There are several categories of food that could be stockpiled by random households. For example, dehydrated food, freeze-dried food, and meals that are ready to eat (aka MREs). While all of them are designed to be kept for a long time, there are some differences in the way they are prepared.
Take freeze-dried food as an example. First, the food is frozen in an instant by a special dryer. Then, it will be left dried in a vacuum surrounding. The food will be kept in oxygen-proof mylar bags to make sure minimal exposure of the air to the food. For better results, some bags will contain oxygen absorbers. This method is a good way to preserve the taste and appearance of the food. Most importantly, freeze-dried food have long shelf life that could last up to 30 years.
Essentially, there are two ways to get yourself freeze-dried food. You can either do it yourself (DIY) or just purchase from the established food kit producers available in the markets.
Now, just a word of caution, although DIY freeze-dried food sounds like an exciting option, it is not really for everyone. The reason is straightforward – it is not really affordable. If you want to make your own freeze-dried food, you need to invest in a home freeze dryer machine which could easily cost up to $3,500. Not only that, you will need to get the mylar bags, oxygen absorbers, and air-tight container. And above all, your result is not guaranteed! Imagine the sunk cost you have invested in, only to get a subpar freeze-dried food when you really need it during the emergencies.
So, at the end of the day, most people find it more convenient and worthwhile to buy their freeze-dried food directly from reputable companies since they have done their research in food preservation.
However, if you really wanted to DIY, you should note the type of food suitable to be freeze-dried.
The foods that go well with freeze-dried are fruits, vegetables, mushrooms, meats (either raw or cooked), breads, dried beans, bulk nuts, rice, or even you whole meal. You could also do the same with coffee or tea. More importantly, you should avoid watery fruits like watermelon, leafy vegetable like spinach, high-fat foods and high sugar foods as they would taste weird if freeze-dried.
Best Freeze-Dried Food to Stockpile
If you think it is too bothersome to make your own freeze-dried food, the easiest way is to buy the ready-made freeze-dried food.
In fact, the best freeze-dried food may even taste fresh and look better than most kind of food. Not to mention, well-made freeze-dried food has a longer shelf-life and it contains a good amount of nutrition too. Plus, top-quality freeze-dried foods are great for camping because they have the ideal energy-to-weight ratio, great flavour, very nutritious and extremely convenient.
There are several companies out there that provide such products (either in bulk or ala carte) and I will introduce their star products in a short glance.
Legacy Food Storage Premium 720 serving package
Think Legacy Food Storage when you think long term. Its bestselling product, the 720 serving package, has a shelf life of 25 years and you will get 8 months’ worth of food storage.
Now you might wonder, how does Legacy Food Storage preserve food much better than most households? The answer lies in their use of nitrogen, in addition to other conventional methods we have talked about, to remove even more oxygen from the food package. This effectively lowers the oxygen level to only 2%.
The product caters your daily dietary need from breakfast, lunch and until dinner. You will have 12 entrees and 4 breakfasts to choose from so you will not get tired of your food choice. Some of the company’s signature dishes such as Classic Chili and Chili Mac are included so you will not be disappointed with the taste.
Interesting Note: Legacy Food Storage’s product has the lowest cost per pound compared to other companies, so Legacy Food Storage gives you the best value for money!
Wise Company Long Term Emergency Freeze-Dried Food Supply
Another company that produces top-notch freeze-dried food is Wise Company. If you think Legacy Food Storage is somewhat unaffordable, you would love Wise Company.
For a similar 720 servings and 25 years of shelf life, Wise Company is offering 600 bucks less. At a cheaper price, you will get 3 buckets of Entrées and 3 buckets of Breakfast.
Of course, both products come with different menus. Wise Company offers a more diverse food selection. For example, it has included Teriyaki and Rice as one of the Entrées, and I personally like this initiative. For sure, I cannot speak for all of you as all of us are different, so it would be great if you do some research and compare the menus during your free time, I promise you that you will eventually find the product that suits you.
Mountain House Breakfast Skillet
If you only want the breakfast option to kickstart you day, look no further as Mountain House Breakfast Skillet can give you the most complete freeze-dried breakfast meal experience.
This breakfast skillet consists of hash browns, scrambled eggs, bell peppers, onion and pork sausage crumble. Although the eggs and potatoes would be filling enough, I also prefer having a bread with me as well. I would say it is a convenient way to get myself a full breakfast set. All I need is to just add water in the preparation. No pans are required to fry those hash browns.
Before you hit that purchase button, just be mindful of the different packagings for the same product. You will see the sizes labelled as Pouch, Pro-pak or #10Can. For stockpiling purpose, I recommend you the #10Can since it comes with a larger size compared with the other two packagings.
Mountain House Chili Mac with Beef
If you are someone who can’t live a day without meat, then the Mountain House Chili Mac with Beef is the ticket for you. Differing from other brands which predominantly use meat substitutes like soy protein or beans, REAL meat is used in this product.
You will definitely enjoy the spicy chili sauce with beef, macaroni noodles, onion, and kidney beans. I had personally enjoyed the freshness of the cooked beef and the freeze-drying method is worthy of the credit.
And since it is also a product of Mountain House, the same packaging rule applies – choose the #10Can to stockpile!
Crispy Green Freeze-Dried Fruit
Freeze-dried fruit can be your healthy snacks choice after a hearty meal. Crispy Green is at the top of this game as its products are made from pure fruits that are carefully selected from growers who underwent a stringent audit review process. Crispy Green guarantees that there are no sweeteners, additives or GMO used in its products.
The variety of flavor includes apple, tangerine, mango, cantaloupe, banana, pear, pineapple and the recent addition is strawberry. Packed with vital vitamins and nutrients, this is a must have for vegan, kosher, paleo, gluten-free and dairy-free diets.
If you have a glance through the menus of freeze-dried food products, you will find that their predominant emphasis is the number of calories. This is not surprising since more calories would mean more energy and more energy means you will have a better chance to outlast the emergency. But at the same time, you will find yourself lacking necessary vitamins that is only available in fruits, and to a certain degree, you are under a malnourished state. So, even if you are not a vegan, I would suggest you to add some fiber to your diet for the sake of your health and better body condition.
Meals aside, I would also recommend you consider adding some flavoring to your diet with condiments such as salt and honey. The condiments will do well in the long term as they have an extremely long shelf life. You will find the condiments handy in making the freeze-dried food more appetizing. Besides that, they also contain some essential nutrients which are crucial for your body. For instance, honey was found to be effective in reducing the risk of heart attacks and bad cholesterol. Even better, honey helps in healing your wounds and burns, which would be quite unavoidable during emergency times.
Takeaway
All in all, I would say investing in freeze-dried food is the best investment and insurance you will ever made. Particularly when looking at the number of events happening around us lately, it is always better to get ourselves prepared before SHTF.
If you were to ask me, my advice to you is to mark calories amount and balanced nutrients of your diet as your first consideration over tastiness.
With that said, there are plenty of companies offering freeze-dried food nowadays and it is always good if you can do your own research to compare the nutritious value and affordability of each product.