We try to use products in order to obtain nutrients and microelements as much as possible. For many, storage capacity and ease of transport also play a big role. “Food of the future” has already ceased to be a fiction of science fiction writers, it is already on store shelves - these are freeze-dried food products.

The technology for preparing these products in general terms involves first freezing food to low temperatures, and then placing it in vacuum conditions, where ice crystals evaporate and are absorbed by special capacitors. At the last stage, the resulting sublimate is placed in sealed packages, nitrogen is often pumped into them. Thus, it can be said that freeze-dried food is dried food.

Thanks to such thorough preparation, sublimates have a very long shelf life. They contain a minimum of water and are in oxygen-free conditions, so bacteria and fungi do not multiply in the package. In this regard, there is no need to add to the products any preservatives, stabilizers and other harmful substances that help preserve food, but are not harmless in themselves. In addition, during sublimation, products are not processed at high temperatures, so most vitamins and microelements, as well as other useful substances, are preserved in them and are not destroyed during long-term storage. That is why freeze-dried fruits and berries are a great way to stock up for the winter and benefit from them in any season.

You can also say that freeze-dried products are “concentrated”, because during processing they lose water, and with it weight and volume. Therefore, a piece of freeze-dried meat weighing 1 kg actually corresponds to a ten-kilogram piece. From this we can conclude that sublimates contain slightly more nutrients and nutrients than regular products.

Another plus is that sublimates do not lose their taste. Many of them after processing become even tastier than before. In addition, it is advantageous to sublimate only fresh ones, otherwise they will not withstand processing and become unusable. So to buy, for example, freeze-dried vegetables, means to buy a high quality product.

Sublimates are also a very convenient food because these products are compact and weigh very little. The cooking method is also very simple. Ready-made foods require the addition of water, and some after that still need to be boiled or fried (fish or meat). Therefore, sublimates are very convenient to take with you on a trip, hiking or just store

Almost any food can be sublimated, fruits are freeze-dried, as well as:

The technology for the production of freeze-dried products is actually quite complex, and such processing requires expensive equipment. This implies the impressive cost of such food, so the demand for it is not so high, especially if you just need to buy food, bring it home and immediately prepare the dish. Therefore, we can conclude that sublimates are no worse than ordinary products, they bring no less benefit to the body, but they are beneficial when you need to make “reserves” for a long time or take food with you.

). Everyone has already heard about it, and someone even tried dishes from several manufacturers. The main consumers of sublimates are tourists, climbers, skiers on autonomous expeditions, the military and .. preppers (gee-gee).
Pros: low weight and size of the package, quick preparation, which means saving time and fuel, long shelf life, "natural" ingredients and a variety of tastes, the package itself is the dishes, which means you don’t need to wash anything.
Cons: sometimes very unusual taste and aftertaste, high price, not everywhere you can buy, especially in Russia.
Conclusion: of course it can be used as the main food for a long time, but it is best suited as a spare and irregular source of energy.
PS: First of all, we are interested in small flexible bags made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) with a stable bottom.
FAQ and experience of cyclists.

So, let's see what manufacturers can feed a hungry tourist:

1. (USA)
Mountain House is a division of the American company Oregon Freeze Dry, established in 1963. All products are made in the USA, Oregon. It has three plants and provides more than 60% of the capacity in the US. Mountain House is proud not only of its fame, but also of the very low oxygen content in the bags due to the use of a special oxygen absorber. Sublimates MH has positively established itself among tourists from all over the world.
On the official website, all products are divided into several categories:
1 - standard packages: 21 main courses from 242 to 345 rubles (for example, chicken with rice), 4 breakfasts from 166 to 252 rubles, 4 desserts from 86 to 287 rubles;
2 - diet food packages: 10 gluten-free, 4 vegetarian and 4 low-sodium meals;
3 - specialized food in packages: 8 meals for athletes (Pro-Pak), 3 large family meals, 3 types of "space ice cream";
4 - main courses and breakfasts in cans #10 Can (cans that can hold over 100 ounces (3.1 kg) of food);
5 - diet food in jars #10 Can.
For the curious, there are three videos from the "how it's made" series: company history, factory tour, product packaging.
Since July 19, 2013, the official website has been operating in Russia. You can also buy and. The average price in Russia for a bag is 600 rubles.

