About lyophilization
WHAT IS LYOPHILISATION?
Lyophilization or freeze drying is a process by which we remove water from fruits or vegetables that would be damaged by heating, while preserving their structure and composition, as well as their taste and smell. The process is slow and uses 3 times more energy than high-temperature drying. Lyophilization is based on freezing water, followed by reducing the pressure and adding a sufficient amount of heat so that the frozen water in the material sublimes directly from a solid to a liquid. gaseous state. The fruit looks the same as fresh after drying and has a nice crunch.
WHAT ABOUT THE STORAGE AND EXPIRY DATE OF LYOPHILISED FOOD?
Some call freeze-dried food the food of the future, as it has a very long shelf life. If stored properly, it can be used for up to 25 years!
It is very important to store freeze-dried food properly - in vacuum bags or glass jars with lids. The container must be tightly closed to prevent moisture and air from entering, as this type of food quickly becomes damp and then is no longer crispy.
We prefer to use glass jars because we find them more ecological and once you empty it, you can easily reuse it for something else.
Also, when you eat fruit, it's better to eat it from smaller jars, because if you keep opening a very large jar or even forget to close it, the food will get soggy and not be as crispy, and its shelf life will also be shortened because of the moisture in it.
WHAT CAN BE LYOPHILYZED AND WHAT CAN'T?
We can freeze-dry almost anything. All fruits and vegetables, including meat or ready-made meals, potatoes, rice pudding... With freeze-drying, we remove all the water. Before the process, the food must be frozen, and the freeze-dryer then uses a vacuum to remove the water from the frozen food and dry the fruit/vegetables at a low temperature (around 40°C). Due to this, otherwise time-consuming process, all the nutrients remain in the food. nutrients and vitamins, which is why freeze-dried fruit is the best approximation to fresh fruit.
It is also very important that the raw materials used are of good quality - local, unsprayed... Only then can the final product be truly good. That is why we try to grow our fruit/vegetables in a sustainable way, so that they are as healthy and tasty as possible.
What's interesting is that you CANNOT freeze-dry products that contain a lot of fat - oil, walnuts, various other nuts, chocolate... Or very sweet things, such as honey.
For example, if the fruit is very sweet, freeze-drying also changes its visual shape, but if the amount of sugar is just right or if it is not very sweet, then the fruit retains exactly the same shape as it did when fresh.