With USU Extension assistant professor and food safety specialist Jose Brandao.
When it comes to food preservation, there are many different ways to complete the task.
While canning, fermenting, and curing are all preservation options, the IFA says the freeze drying method keeps the flavor, color, and nutritional value of the product being preserved.
Jose is here to teach us a little bit more about freeze drying to make the process safe and productive.
Wynter Varner
Thank you for joining us today, Jose.
Jose Brandao
Thank you very much for having me.
The first question that people should ask themselves is, "What do I want this food for?"
Every preservation method is going to have their advantages and disadvantages.
For example, if I want a lightweight snack that is shelf-stable, that I can take hiking, or for long-term preservation for my emergency preparedness, freeze dried food is an amazing choice.
It is going to preserve the nutrition, it's going to have great flavor, and is amazing for snacking. It is a great draw for people related to high-quality, long-term storage.
Other food preservation methods, like fermentation, are also going to have their advantages.
There are some foods that cannot be properly preserved using freeze drying. It's good to know what food you want and what purpose you want it for.
Wynter Varner
What foods would be right for this option?
Jose Brandao
For freeze drying, it's important first to understand that freeze drying is not a preservation method in the sense that is going to kill bacteria. It's going to preserve everything.
It is so good at preserving the nutritional property because it also preserves bacteria.
When we consider what foods preserve better, we are going to start thinking about fruits, vegetables, casseroles, meat, chicken, and pasteurized products like ice cream.
The thing is, freeze drying is going to give us a texture that other methods like dehydration cannot.
If we don't want to end up with a vegetable that feels leathery, we want that crispy snacking food, then freeze drying is the option that we are looking for.
However, we have to think also about the risk. There are some foods that are going to be a little bit more difficult to freeze dry, so that's something to keep in mind as well.
Wynter Varner
What are some general rules to follow to make sure that your preserves are safe to eat?
Jose Brandao
Let's start first with the main rule of food processing: the quality of the food that you start with is the highest quality that you are going to have.
There's no processing method that magically make foods better. That's the quality that you have. Now, you see how well you can preserve that quality.
Freeze-drying is going to be as safe as we are, so we want to have a clean kitchen. We are going to use clean utensils, because it's very easy to contaminate our food.
Most people, when they get sick, start thinking, "What restaurant have I visited lately?" They never think, "What food did I cook at home?"
We need to think, "If I want to be safe with freeze dried food, I need to start from clean food. That means wash my vegetables, cook my food, and make sure that I wash and clean everything properly."
We are going to need to make sure that we are going to cut that food in small and uniform pieces. If we are going to freeze dry meats, eggs, or milk, those products should be cooked.
Now I know that there's people that are going to want to freeze dry raw products.
That's fine, but remember, I have no idea what I ate one month ago, and I don't remember how I prepared it.
Freeze dried food can last a long time — one year, five years, ten years. Are you really going to remember if that food was raw or cooked? It does need to be cooked before eating.
So, my advice for those people, label. Make sure that if something's raw, it's properly labeled.
It's always good advice to look for those guides that will let you know how to preserve each food product better.
Another rule for freeze drying is to make sure that you have just one layer of food. You don't want to stack food, and don't want to overfill your trays.
When the freeze drying process is done, we want to pack that food as soon as possible.
There's better and worse packaging for freeze drying. Mylar bags are the best option.
There's other ways to packaging, like in tightly sealed jars, but each one is going to have their advantages and disadvantages.
Finally, we want to store that preserved food in cool, dark, and dry places.
Wynter Varner
Thank you again for joining us today, Jose.
Jose Brandao
It was a pleasure.
Wynter Varner
This has been Wynter Varner with the USU Extension Education Highlights. Thank you for tuning in.
Visit extension.usu.edu for more information, fact sheets, and resources on freeze drying and other forms of food preservation.