2.LYO EXPEDITION(Poland)
To meet the needs of climbers, yachtsmen, tourists and other extreme sports enthusiasts, the Polish company Lyovit used its revolutionary technology and in 1998 launched the first line of freeze-dried products. This is how the brand LYO FOOD (the first three letters of the word Lyophilization) was born, which was warmly received in the market. And today it is a full participant and winner of the OutDoor Industry Award-2013 and ISPO-2014. The manufacturer focuses on 100% natural ingredients, homemade taste of food, high quality control and original packaging.
In field conditions, food packaging must meet special requirements: be compact, lightweight, resistant to adverse weather conditions at any latitude - be it the Himalayas, the North Pole or the Atlantic Ocean. All food and fruits from Lyo Food are packed in a hermetically sealed aluminum doypack (Doypack) of increased strength. Doypack was created in 1962 by the French inventor Louis Doyan and today is a universal type of packaging and is suitable for liquid, pasty, bulk food.
Let's look at the manufacturer's menu:
1. Main dishes: 18 dishes from 290 to 415 rubles (weight from 68 to 152 grams);
2. Soups: 4 different soups (weight from 44 to 65 grams) for 230 rubles;
3. Breakfast: 3 dishes for 190 rubles;
4. Fruits: 6 items (weight from 20 to 35 grams).
You can buy at splav.de or .

3. Trek "n Eat(Germany-Switzerland)
Until 2008 it was called Trekking-Mahlzeiten. Today it is part of the German division of the Katadyn Group. Freeze-dried food Trek "n Eat is perhaps the most famous and affordable in Russia thanks to Splav.
The menu has everything as it should be: a variety of meat and fish dishes, soups, vegetarian dishes, vegetables and other nutritional elements from breakfast to dessert (summary table). In total, about 32 types of dishes with a shelf life of up to 3 years. Trek "n Eat food is used as special food on many famous expeditions, as well as emergency food supplies (Emergency Food) in special packaging in boxes designed for consumption within 1, 3 and 12 months.
Let's look at the dish "Baked beef with noodles" (more precisely - with horns, photo). Dry product weight - 160 g, volume of added water - 480 ml, finished product weight - 640 g; proteins / carbohydrates / fats in the proportion of 16.8 / 56.0 / 11.8 g; calorie content - 399 kcal (638 is written). Ingredients: pasta - 50%, beef - 9% (equivalent to 76.8 grams of fresh meat), maltodextrin, cream, starch, vegetable fat, spices, mushrooms - 2.5%, onions, butter, tomatoes, flavor , salt, parsley, dextrose, lactose, guar flour, glucose syrup powder, yeast extract, silicic acid, milk protein. The price as of 09/01/2013 is 320 rubles. Naturally? Didn't finish the whole package. It must either be very hungry, or very fond of salt with spices and dry meat. You can read the reviews of my friends in LiveJournal about Trek "n Eat products ( olga_kuv ), ( Russian ) And ( witchhunter_isi ). As well as a small comparison with two other manufacturers.

Separately, let's say about Peronin High Tech Food. This is an interesting liquid dish (isotonic) for those who need to quickly replenish their energy reserves. during active loads. The Vanilla, Cacao or Orange flavored product (in packs of 100 and 700 g) is absorbed by the body at a rate of 96% within about 6 minutes after consumption and provides a quick and long feeling of satiety. You just need to add water with a temperature of up to 60C and drink. However, they say that the composition contains benzylmorphine, a soft drug banned in Russia. Yeah?

