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Why freeze-dried fruits are in your future
Sick of expensive fruit expiring before you have a chance to eat? We feel you. Luckily, freeze-dried fruits are becoming more and more popular… we can barely keep them on the shelves!
Find out what all the hype is around freeze-dried fruits, and how they can help you to eat through the rainbow!
What is freeze drying, anyway?
Freeze drying is essentially a form of dehydration. It’s an amazing method for preserving food, and it was originally used to create instant coffee and then space food!
The process involves something called ‘sublimation,’ which first freezes the food item and then evaporates the frozen water. The result? The freeze-dried food holds onto its nutritional value, texture and taste, and is basically preserved in its freshest state.
These days, there are plenty of freeze-dried foods on the market. Since fruits like berries, bananas, peaches, pears and pineapples are soft foods, they’re a great candidate for freeze-drying, as are veggies, legumes, cooked grains and lean meats. We even have a freeze-dried chicken bone broth bombs on the GoodnessMe shop!
Did you know? Freeze-drying suits foods that have the right balance of moisture, fats and sugars. Because of that, there are a lot of foods that can’t — or shouldn’t — be freeze-dried. These include fatty meats (like bacon), butter and chocolate.
Why we’re fans of freeze-drying
While freeze-drying has been around for a while, it’s having a moment in the health and wellness world right now. These are 3 major benefits of adding freeze-dried fruits to your diet.
1. They’re bursting with nutrients
Freeze-dried fruits hold on to up to 97% of their original nutrients — think vitamin C, vitamin A, iron, potassium and thiamine, which helps our body to convert food into energy.
They’re packed with dietary fibre to promote a happy, healthy digestive system and help keep you feeling fuller for longer. In general, ½ cup of freeze-dried fruit contains up to 2g of your daily dose of fibre. (In case you were wondering, it’s 25g for women and 30g for men.) Plus, fruits like berries are an amazing source of antioxidants, which work to boost immunity and protect our cells from free radical damage.
Of course, fresh fruit also offers these benefits, and that’s the beauty of freeze-dried fruit: it’s just like the original, in a much more portable package!
2. They’re incredibly versatile
We all lead busy lives, and it’s so important to have healthy ingredients on hand to make mealtimes and lunchbox packing easier. Enter: Freeze-dried fruits. They’re ready to eat on their own (perfect for when you’re on the go!), and can also be easily added to breakfasts and desserts.
Here are some of our favourite ways to enjoy freeze-dried fruits:
- Sprinkle berries in your granola, overnight oats or smoothies. We love adding the My Berries Strawberries and Blueberries combo for sweetness, or the My Berries Strawberries and Blackberries for a touch of tartness.
- Throw into your trail mix. The AbsoluteFruitz Freeze-Dried Banana Slices or Pineapple Slices are great for this — just pop them in when you’re ready to munch!
- Add to your pancake and waffle mixes. Score bonus points with the kiddos when you serve up a pink-tinted brekkie thanks to My Berries Strawberries and Raspberries.
- Toss a few strawberries in your salads for a bit of fruity flavour. The My Berries Strawberries are delightfully crispy and pair perfectly with dark leafy greens!
- Treat yourself to a choccy. Some of our fav chocolate brands have jumped on the freeze-dried fruit bandwagon, too. Naked Chocolate’s vegan, dark choc-coated oranges are delish, and they also do the creamiest white choc strawberries.
- Another yummy option is Loco Love’s Black Cherry and Raspberry superfood choc, which also has probiotics!
As well as convenience, freeze-dried fruits have a long shelf life, anywhere from one year to a decade or more if the packet is unopened. If you’re always finding yourself throwing out fresh fruit (it happens), stocking up on freeze-dried options is a great way to cut down on food waste and be a more conscious consumer. Just be sure to store your fruit in a cool, dry place that isn’t exposed to too much sunlight.
Top tip: Freeze-dried fruit is so lightweight, making it the perfect snack to stash into your bag on your next hike or long walk!
3. They lock in the taste of fresh fruit
With the freeze-drying method, only excess water is removed, not flavour! For example, My Berries are picked straight from Moreton Bay and immediately flash frozen to lock in the naturally sweet taste of Aussie berries.
Since freeze-dried fruit also retains its flavour, these products usually don’t contain added sugar, sulphur and other preservatives. There’s no need! This differs from some brands of commercial dried fruits, which are dried in the traditional way and often add those ingredients for taste and longevity.
Hop on the freeze-dried fruit trend
Frozen fruits are a great way to add more colour and variety to your diet, and they’re fun to experiment with! Head to GoodnessMe to start shopping fruity finds and healthy kids snacks now!