Freeze dried foods are lightweight, basically never go bad as long as they don’t take on moisture, and are fairly easy to reconstitute with hot water.
And freeze-drying is a one-time process that doesn’t have to be sustained during transport and storage, unlike refrigeration.
Already, they seem way more advantageous than canning, freezing, or refrigeration.
So why isn’t it more common?
I get that freeze dryers are more expensive to run and a bit more complicated due to them being cryogenic, but they can’t be so much more expensive that using them once at the factory is more expensive than using constantly powered freezers and refrigerators from factory to store shelves, and still letting half of it go bad, if not more.
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I’ve only tried a couple freeze dried foods and they don’t taste good, the texture is not right…I’d guess people aren’t keen on those issues.
Because freeze drying food is an expensive process which is why it is mainly only done for novelty items like “astronaut ice cream” or whatever
Most freeze-dried foods are almost inedible without rehydration, and that is tricky and time-consuming to do. The freeze-drying process is also very energy-intensive.
It’s expensive. I’ve looked into it.
Freeze drying is both time and energy intensive, it’s a worst-of-all-possible-worlds scenario for something as common as food.
Most people buying processed food dont need it to be freeze dried to preserve freshness for years at a time. The main benefits of freeze drying are that it makes food super lightweight and keeps it from expiring for a long time. It also takes a long time to freeze dry food so it is more expensive per serving making it only really ideal for situations where you need lightweight food that is stable at room temperature and has a long shelf life, such as in camping supplies or emergency storage.
Also, reconstituting freeze dried food can take a while, especially if it is dense like protien, so for the average person it’s just not worth the additional cost.
I have tried many freeze dried hiker foods and most are just edible. Yes, after hiking and burning calories all day, anything will be tasty…but it’s not. Most of the stuff has terrible texture, very under seasoned, bland and just meh.