4 AlpineAire Foods(USA-Switzerland)
Since the end of 2012, it has been part of the Swiss company Katadyn, or rather, Katadyn North America Foods (previously it was either under U.S. Company TyRy Foods, or under California Corporation, it doesn’t matter anymore). But in short, this is a manufacturer of freeze-dried and canned food for the North American market under the control of Europeans). AlpineAire Foods itself has existed since 1960 and includes the brands Natural High (since the early 80s), Gourmet Reserves (since 1989), Richmoor. The product line was founded in 1979 to supply emergency food. They have the slogan "natural food anytime, anywhere". With Natural High, it offers 8 meatless dishes, 14 beef dishes, 21 chicken dishes, 5 turkey dishes, 19 breakfast dishes, 7 soups, 9 desserts and 7 vegetarian dishes. And some more gluten free, blah)

5 Backpackers Pantry(USA)
This is a very famous brainchild of American Outdoor Products, founded in Colorado in 1951. Ingredients for dishes come here from all over the country, for example, chicken meat from a farm located in Indiana.
In a huge assortment you can find 1, 2 and 4 serving packages, as well as food in jars (emergency). The menu includes 17 breakfasts, 16 desserts, 53 main courses, 8 light meals, 5 side dishes and 13 starters, including Astronaut Foods. The shelf life of packages is up to 7 years, cans - 25 years. The main thing - before cooking, do not forget to get a bag of oxygen absorber. It is difficult to buy in Russia, but it is possible.

6. (Germany)
Simpert Reiter GmbH / Travellunch is a German manufacturer of sublimated outdoor products. For three decades, Travellunch has been developing ultra-light meals for expeditions and outdoor activities. Unique production and packaging technologies make it easy and quick to prepare high-quality, nutritious and delicious meals in the harshest and hard-to-reach corners of the world. Standard prepared meal categories: 17 main courses, 6 vegetarian, 5 soups, 6 desserts and 6 drinks. Food is packaged in convenient packages of 125 and 250 grams. The only official dealer in Russia - Adventurers Club is located in Yekaterinburg.

7. REAL Turmat(Norway)
The Norwegian company Drytech was founded by Rolf Hansen in 1989. The philosophy of the company is that food should have a high and correct nutritional value and homemade taste. There are two lines: civil REAL Turmat (orange packages) and military (green packages).
All food is made from mostly fresh Norwegian ingredients, which are carefully processed in a drying process developed by Drytech. This process maintains the natural taste, aroma, appearance and nutritional value without any additives. Shelf life is 5 years, which is achieved by a combination of freeze drying and high quality vacuum packaging. An opened package should be stored in the refrigerator for no more than a week.
The REAL Turmat menu includes breakfasts, soups and dinners. As usual, there are also vegetarian options, as well as gluten-free and dairy-free options.
Review of 2009: "Really very tasty. A lot. A serving is 500g. Simple." You can buy in the online store.

REAL Field Meal - Arctic field ration for 1200-1400 kcal.

8. Wise Food(USA)
The American manufacturer offers tasty and nutritious food primarily for emergency situations, as well as for everyday and camping life. The name of the company comes from the phrase "Wise Choice", which means a wise choice. In the production of food, Wise uses a unique and innovative processing method that combines sublimation and dehydration (each product has its own). Ready-to-eat meals are packaged in our signature sealed and nitrogen-washed individual Mylar 2-4-serving Zip-lock bags (except long-term storage sets), which are in turn folded and sealed in durable plastic bucket containers for 60, 84 and 120 servings. Wise products have a shelf life of 7 (camping food) to 15 (meat) and even 25 (vegetables) years only under ideal storage conditions - a dry place with a temperature of 10-15 degrees Celsius.
Here it would be necessary to paint the assortment, but there the devil himself will break his leg, so I will refrain. In short, a lot of meat, vegetables, fruits and milk.
A big plus is that in Russia there is an official and informative website store. You can also buy Wise Food sublimates in foreign stores.
But is everything so smooth? As you know, the presence of oxygen in food bags negatively affects the taste of food and its shelf life. It turns out that the amount of oxygen in Wise bags is more than nine times the recommended level (). competition :)

