Ever wonder how freeze drying actually works? Well, it's not quite child's play, but it's not all that complicated either. It just takes a little time, patience, and some specialized equipment. Oh, and high-quality food products whether it's fruits, vegetables, candies, or other things.



The "secret sauce" of freeze drying is the ability to retain the nutritious goodness of the food. Sure, it lasts longer. But it also preserves the vitamins, minerals, and other compounds that make it a healthy option for the long haul. And kids love it ... now there's a plus!



Step 1:
Select only the highest quality foods ...



Step2:
Preparation with the utmost care ...



Step 3:
Rapid ultra freezing to lock in nutrients and flavor ...



Step 4:
Moisture extraction in a specialized vacuum chamber ...



Step 5:
Packaging and storage in high quality, air tight containers ...



All About Freeze Drying



Lyophilization



(now there's a word ...)



A quick Internet search will yield all the information you could ever imagine about the process of freeze-drying. Honestly, it can be a little mind-numbing. Many sites go into extensive technical detail about the process. Let's face it, most of us aren't trying to explore the scientific method. Instead, we'd just like to kinda grasp the basics and understand how freeze drying manages to retain the flavor, color, shape, nutrients, minerals, and other compounds for so long and in such a convenient configuration.



History



Just in case you thought freeze drying was something "invented" by Nescafe, Folgers, or Sanka, think again. The Inca were freeze-drying potatoes in the 13th century. They took advantage of freezing temperatures in the Andes mountains during the evening and night, then dried (dehydrated) them during the day. No vacuum pumps or ultra-freezing machines, just some good old 1260 AD ingenuity.


A little more modern freeze-drying was devised in the late 1800's. However, the coming of age for the process occurred as a product of WWII when there was a pressing need to preserve blood plasma and penicillin without refrigeration. The old English saying, "Necessity is the mother of invention", certainly applies to freeze drying. It wasn't long before it was being used for an array of foods for the military, and eventually the astronauts.

Learn more about the history of freeze drying by Clicking Here.



High-Quality Products



It all starts with selecting the very best products whether it's fruit, candy, vegetable, whatever. You'll see in the other steps that a major feature of freeze drying is preserving the flavor, color, nutrients, etc., of the product. So, it just wouldn't make sense to expend the time and effort to do all that and start with something less than a premium product. Well, that's how we do it at Glacier Delights anyway.



Rapid Deep Freeze



The product is quickly frozen to temperatures of -50 to -70 Celsius ... seriously cold. This rapid cooling locks in all the nutrients and natural flavors while maintaining the foods shape, color, and cellular integrity. At the same time, a vacuum is maintained which helps in the initial moisture removal process. The whole point of freeze drying is to remove as much moisture as possible.



Vacuum Drying



Next, the food is subjected to a vacuum to remove the solidly frozen water, sometimes referred to as primary drying. This takes the "free" water directly from its solid state to a gaseous state. The process is called sublimation. Don't worry, no need to take notes.



Secondary Drying



Heat is slowly and gently increased causing the little remaining moisture ("bound water") to evaporate from the food creating a thoroughly dried final product. All of this is done using specialized equipment and training.



Packaging



Once the process is completed, the food is typically stored in high-quality, air-tight containers where studies show that freeze dried fruits and vegetable retain nearly 100% of their vitamin content as well as other nutritional values.



- wELCOME TO PANDORA GROUP -



Good Things Take Time



Freeze drying takes patience. It can take between 20 and 40 hours. As you can imagine, it has a lot to do with what and how much is being freeze-dried. Fruits, for example, typically take between 24 and 36 hours. Other food timing depends upon the water content. This is why the specialized equipment is so important by automating lots of the process.



CONTACT US










SEND
CALL



Glacier Delights, LLC


Based on Johns Island, SC | 843-345-9016