How Do You Dehydrate Food Under A Vacuum?
Dehydration of food is a process that removes its liquid content. One method of food dehydration is vacuum freeze-drying, which is used to dehydrate foods that have been previously frozen. Cooked foods dehydrated under a vacuum last longer and retain their nutritional content, color, flavor and texture. Dehydrated foods are lightweight, take up a minimal amount of space and stay fresh for months or years, making them ideal for campers. Astronauts eat freeze-dried foods during space travel. Freeze food before you begin the dehydration process. The website Freezedry.com lists the four requirements for freeze-drying. The first is that food must be in a frozen state to be freeze-dried. The process of freeze-drying requires the liquid content of food to be in the solid state (frozen) in order to initiate vaporization. Place the frozen food in the vacuum chamber of your freeze-dryer. According to Elizabeth L. Andress, Ph.D., National Center for Home Food Preservation, the bacteria that spoil
