What foods can you freeze-dry? A quick guide via Swetha Sivakumar

From candy to meat, fruit and vegetables, a wide range of foods freeze-dry well. See which ones are most popular, and how the process affects texture and taste.

In the pandemic, it became clear to many of us just how fragile our food-supply systems are. Add to this the fact that most of our food is no longer supplied by small, disjointed farmers, but by massive corporations, and it becomes clear how a single change can have a ripple effect. The avian flu in late 2022 and early 23 in the US, for instance, led to the death of nearly 60 million egg-laying hens and huge increase in egg prices there.

Freeze-dried fruits such strawberries pair well with cornflakes and milk. (Shutterstock)

In such times, owning a freeze-dryer can be worthwhile. The disadvantage is that home freeze-drying units are expensive, and it takes several days and a lot of electricity to freeze-dry a single food item. There are hobbyists who do it nonetheless. Here are some of the most popular foods to process in this manner.

Dairy

Expensive dairy products such as cheese and yoghurt can be freeze-dried to extend their shelf life. Milk can be freeze-dried too. But voluminous amounts of the liquid only yield small quantities of powdered milk, so it is wasteful. This is especially true given that commercial milk powder (made through the process of spray-drying) is cost-effective and similar in quality.

Eggs

The whites in eggs can be freeze-dried and rehydrated more easily than the fat-rich egg yolks, but the whole can be done too. And freeze-dried eggs exhibit no significant difference in taste to fresh ones.

Vegetables and fruits

If you have a surplus harvest in your vegetable garden and hate to see it go to waste, freeze-dry. You can then powder these veggies and add to soups or even smoothies. You can also rehydrate vegetables such as broccoli and cauliflower, by letting them soak in water for five minutes. Freeze-dried fruits such strawberries pair well with cornflakes and milk.

Meat

Both raw and cooked meat can be freeze-dried, to extend their shelf life by several years. Freeze-dried meat does not get leathery, as dehydrated meat does. It also does not need to be frozen.

Candy

Sugar candies are already long-lasting, so why bother freeze-drying them? Purely for fun. Most foods retain their shape when freeze-dried. But candy becomes like popcorn. This is because the water inside expands before sublimating, stretching the sugar molecules with which it had bonded. The candy expands like a balloon. Shapes change, swirls are altered. It also becomes dry and porous, and pops in the mouth.