Until now, canning food has been one of the best methods of home food preservation available. There are problems with canning, however, including a high risk of spoilage, short shelf life, reduced nutritional value, limited variety as well as a labor intensive process (that can also be dangerous if proper procedures aren’t followed). Freeze drying eliminates those problems, and now that home freeze dryers are available to everyone, food preservation has changed dramatically.
Freeze drying solves all of the problems associated with canning. Because freeze dried food has all of the water removed, it won’t spoil. Freeze drying preserves taste and nutritional value, and you can freeze dry just about anything you want. One of the best parts is, food preservation is no longer labor intensive. And, when used with an oxygen absorber, freeze dried foods can last up to 25 years.For example, one of my favorite treats is raspberries. Raspberries have a short growing season, and in order to preserve them I had either refrigerator freeze them or make jam. The problem is, jam contains a high amount of added sugar – something I don’t need more of! With a freeze dryer, I can have “fresh” raspberries whenever I want, without any added sugar.
Just cut up your food into manageable pieces, place them on the trays and let the freeze dryer do the rest.
It’s so easy, the taste and nutritional content are far superior and the variety of foods you can store is nearly infinite. Isn’t it time you put your canning supplies away? For more information about how freeze drying compares to canning, watch our video:
Hey folks-
I’m curious. As a long time canner (pressure and water bath), I’m pretty in the groove when it comes to food preservation for canning. Aside from that, I actually teach people to can. Do you think freeze-drying and canning can compliment each other? I would love to play with one of these machines before making such an investment. Do you have one in Western New York that is available for people to “test drive”?
Hi Rebecca,
Thanks so much for your comment. We absolutely have people who use canning and freeze drying in conjunction. There are also a couple Facebook groups of people who have Freeze Dryers and love to can and dehydrate. You can look them up…many of the groups are called “Harvest Right Freeze Dryers” and “Harvest Right Home Freeze Dryers” and “Harvest Right Freeze Dryers, Adventures in Freeze Drying.” We don’t have a machine available for testing, but there may be people in these groups who live in your area and you might be able to connect with one of them. Also, if you call us, one of our reps may be happy to coordinate sending you some sample food. We only charge for the shipping costs.
buy one then tell the rest of us what you think. this is a business not a charity.
I have been canning for many years and also teach others. I Can, Dehydrate and Freeze Dry and certain items are better with each of these choices. However Freeze Drying by far will handle many items and they are actually terrific. If you hot pack for canning then you have virtually double cooked the item but that is what you must do and if you cold pack then the item is cooked during the canning process and maybe not what you want. By freeze drying you can pre cook, only once, and then freeze dry it or you can raw freeze dry it. I personal prefer cooking the item first. If you need more comparative questions answered just ask.