9. Gala Gala(Russia)
The only Russian manufacturer of sublimates on the market. It's a pity. For about 10 years, sublimated products of the Gala-Gala trademark have been produced at our own factory in Volgograd. The catalog on the site contains both ready-made freeze-dried dishes and ingredients for cooking. The first courses are 14 soups (borscht, fish soup, cabbage soup, pickles) with a net weight of 20 to 22 grams. Second courses - 17 items (buckwheat with chicken, potatoes with mushrooms and onions, wheat porridge with beef, etc.) net weight 30-40 gr. Omelettes 4 flavors in a pack of 7 servings (30 gr each). Instant oatmeal with and without sugar. All kinds of dairy, meat and seafood, vegetables and berries are used as ingredients. A small review with photos of sachets and. A definite plus is the availability and price, but the taste of some dishes is far from ideal. Maybe the lack of competition in Russia in this market affects?

10. (France)
Falieres Nutrition has been producing freeze-dried products under the Voyager brand since 1992. Own production is located in the south-west of France. And yes, local produce.
Not the best site, but still let's see what we can cook for dinner. Yeah, here you have a rabbit with carrots, pork with caramel, paella, pasta with tuna salad, scrambled eggs with ham. Let's look at the composition of the dish "Beef with rice and onions": rice - 74%, beef - 10%, wine sauce - 10%, onion - 3.75%, poultry (?), salt, pepper. Net weight - 80 gr, ready meal weight - 280 gr. You can buy. Where are the paws?

11 Adventure Food(Netherlands)
Created by the Dutch climber and traveler Hans van der Meulen (Everest, K2, North Pole).
The menu is small but interesting. There are a total of 6 meat dishes, 5 vegetarian dishes, 6 breakfast and dessert dishes, and 1 mixed vegetable. The food is packaged and sold in bags with an updated design (previously there was a silver color). A package for 1 serving can be stored for 4 years, for 2 servings - 3 years. Experts recommend trying Mince Beef Hotpot and Expedition Breakfast. Where can I buy it for 280 rubles? In more than 500 stores in Europe))

12. (Great Britain)
Founded by traveler Ian Williams in 1995 in North Yorkshire (England), but in 2010 was bought by RacingThePlanet (Hong Kong). The company is developing well and today supplies world-renowned explorers and outdoor enthusiasts. Expedition Foods freeze-dried food is made in the UK and has high nutritional value, excellent taste, long shelf life (up to 5 years) and easy cooking process. The goal is to provide a combination of traditional cuisine with dishes from all over the world. There are more than 20 recipes to choose from with different energy values: high (800 kcal) and standard (450 kcal). Offers dishes that can satisfy the needs of everyone. The menu includes 13 breakfasts, 6 desserts, 19 gluten-free options, 22 vegetarian options, as well as energy bars, gels and snacks. It is advisable to take not one package at a time, but whole sets like One Day Food Pack for 1.3 thousand rubles.
Let's look at the composition of the dish "Potatoes with ground beef": potato cubes (31%), onions, minced beef (9.4%), vegetable oil, brown lentils, carrots, swede, chicken broth, tomato puree, cornstarch, sugar, green onion, parsley, salt, pepper. Net weight - 148 gr, ready meal weight - 500 gr.

