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Which is better Freeze Dried or Dehydration?

  • Freeze Dried is best.

    Votes: 13 32.5%
  • Dehydrated is best.

    Votes: 8 20.0%
  • Depends on the fruit or veggie.

    Votes: 14 35.0%
  • Depends on where you purchase them.

    Votes: 5 12.5%

Freeze dried or dehydrated?

3K views 14 replies 13 participants last post by  ForestBeekeeper 
#1 ·
I know this a very subjective question but...as far as a taste test between FD and dehydrated fruits and veggies, which is better?
 
#3 ·
Having eaten a LOT of both of them, my experience is that it depends. I strongly dislike FD entrees for a number of reasons. But some of the individual ingredients are very good. In fact, better than dehydrated. With others, they are so close in taste that the only real difference is in preparation. FD foods are much easier to rehydrate and use less fuel to do so. But that convenience comes at a price.

Since I belief strongly in "store what you eat, and eat what you store" because a time of crisis is no time to try and adapt to unfamiliar foods, I eat my storage foods regularly. Dehydrated has a very definate cost advantage there, plus it stores in less space because the products shrink during dehydration.

But I do keep some FD items on hand. A few entrees for camping, and a few individual ingredients as treats and luxury items. FD berries are to die for!

Another reason I stick mostly to dehydrated is because I dehydrate a lot of my own foods. It lends compatibility to my cooking style. And since dehydrated foods have long been a part of most cultures food preservation, there are ample recipes for using them.

I've been eating almost exclusively from my food storage for over a year now, and for the last 10 years have eaten from it regularly at every meal. I'm enjoying it, actually. On the other hand, I ate my way through a year supply of FD years back and thought I was going to die before I got finished! That was enough of a lesson for me.
 
#4 ·
I do my own dehydrating. So, it is a lot cheaper. Therefore, I like my way better.

I can also choose what I want to dehydrate. I don't have to pick from a commercial store.

If I want to season my dried fruit/veges/meat, I can and it will dry with the seasoning on it already. I can peal/don't peal, slice, dice or past my own dehydrated items and not pay more because it had to be diced or powdered.

But the best thing is,,,the feeling I get when I go into my store room and pick out a meal and I know that I grew, prepped, and preserved what I am about to feed myself and my family.

Thank you God for that knowledge and feeling.
 
#5 ·
No option for both? I buy individual ingredients only - either FD or dehydrated, depending on what is available and the cost. I don't buy ready-made dinners of any type. I also dehydrate a lot of my own foods but I cannot freeze-dry anything myself so I have to buy that. Sometimes however the sort of thing I want to supplement my supplies with may be more expensive fresh or may be really out of season, so if there is a good dehydrated product, I may buy it. FD meats are the only kind I buy - I think they taste better and last longer than dehydrated ones. I pressure can other meats as well. Either way, with either method of preservation, there is no issue of high sodium. I know how to cook, how to mix ingredients ... pre-made dinners are no faster than I can put them together to our own tastes from individual ingredients.
 
#7 ·
To us it really depends on what the food item is, and our mood.

Somethings just work better dehydrated [like fruit leathers], but other things [like tomatoes] we do not like the texture of them dehydrated.

It is the same way with freeze-drying.

Our dehydrator is running all season long, and we have a bunch of stuff in our chest freezer that I cycle through each day to suck the moisture out of. So we do both

I don't think that either are completely better than the other.

I wish that freeze-drying was faster though. We did have a freeze-dryer salesman come by here last month, they have real nice ones that freeze-dry in one week, but they are expensive.
 
#8 ·
Freeze dryed berrys are excellent. BUT in the # 10 can there is only 1 pound of them. I do my own dehydrating. I can fit alot more dehydrated in a jar than freeze dryed. I fit 25 pounds( before drying ) of strawberrys that i dehydrated in a gallon jar.
Price wise on items I use freeze dryed is more expensive.I would take dehydrated over the freeze dryed any day.I use dehydrated daily. The dehydrater was just unloaded with dried potato dices, sliced kiwi is getting ready to go in next.
Like someone else said the salt content seems to be high on some of the freeze dryed package meals. Doing it myself with dehydrated I know how much salt is in it .
 
#9 ·
ive always liked dried fruits I think for me it depends on the fruit it self
My wife actually got a box of
Crunch Dried Fruit from costco to have as a snack and ive munched a few packs today kinda hooked on the banana strawb combo

I opened a pack last night looked at it for a second and my wife started laughing saying freeze dried fruit in mylar pouches GREAT what did i start

These are pricey though im my eyes 8.4 ounces 20 individual packs .42 a peice at like 9 bucks
 
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