Freeze drying, or lyophilization, is a food preservation process that first freezes food, turns ice into water vapour, and then removes water vapour or moisture in a vacuum. End result? A dehydrated nutritious and delicious product that offers a long shelf-life!
Here are the six benefits of freeze dried camping food you should know!
1. Light to carry
After the moisture is extracted from the ingredients, freeze dried food is compact and light to carry. For example, our Expedition Foods Chicken Tikka with Rice is lightweight at only 140g while containing a variety of nutritious ingredients such as rice, onions, chopped tomatoes, and chicken. This lightweight freeze dried food makes the perfect healthy and high energy meal for those who want to crunch their hunger after an adventurous day of camping, hiking, or other outdoor activities!
2. Long preservation period
Freeze dried food can last up to 5 - 7 years. The main reason for this impressive lifespan is that 90% - 95% of the water and moisture in the ingredients are removed using a vacuum during the freeze drying process. Water and moisture are the top factors for food spoilage. By removing water and moisture from its ingredients, freeze dried food can last an incredible amount of time compared to other types of storage food. For instance, dehydrated, canned, and frozen food only have average lifespans of 4 years, 3 years, and 2 years, respectively.
In addition, freeze dried food can be stored at room temperature without refrigeration thanks to the extraction of water and moisture in the ingredients.
3. Maintains high nutritional value
Freeze dried food maintains 97% of the ingredients’ nutritional value. Other preservation methods such as dehydration and canning only contain 60% and 40% of the ingredients’ nutritional content, respectively.
The high nutritional value preserved in freeze dried food means that each freeze dried food package is fully filled with incredible and nutritional elements that every hiker or camper needs to replenish their body. For example, our popular Summit to Eat Beef and Potato Stew, which comes in 118g for the regular pack and 190g for the big pack, is loaded with high nutritional content!
Nutrition Per 100g
- Energy: 529kcal
- Protein: 20g
- Carbohydrates: 38g
- Sugar: 9.2g
- Fat: 32g
- Saturated Fat: 6.6g
- Fibre: 3.3g
- Salt: 3.1g
Nutrition Per 190g Pack
- Energy 1005kcal
- Protein 39g
- Carbohydrates 72g
- Sugar 17g
- Fat 61g
- Saturated Fat 13g
- Fibre 6.2g
- Salt 6g
4. Incredibly palatable
Freeze dried food not only preserves ingredients’ nutritional value but also their texture and taste. Unlike dehydrated food which is often hard or crunchy, freeze dried food is fresh and maintains the texture and flavour of the original ingredient. For example, a freeze dried banana tastes similar to a fresh banana.
Freeze dried meals are also full of flavour and true to taste. For example, our Real Turmat Creamy Salmon with Pasta uses fresh salmon and the freeze dried salmon maintains the mouth watering taste and flavour of fresh salmon!
5. Easy to prepare for cooking
Freeze dried food is terrifically easy to cook. Simply add hot or cold water (depending on the type of food package) onto the food and the food will be cooked within 10 to 15 minutes.
6. Great value for money
Our freeze dried meals start from only £4.50. For example, our popular and scrumptious Summit to Eat Chocolate Mousse with Granola & Cherry dessert is only £4.50 and it offers an array of splendid nutritional content including:
- 83% Chocolate Mousse (White Sugar, Whole Milk Powder, Cocoa Powder, Modified Starch, Raising Agent: Sodium Bicarbonate)
- 15% Toasted Oats Clusters (Oats, Sugar, Rapeseed Oil, Honey)
- 1.8% Freeze Dried Sliced Sour Cherry
We also have bigger portion main meals to suit most budgets . For example, we have the delicious Summit To Eat Spicy Pasta Arrabiata for £5.50. The Summit To Eat Spicy Pasta Arrabiata is packed with protein, carbohydrates, sugar, fat, saturated fat, and fibre and nutritious ingredients your body needs after an exhausting day of outdoor activities. The ingredients include:
- Chopped Tomatoes
- Pasta Spirals
- Tomato Puree
- Garlic
- Basil
- Rapeseed Oil
- Salt
- Chilli Powder
Come check out our freeze dried camping food! We also carry breakfast, meat meals, desserts, vegetarian meals, gluten free meals, and many more.