13. Thrive Foods(USA)
It all started in Utah in 2004, when two Americans Jason Budge and Steve Palmer got tired of shopping every time for products that, moreover, did not satisfy them in taste and quality, and they created Thrive Life. The main idea is to produce non-perishable foodstuffs and tools (Food Rotation Systems storage shelves) for emergencies. The policy of direct sales is mainly used. In 2007, the Thrive Foods line was launched for everyday use. Like this! No shops and markets for you, all products are only for convenient and beautiful jars! Includes more than 100 types of food products (components for dishes) in sublimated or dehydrated form with a shelf life of up to 10-20 (and even 30) years in a closed jar, up to 6-18 months in an open jar.
Cans are color-coded according to the following groups:
grains(various flour and cereals); vegetables(asparagus, carrots, celery, cabbage, peas, peppers, onions); fruit(cranberries, pears, pineapples, mango apricots, blackberries); dairy products(various yoghurts, hot cocoa, cheese, milk, sour cream); meat and beans(a variety of beans and beans, beef and chicken in a variety of forms, egg powder, bacon) and base ingredients(baking powder, soda, white and brown sugar, powdered sugar, salt, beef and chicken broth, etc.).
Freeze-dried food in portion packs is already called THRIVE EXPRESS (in the online catalog).

14. Wayfarer(Great Britain)
Westlers (Malton Foods Ltd T/A Westlers) was established in 1960 in Hull. It currently owns such old brands as Chesswood (mushrooms and ready meals), Tyne (from 1903 - canned fish and meat, from 2003 also ready meals), Wayfayrer (dishes for tourists and the British armed forces) and Westlers hamburgers (retail fast food).
Ready Meals Wayfayrer ( not sublimates) have a shelf life of 3 years, packed in 4-layer bags, they do not contain GMOs and artificial additives.
Let's see the composition of the dish "Beans and Bacon in Tomato Sauce": beans (34%), cubes of smoked bacon (33%) - (pork - 28%, water, salt, glucose, smoke flavoring, stabilizers (E451, E407), antioxidant (E301), preservatives (E250, E252), spice extracts), water, tomato puree, sugar, wheat flour, vegetable oil, ham broth, modified corn starch, stabilizers (E412, E466, E415), salt, onion powder, paprika flavoring. Product weight - 300 gr. Can be reheated or eaten cold.

Hot set "Chicken casserole". When water is added, a special element gives off heat, which is transferred to the foil package, heating the finished food for 8-12 minutes.

15. (Czech)
A company that has been producing the highest quality sterilized meals for travel, expeditions and sport rallies since 2011. Handmade!))
The menu is not rich. The main dishes with a serving of 500 grams include 8 items: beef goulash with boiled potatoes, game stew with potato dumplings, pork ribs with boiled potatoes, chicken with beans and vegetables and more, costing from 200 to 250 rubles. Two desserts for 150 rubles, 250 gr each - rice pudding with plums and bread pudding with apples and cinnamon. As well as two purely meat dishes of 200 grams of turkey and pork. The guaranteed shelf life of the bags is 3 years from the date of production without the use of any chemical preservatives.
Unfortunately, Adventure Menu products are little known in Russia. In 2013, her products could be found at an exhibition in Friedrichshafen, Germany. Who has been and tried?

The food set is ready to eat without the use of fire. The black bag contains a chemical heat source, which, together with two bags of food, must be placed in a large zip-lock bag, pour 150 ml of water and wait 12 minutes. Dobrou chuť!

16. Bla Band(Sweden)
The Bla Band trademark belongs to the well-known American company Campbell Soup Company. This means that you will be offered a huge number of the most delicious soups and pureed soups, sauces and instant second courses. The main production method is drying, but freeze-dried food is also available. Let's see what they dried. The "Outdoor Mael" series (on the website) includes 21 dishes. For example, porridge with apple, macaroni and cheese and broccoli, chicken with rice and curry, rice pudding with raspberries and more. But in the photo there is something "homemade" - a sauce for three.

The "Expedition Meals" series (not on the site) was awarded the "best buy" sign from TGO Magazine's in 2012.

17. Freeze-dried fruits and vegetables? Easily! offers more than 70 types of products (ingredients for dishes).
For example, potatoes cut into cubes.

