I know that fear of trying something new. When I got my first order of freeze dried food, I literally put in on my shelf in my pantry and left it there for about 3 years, scared to open it. I was scared because 1) I didn't know how to use the food, and 2) Because I primarily bought the food for "emergencies" and didn't want to waste it - I wanted it to still be there in 20 years when that earthquake hit. Can you relate to that?
Well, after a few years of admiring my beautiful cans of food and never touching it, I realized something. That food may have a long shelf life (most of the freeze dried food is good up to 25 years, but some of the non-freeze dried food has a much shorter shelf-life)...and time flies. I was surprised at how quickly the years were adding up, and suddenly that food I got to save for the end of the world would actually eventually expire. One thing about me is that I am a tightwad and I hate wasting money. I spent good money on high quality food that we would actually eat...and I did NOT buy that food to let it expire and then throw it away!!
I finally reluctantly started opening the cans and using the ingredients here and there. I began adding one or two ingredients to my every day cooking if I didn't have a fresh ingredient. I started using the food on road trips and campouts. Now it's become a staple in our house, and I can't imagine having a kitchen without that resource!
It eventually dawned on me that if I just plan on buying a little every month - and using a little every month instead of letting it expire...I'm not being wasteful at all; in fact, I am always ensuring that I use the oldest food first so that most of my food still has close to 25 years of life left for that eventual earthquake (or pandemic this year!). I always plan on spending money on groceries, and this is no different. It's now part of my monthly grocery budget and part of what we eat from.
I was super intimidated by the food to begin with and I went through a bit of a learning curve to figure out how to use it. To save you from that same learning curve...here are some tips on how to use your freeze dried food:
- Open the can!! It won't do you much good if it just sits there and gets old. Plus you'll never learn how to cook with it.
- Just add water. If you need an ingredient to put in your favorite recipe...just scoop out of the can whatever you need into a bowl, add some water and let it sit for a few minutes. Then it will be ready to add to your recipe. Keep in mind that generally the more porous it is, the less time and water is required. If it isn't very porous, it will need more time soaking up water.
- Meats tend to need more time due to their density, up to 20 minutes - especially the bigger chunks. Let that meat sit in a bowl of warm water, then drain off the excess water. Wah-lah! You now have precooked meat, ready to use in your cooking!
- Most veggies hardly need any time and very little water. For the most part, I just sprinkle a tiny bit of cold water on my veggies and let them sit for about 30 seconds, drain off excess water, and they are ready to use. Don't add too much water or they will end up soggy.
- Shredded cheese is not porous at all, but quite thin. It requires very little water...but a little extra time (about 15-20 minutes) to soak in and soften the cheese.
- Add it in! If you are using an ingredient in something that already has liquid, like a soup or a sauce...you can just scoop it right from the can into your soup - no need to refresh it separately. Depending on what you're adding and how much, you may need to add a little extra water to your soup to account for the water getting soaked up by the freeze dried ingredients.
- Pre-measure your ingredients! One of the things I love about cooking with freeze dried food is that it allows me to pre-measure everything in advance. My meal in a jar recipes are a good place to start for pre-measured meals. Then you can save it for later on a busy day, take it on a road trip to reduce eating out, or take it camping to cut back on cooler space. These also make great gifts for teachers, new moms, overworked friends...just about anyone! Or just eat it for dinner right away and skip measuring it into a jar. :)
- Powder power! Got some powder in the bottom of your can? DON'T throw it away!! It's still good! Add it to soups, spreads, smoothies, casseroles...and you can sneak all sort of nutrition and flavor that the kids can't pick out. Use powdered ingredients to make your own homemade baby food that is easy to take on the run without a mess. I actually blend food into a powder on purpose to add nutrition to a meal...or to add amazing flavor to frosting like this recipe.
- Snack on it! Freeze dried food is wonderful to snack on, straight out of the can. Make sure you drink some water to go with it. It is delicious, crunchy, and healthy!
