Fruit on a plate
I'm sure many of us can agree that crunchy fruit, ideally from the tree, fresh and juicy, is probably the most natural and ideal way to eat fruit. Fruit should be on our plate every day, specifically the World Health Organisation recommends that we should consume up to 400 grams of fruit and vegetables a day. Many of us have no problem with this, especially in the summer months when fresh fruit and vegetables are very readily available. But what to do in such winter months when we lack them?
Alternative fruit processing?
Alternatives to processing fruit and vegetables are constantly being sought to ensure that the full nutritional value is ideally preserved, the shelf life is extended and thus consumption is ensured throughout the year with minimal space requirements. It sounds like a lot of demands, but we have found one way to preserve fruit and vegetables and meet our stringent criteria. That way is so-called freeze-drying.
What is lyophilization? What are the benefits of freeze-dried fruit and vegetables for us?
This word refers to a method of evaporating (removing) water from frozen products. This technological method is commonly used in science, for example in microbiology, but it is also used in the food industry to freeze, for example, fruit and vegetables. Imagine this in practice. You have fresh raspberries, which are slowly frozen to a temperature of - 100 degrees Celsius. Once this temperature is reached, the atmospheric pressure is reduced (everything takes place in a closed space) and the temperature is raised. This process makes the fruit beautifully crisp (no water) but retains up to 90% of its nutrients compared to fresh. This freeze-drying process is very demanding and therefore probably not realistic in most households. The process also takes between 12 and 35 hours depending on the type of fruit or vegetable. Freeze-dried fruit has lost up to 95% of its water in the freeze-drying process, which is why it is so beautifully crunchy and needs to be stored dry. If the fruit were kept at room temperature, it would absorb moisture, lose its crispness, lose nutritional value and could also pose a hygiene risk. So let's talk about how to store freeze-dried fruit.
Principles of storage of freeze-dried fruit
The basic rule of thumb is that freeze-dried fruit is dry and should therefore remain dry. Store it in sealable containers (e.g. hermetically sealed) where we can prevent moisture. By being dry, the fruit would absorb moisture very quickly. If you don't have such containers, seal in zip-lock containers and make sure they are tight and no air is getting in. It is best to squeeze the air out of such a container.
Another rule of thumb is that although freeze-dried fruit looks fantastic as a decoration, it should be stored in a dark place. Light has the effect of increasing the oxidation of the nutrients that are contained in this fruit. We want to avoid the oxidation of nutrients because we would lose them in the storage process. We need to protect the fruit and keep it away from light during storage so that we can enjoy its maximum nutritional value. Store at room temperature.
Keep these storage principles in mind and you can enjoy freeze-dried fruit or vegetables for up to 20 years. This is a really long time precisely because of the almost complete removal of water. In practice, however, the shelf life is reduced due to repeated opening of the containers and absorption of moisture, which could lead to hygiene risks. We therefore recommend storing in smaller containers and avoiding multiple opening and closing.
On our website you can choose from many different types of freeze-dried fruit and besides crunching it, you can make a tasty smoothie in seconds with a blender FitStream PRO.
