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Shelf Life is affected by how you store your food. When you buy from Valley, you are buying the highest-quality all natural ingredients. We package, prep, and deliver our food ready for long-term storage. To ensure the best taste and longest lifespan, you’ll want to store your food in a cool, dry space such as your basement.
Shelf Life is affected by how you store your food. When you buy from Valley, you are buying the highest-quality all natural ingredients. We package, prep, and deliver our food ready for long-term storage. To ensure the best taste and longest lifespan, you’ll want to store your food in a cool, dry space such as your basement.
When you have an abundance of different types of food saved in storage it will be important for you to always be rotating them in your pantry. This will ensure your food is always safe to eat and maintains the most nutrients possible when the time comes to consume it best use of all your food and using them before they expire or become moldy. Rotating your supply of food will eliminate waste and will allow you to use some of what you have stored on a regular basis. Two of the most popular foods to store is dehydrated and freeze-dried. They have unique characteristics and need cared for differently in your homes.
What are Dehydrated Foods?
Dehydrated food uses the process of dry heat to evaporate the moisture out of your food. You can purchase home dehydrators that have several trays. After slicing, dicing, or pureeing your food, you place them on the trays. The heat will waft through the trays and evaporate the water content. The finished product will be dry and crinkly. This is a very common way to preserve food. Many quick prep meals you can find in the grocery store will contain dehydrated ingredients.
What are Freeze-Fried Foods?
For Freeze Dried products, moisture is removed through a process called sublimation. The food is put in a chamber that flash freezes it. Then the chamber is heated slightly and then re-frozen again. During these reheating and freezing stages, a vacuum is sucking out the moistures in the form of gas. The water content never actually becomes a liquid. The closest example would be of dry ice.
Storing Dehydrated Foods
Dehydrated foods that are vacuum-sealed can be stored for many years. If it is food that you have dehydrated and prepared yourself, you should rotate your stock every three to five years. This will ensure there is no mold or rancid fats, especially in foods like jerky or other types of dried meat. Date each package and when it's time for rotation start incorporating the foods into your day-to-day meals.
Storing Freeze-Dried Foods
Freeze-dried foods, like some of the foods Valley Food Storage offers, are able to remain in storage for several years. Always write the date the package was placed in storage on the label so you know how long it has been there. Freeze-dried foods will retain their nutrients much longer than other types of foods and don't have to be rotated as often.
