Great site for meals in a Jar for long term food storage...

meals in a jar


I have been looking at this site and these recipes for a while now and have wondered if there are any health issues with eating freeze dried food over a long period of time..Does anyone know of any adverse health effects from eating dried meat/food?

reply to post by Neopan100


Some wordplay may help: Dehydrate carbohydrates, freeze-dry fresh fruits.

There shouldn't be a problem in freeze-dried food. The freeze-dry process, while expensive and impractical for home users (small effective freezer units start at about 10k USD, used!) retains about 90% of the origonal nutritional value as well as texture after rehydrating. Freeze-dried food is actually quite tasty and is the preferred method for taste and consistency, and keeps vitamins from breaking down.

Dehydrated foods for the most part don't reconstitute well unless they're starch-heavy (noodles, beans, rice, potatoes, some powdered goods). Dehydrated meats (jerky) last a long time and retain flavor, but this method of food storage does not bode well for vitamins, especially in fruits and vegetables, since the water solution they subside in is evaporated (more vitamin loss than cooking).

As far as canning goes, its the middle-ground. You have to boil/cook the food to destroy bacteria, but keep a better consistency and flavor. Its also easier and cheaper to get started in, since freeze-dried food is expensive, and if bought in bulk (to reduce cost) you generally have to portion it out with a vacuum sealer (don't buy a cheap one) and/or use oxygen absorbers, unless you plan on serving an entire #10 bulk can of chili mac at once! XD

Edit: per health effects, there's nothing about freeze-drying that does anything to the food. Its just put in a VERY cold environment as all the air is sucked out with an industrial vacumn. Most dehydrated food is, well, dried, and most of the time salt is added to improve the process, so drink plenty of water!

How to Dry Can Ground Beef


How To Make Meals In A Jar...


How To Make Meals In A Jar-Pouch Rosemary Chicken & Rice

I think this is a really good thing, could make quite a few a eat them, slowly get ahead. But not just buy dehydrated, for anyone growing food or taking advantage of farmers markets, learning how to dehydrate, building your own dehydrators, is a good thing too.

This is great. Thank you so much for sharing. Have been looking into doing this. Will be checking out that site, and those videos.