How to Prepare Freeze-Dried Foods for Camping

There are several advantages to taking freeze-dried foods on a camping trip. First, they are non-perishable and don't require refrigeration. Secondly, since almost all of the water has been removed from freeze-dried foods, they are lighter to carry; a lot more food can be packed into a much smaller space. Another advantage to freeze-drying is that almost none of the food's natural vitamins or minerals are lost. Unless you are prepared to spend a small fortune on large vacuum freezer units, you cannot prepare freeze-dried foods that rival those purchased commercially. However, if you only want to preserve foods for a short time, say for a camping trip, it is possible to freeze-dry your own foods using nothing more than your own frost-free freezer.

Things You'll Need

• Foods suitable for freeze-drying (fruits and vegetables)
• Freezer
• Freezer storage bags

Instructions

1. Prepare your foods for freeze-drying by cutting them into strips or small pieces so that the meaty or fleshy part of the food, the part with the majority of moisture, is exposed to the air. Foods suitable for freeze-drying include fruits and vegetables.

2. Clear out the freezer of your refrigerator or your stand-alone freezer and turn the temperature control to 33 degrees Fahrenheit, or just above freezing. This prevents the water molecules inside the cells of the foods you are freeze-drying from actually freezing and expanding.

3. Place the foods that you prepared for freeze-drying on a drying or cooling rack (the kind used to cool cookies) and place in your freezer for 24 hours.

4. Remove freeze-dried foods from your freezer and immediately place them in food storage freezer bags and seal.

5. Reset the temperature control for your freezer as per manufacturer's directions (to 0 degrees or slightly above). Your freeze-dried foods can be kept in the refrigerator or may be stored outside the refrigerator for up to four weeks.

6. Take your freeze-dried foods along with you on a camping trip -- there is no need for refrigeration. Place any freeze-dried foods that you wish to consume in a plastic baggie and add a ounce or so of water. Allow the freeze dried food time to absorb most or all of the liquid and then eat. Taste, texture and nutritional content should be very similar to fresh. Freeze-dried foods can be added to stews and other liquid-based meals and cooked as if they were fresh.

Tips & Warnings

• Do not attempt to store your homemade freeze-dried fruits and vegetables for more than 30 days without refrigeration.