Freeze-dried food
Freeze-dried food
Freeze-dried food offers a lightweight, nutritious, and long-lasting meal solution that’s ideal for outdoor use, emergency preparedness, and everyday convenience.
Freeze-dried food offers a lightweight, nutritious, and long-lasting meal solution that’s ideal for outdoor use, emergency food supplies, and everyday convenience.
What is freeze-dried food?
Freeze-dried food is food where almost all the water has been removed. Since the water is taken by freezing the product, the taste, nutrients, and shape stay intact. The result is a dry, long-lasting product that regains its texture once water is added.
How to freeze-dry food
Freeze-drying food is the process of freezing and reducing the surrounding pressure to preserve the nutritional value of the meal. This process allows the frozen water to sublimate directly from the solid phase to the gas phase.
This method of dehydrating food removes nearly all moisture from the food, resulting in a product that is lightweight, shelf-stable, and retains much of its original flavour and nutritional value.
How long does freeze-dried food last?
Freeze-dried food, in comparison to traditional dehydrated meals, lasts much longer while retaining its nutritional value. In addition, when packed to block moisture and sunlight, the meal stays tasty and fresh for decades.
Tried a REAL meal from 1995 — no bad smell, still vacuum-sealed, surprisingly delicious!
Steffen Sund – customer
What are the benefits of freeze-dried food?
Lasting nutrition and energy
Since the water is removed without heating, the food keeps its nutrients well. It provides a solid meal even after long storage.
Long shelf life
Freeze-dried food can be stored for years without losing quality.
Low weight
Removing the water makes the food extremely light and easy to carry.
Reduced volume
With the water gone, the food shrinks and takes up little space.
Quick preparation
Just add water and wait a few minutes.
FAQ
How long does freeze-dried food last?
The shelf life will vary depending on the ingredients used. For about half of them, the maximum shelf life is between 5 and 7 years. Some can last up to around 10 years. In extreme cases, you can safely eat a 25-year-old pouch without health risks, though the taste usually changes and shows clear sensory signs of aging.
However, it is up to the user to make a judgment when opening older pouches: if the vacuum seal is intact and the smell is normal upon opening, it should be safe to eat.
Is freeze-dried food healthy?
The stews we make are very similar to what you would cook at home in a regular kitchen. The only difference is that we freeze-dry and package the food afterwards. The freeze-drying process gently removes only the water, leaving the nutrients unaffected.
What’s the difference between freeze-dried and dehydrated food?
The main difference is that dehydration uses heat to evaporate water, which gives a chewier texture and some nutrient loss, while freeze-drying uses freezing and vacuum to turn ice directly into vapor. Dehydrated food is compact, less expensive, and has a shorter shelf-life, while freeze-dried food is lighter, more expensive to produce, has a long shelf-life, and uses less time to rehydrate.
How to store freeze-dried food?
Degradation of food happens faster the more light and moisture are in contact with it. Our freeze-dried meals are vacuum-packed rock hard, so that you, by squeezing the package, can determine if the food is stored away from moisture or light. If it’s rock hard but gives in a little bit, that’s considered normal.
You may want to store the meals in plastic or metal boxes to be extra sure that no animals smell the meal. The pouches may be coated with debris or food particles from the factory.
How to rehydrate freeze-dried food?
- Measure Water: Refer to the product instructions for the recommended amount of water.
- Add Water: Pour the specified amount of hot or cold water in the pouch.
- Stir: Stir well to distribute the water through the food.
- Wait: Allow the food to rehydrate for a few minutes.
- Enjoy: The food is ready to eat once it has absorbed the water.
Does freeze-drying food remove nutrients?
No, our freeze-drying method does not remove any nutrients from the meal.
What is it commonly used for?
Outdoor meal
Many outdoor enthusiasts value being able to prepare a warm meal in just a few minutes while out in nature. People often say they would rather spend their time enjoying the outdoors than preparing and eating food.
Preparedness
Freeze-dried food is often part of household readiness plans. Its long shelf life makes it safe to store for unexpected situations.
Field rations
The military and other organizations use freeze-dried meals as field rations. They are lightweight, practical, and easy to heat when resources are limited.
Long shelf life
Perfect for longer trips, emergency food supply, or as backup food.
Balanced nutrition for outdoor energy
Meals are made to give you the necessary energy and nutrition on your outdoor adventure.
No prep or cleanup necessary
When outdoors, cooking and cleaning are often messy. With REAL Turmat you only need hot water and a spoon.
Lightweight and compact
REAL Meals are easy to pack, even for long-distance hikes, and weighs only 130 grams.
Compact and space-saving
REAL Meals take up minimal space, ideal for storing in drawers or pantry shelves.
The biggest meals has a folded dimension of approximately 16 x 12 x 4,5 cm or will take up between 300 to 500 ml of space in volume.
Flexible for any situation
REAL Meals are perfect during stormy evenings, remote stops, or last-minute meal needs when other options are unavailable.
