Technological innovations are disrupting normal ways of living. Processing or production of food materials can look very different from what is seen today. Technological advancements are helping to produce and preserve food more efficiently to meet the rising global demands. The ultimate objective is to increase the shell life of food products with safety. Frozen vegetables, freeze-dried food and air-dried herbs are some common preserved food materials that has been turning heads in the industry. Let’s explore detailed perspectives on the preservation aspects of these food materials.
Frozen Vegetables
Frozen vegetables facilitate easy transportattion and storage since they have longer shell-life over their natural peers.Basically, they have the temperature reduced below the freezing point to preserve them. A wide range of such frozen products are availiable like yam, corn, peas, broccoli, spinach, cauliflower etc.
So, the real question is, are frozen vegetables healthy? Yes, they are a healthier, convinent and affordable alternative to fresh vegetables. You don’t have to wait for specific season to buy seasonal vegetables as they are availiable year-around. Apart from that, vegetables that are freezed to retain nutritional value since their is no alteration in the phytochemical content during the process. As opposed to fresh vegetables, frozen variants can increase your vegetable intake because they are easily accessible and cheaper. There is little to zero presence of sugar, salt or other additives that may implicate negative health consequences.
Freeze-Dried Food
Did you know that freeze-drying helped to store and preserve foods during World War II without refrigerators? Decades forward, almost all type of food is freeze-dried, including food flavourings, herbs, dairy products, fish, meat, fruits and vegetables. Freeze-drying uses the process of lyophilization to retain the physical structure of the food.
What are the benefits of freeze-dried food ? The dehydrated constitution of such products can be reconstituted easily by just adding water. Moreover, conventional drying techniques often use high temperatures that can damage the physical or chemical constitution of food. This can certainly bring a change in the texture or taste of the food which can make it less palatable and inedible.
Air Dried Herbs
Looking for the perfect year-round herbs to complement your gourmet dishes and soups? Air-dried herbs is the best choice for such occasions since they have the same natural color, aromatics and flavor. Air drying also retains the nutritional value, which mitigates any worry of health risk. There is no risk of heat damaging any physical or chemical aspect of the herb. After all, herbs are meant to be flavorful accompanients to your dishes!
Food preserving prevents spoilage by increasing shell-life. Seasonal harvests often produce excessive amounts of fruits, vegetables and other food products that is more than can be eaten. Air dried, freeze-dried and frozen vegetables mitigates such concerns and offers year-round food products that has similar nutritional content, taste and quality. Other than satisfying personal preferences, these methods are economical in the long run. They also support the maitenance of safe food without compromising health.
