What is freeze-dried camping food? Is it the same as dehydrated food? And what's the difference between freeze-dried food and dehydrated food? These are common questions that many of our customers, backpackers, and campers ask about freeze-dried meals for wild camping. To help you learn more about freeze-dried food and its manufacturing process and benefits, we’ve answered the top seven most popular questions about freeze-dried food below!
What Is the Best Food for Wild Camping?
The best food for wild camping is freeze-dried, dehydrated, and wet camping meals, as they are an incredibly convenient choice for all campers.
These meals are designed to be compact and lightweight while providing plenty of energy to keep you sustained throughout your activities. In addition, they are quick and simple to prepare, needing only a little water. You can heat your water using a lightweight camping stove.
With a variety of options to choose from, from breakfast foods to lunch and dinner, there are meals to cater to all tastes and nutritional needs. In addition to their long shelf life and ability to be stored at most common temperatures, these camping meals are as practical as they are delicious.
In particular, we most recommend our Real Turmat, TentMeals, Summit to Eat, Expedition Foods, and Firepot meals, all of which offer lots of flavour and energy while being lightweight and easy to cook.
Is Freeze-Dried Camping Food the Same As Dehydrated Camping Food?
Freeze-dried food is made through a three-step process that begins with freezing. Once the food has been frozen, it will be placed in a vacuum chamber under low heat. The frozen water crystals evaporate directly from ice to water vapour in a process called sublimation. Then, the food undergoes “secondary drying”, where any remaining water molecules are removed under slightly higher temperatures. Afterwards, the food is nitrogen-sealed for storage to prevent contamination by water or oxygen.
Dehydrated food, on the other hand, is produced by reducing food moisture to low levels. To reduce moisture, external heat is commonly added to the food using hot air. The hot air removes moisture from the food. There are different electric dehydrators used for dehydration. The dehydrators come with a temperature gauge and adjustment dial. This helps speed up or slow down the drying time, depending on the type of food that’s being processed.
How Long Does Freeze-Dried Camping Food Last?
Freeze-dry food for camping can last anywhere between five and seven years! Generally, 90% - 95% of the water and moisture is removed, which helps freeze-dried food avoid spoilage and remain in excellent condition for an extensive period of time.
How Much Does Freeze-Dried Food Retain Its Nutritional Value?
Freeze-dried food maintains approximately 97% of the nutritional value. Other preservation methods, such as dehydration and canning, retain roughly 60% and 40% of the nutritional content, respectively.
Do I Need to Cook Freeze-Dried Food with a Pan or Pot?
Not at all! Simply add hot or cold water (depending on the freeze-dried food package) into the food package, and the food will be cooked in roughly 10 to 15 minutes. For example, to cook the Expedition Foods Chilli Con Carne with Rice, all you have to do is the following:
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Remove the oxygen absorber (sachet) from inside the pouch
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Adding boiling water to internal fill line 5 (410ml)
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Stir the contents and then close the bag
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Waiting five to eight minutes for the food to rehydrate. Cold water will suffice in an emergency. However, the rehydration time is much longer.
Freeze-dried camping food is terrifically easy to cook and a favourite for many campers!
Are There Gluten-Free Dried Camping Meals?
For sure! We have a wide selection of gluten-free camping food for you to choose from! Some of our most popular items include the Summit to Eat Scrambled Egg with Cheese, Expedition Foods Beef and Potato Hotpot, and Real Turmat Chilli Stew with Beans, which are all completely free of gluten.
All the packs are high-energy, full of flavour, and offer myriad nutritional benefits using healthy, natural ingredients. For example, the Summit to Eat Scrambled Egg with Cheese contains the following ingredients:
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Cooked Scrambled Egg (Pasteurised Whole Egg, Sunflower Oil, Skimmed Milk Powder, Lemon Juice, Salt, White Pepper)
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Cheese Sauce Blend (Whole Milk, Single Cream (Milk)
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Diced Onions
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Grated Red Leicester Cheese (Milk)
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Grated Cheddar (Milk)
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Grated Mozzarella Cheese (Milk)
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Rapeseed Oil
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Cornflour
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Salt
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White Pepper
Are There Vegetarian Freeze-Dried Camping Meals?
Definitely! We have nearly 90 vegetarian camping food meals for you to choose from, from breakfast packs to main meals! From our Firepot meals and LYO Expedition food collections, some of our top-selling vegetarian freeze-dried camping meals include the Firepot Dal and Rice with Spinach and LYO Expedition Coconut Porridge with Blueberries, Figs and Chia Seeds.
Like all of our other freeze-dried camping meals, our vegetarian freeze-dried camping meals are rich in flavour and nutrition and provide campers, backpackers, or anyone who wants a healthy, balanced meal after engaging in outdoor activities!
Delicious Wild Camping Meals from Base Camp Food
As you now know from our answers above, dehydrated, wet, and freeze-dry food for camping are all excellent choices for wild camping food. Able to be prepared in minutes, catering to all dietary requirements and tastes, and being full of flavour, they’re the perfect choice for campers of all types!
If you’re preparing for an upcoming trip into the great outdoors, be sure to take a look at our complete freeze-dried meals and wet meals ranges! There, you can find camping breakfast, freeze-dried meat food, camping desserts, vegetarian camping food, gluten-free camping food, and much more.
If you’d like to know anything more about our camping meals, outdoor equipment, or anything else on our site, get in touch with us today. A member of our team will be happy to help you out.