FREEZE DRIED FOOD -VS- DEHYDRATED

Many people are unsure about the differences between Mountain House freeze dried foods and dehydrated foods. Both foods are perfect for long term storage, offering about the same (30 year) shelf life when packed in #10 cans. The real difference are detailed below:

Taste

Dehydrated foods are without any seasoning or additional ingredients. Dehydrated foods require cooking and seasoning. Most dehydrated foods will benefit from added seasons. You can add any ingredients or topping to dehydrated foods. Seasoning is recommended simply for taste.

Mountain House freeze dried foods are contain a multitude of ingredients and seasonings. Nothing more is needed, just a little time in hot water to rehydrated them and have them ready to eat. They are pre-seasoned, pre-cooked and pre-mixed with other ingredients, making them the fastest, easiest and tastiest foods available.

Cooking

Cooking is very simple. Measure out the amount of ingredients you wish to make (depending on the number of servings you want) and dump into hot water. Cooking time is usually around 10 - 15 minutes for most foods. This applies to all the Mountain House freeze dried foods.

Ingredients

Freeze dried food is usually an "entree", containing multiple items for a complete meal. Most dishes have several items included within them and you don't need to do any other cooking or adding ingredients to make a complete meal. Because it's freeze dried, you simply add hot water, or add the product to hot water and cook for about 10 minutes. These rehydrates the food completely and it's ready to eat!

Dehydrated foods are usually single ingredients. You can mix any dehydrated food with any other food product for a combination of tastes, textures and varieties.

Freeze dried food are the easiest and tastiest food made for long term storage. If you don't like to cook and want great food with a great taste, freeze dried foods are the hands down winner.

Shelf Life

Mountain House advertises a 30 year shelf life. Store your food storage in a cold (or cool) dark place out of direct sunlight, preferably at a constant temperature. Dehydrated foods in #10 cans will store about the same length of time.

Space Requirements

Storable foods, whether freeze dried or dehydrated foods, are very compact, way more compact then canned foods. There is no excess water or fancy packaging, no empty air spaces. A entire years supply can be fit into a 2 ft x 3 ft area, stacked 5 ft high. Or under the bed, in a closet, in the pantry, in the basement. These foods are concentrated, because the water has been removed before packaging. A single can contains 8 to 16 servings.

Food Supply in the USA

Most people are unaware of how fragile the US & world food supply really is. The declining energy supply, the fragile state of our infrastructure and natural things like hurricanes, pandemic flu, Dollar strength, and oil prices are often misunderstood. America is the land of plenty, right?

Wrong. And certainly, not forever. During times of natural and manmade crisis, the supermarkets are stripped bare in a matter of hours. American used to stock food as part of their everyday preparations, but have since forgotten this time honored practice. Now, everyone rushes to the store to "stock up" when the news or events frighten them into doing so. Or worse, they wait until after a disaster and find out there's nothing left. This has happened countless times in regional disasters. Stock up now and have your long term food supply ready when you and your family need it.