cream, yogurt, strawberries, peas, beef, cheese, apples, avocados, and cheese will all still appear and taste good many years after they have been preserved. This is because they still are! Essentially, it is as if the food has been stored in a time capsule because there is no oxygen or water to contaminate it.

3. 97% of the nutrients in freeze dried food are retained.

The great thing about freeze drying is that it preserves the nutrition of the food without compromising it. Higher temperatures are used in other types of preservation, like canning and dehydrating. These higher temperatures simply kill off the nutrients that can't survive in those conditions. In some cases, it is possible to lose over half of the food's worth in those processes!

4. It provides the healthiest elements from whole foods.

Prepackaged, processed foods frequently contain unhealthy ingredients like high-fructose corn syrup and sodium nitrate. Some additives also include monosodium glutamate (MSG), trans fats, and culinary colors and dyes. When it comes to freeze drying whole foods, the food is pure when you freeze dry it. Any dietary requirement can be met by it, including vegetarian or vegan requirements and food sensitivities. Food of this nature is ideal for a diet free of genetically modified organisms and preservatives, promoting a healthy lifestyle. This is especially true with fermented foods! All those good bacteria go dormant until they are rehydrated.

5. Food waste is reduced by freeze drying.

Leftover meals can be preserved until you're ready to eat them, for up to several years later, in fact! Normally, these items are simply wasted and thrown away. According to studies, a household of four wastes nearly 40% of the food they buy annually. Families can reduce this waste and save food that retains its high quality, saving plenty more money in the process. An additional and fantastic strategy to stretch your food budget is to purchase fresh vegetables and fruits in a season they are least costly in and freeze dry them to enjoy them all year long! Unfortunately, some families experience problems that cause electricity to their freezer to go out or their freezer simply malfunction. While many common consumable items will start to perish quickly, you can rest easy knowing that your freeze dried food is secure on the shelf without refrigeration.

Need Some Fermentation Inspiration?

Perhaps your consumers can't get enough fermented goodness. Some popular options that freeze dry just fine include pickles, krauts in countless varieties, salsas, bruschetta, and much more. They also include fermented milk, Kefir, fermented tea, Kombucha, and a large range of fermented fruits and vegetables. Shepherd Foods is a leading freeze dried food manufacturer in Spanish Fork, Utah. It is our job to provide many businesses with the high-quality freeze dried food products they supply their consumers with every day. If you have not yet started to sell to the public, but have the drive to get started, give us a call at (800) 497-8321 to discuss your options. If you have already begun to sell to customers and possibly have established a decent consumer base, choose our professional co-manufacturing and co-packing options to increase sales or keep your business going strong.