18. Aptonia is a brand of the French Oxylane (remember Decathlon?) and is engaged in sports nutrition and body care. Aptonia Food is not only a large selection of isotonics and energy bars, but also 6 delicious dishes for a complete dinner. The dishes are dehydrated and packaged in bags for 1 serving of 120 gr. In the photo - pasta with ham, 450-462 kcal.
Dry Food (Healthy Food LLC) and individual diets, but that's another story ..
PS: A small food reviewer. Gorgeous online store.
Good luck!

Innovative technologies burst into our everyday life like a whirlwind. New hygiene products and household chemicals, never-before-seen kitchen utensils, consumer electronics, high-tech fabrics successfully coexist in modern homes. Innovation has made its way to our table, to our plates and glasses. In recent decades, due to people's interest in the topic of healthy eating, freeze-dried products have become increasingly popular.

The principle of physical sublimation

Sublimation, or sublimation, is the transformation of substances from a solid directly into a gaseous state, excluding the liquid stage.

Freeze drying, or lyophilization, is the process of extracting liquid from frozen biological objects. It is based on the evaporation of ice contained in frozen foods, that is, its transition directly to the vapor state, excluding the liquid phase.

The sublimation method was developed at the beginning of the 20th century by the talented Russian inventor G. I. Lappa-Starzhenetsky, who in 1921 patented the sublimation method under reduced pressure. For the first time in the world, freeze-drying was used in the forties in the USSR for the conservation of serum, blood plasma and penicillin.

Secrets of industrial production

Sublimated products are made by vacuum sublimation.

Before processing, the original natural product is flash-frozen at temperatures down to -200 °C. Its advantage, in contrast to conventional freezing, is that ice crystals are formed in biological tissues so small that they are not able to destroy even cell membranes.

Then they are placed in a hermetically sealed chamber, from which air is pumped out. After lowering the pressure in the chamber, the temperature is gradually increased. The ice evaporates and the resulting steam is pumped out. When all the ice crystals from the products have evaporated, the technological process is finished.

Next, nitrogen or helium enters the pressure equalization chamber. The chamber opens, the dried products are unloaded, hung out, packaged in gas-vapor-tight bags. Air is pumped out of the package, nitrogen is pumped in instead, and the package is sealed.

Sublimated products: benefits and harms

Freeze-drying ensures the safety of all useful properties and organoleptic characteristics of products without exception. This method is excellent and berries, vegetables and mushrooms, greens, dairy products and confectionery, meat and fish, soups and cereals.

Application experience shows that sublimates even surpass natural analogues in nutritional and taste properties. It is hard to imagine that someone is happy to drink natural beetroot and cabbage juice or celery and parsley juice, and drinks that were used in the preparation of similar freeze-dried products have the most excellent reviews. Sublimated berries and fruits, as well as dairy products, were also highly appreciated.

Sublimates do not contain any preservatives or dyes, and this is their main advantage in comparison with other long-term storage and instant products.

The only danger that may accompany the purchase of sublimates is the low-quality raw materials used by an unscrupulous manufacturer. You can protect yourself by purchasing products from trusted companies.

Sublimation - the solution to many problems

Freeze-dried products can be widely used both as instant products and as industrial semi-finished products in confectionery, food concentrate, meat and dairy, perfumery and other industries.

In the production of fermented milk products, dry, easily soluble antibiotics, viral and bacterial preparations, dietary supplements, starter cultures and enzymes, vacuum sublimation has no alternative.

Freeze-dried products are the best option for providing food on long hikes and trips. The method of their use is as simple as possible: water is added to the product, and it is ready. It should only be remembered that the rate of recovery of the sublimate depends on the temperature of the water with which it is poured.

home production

The process of vacuum sublimation is technologically complex, requires special knowledge and training, and uses specific industrial equipment.

Therefore, amateur recommendations on the Web on how to cook freeze-dried foods at home can be a good help to tourists and hunters who want to reduce the weight of their luggage by drying cooked meals, but they have nothing to do with vacuum sublimation of quick-frozen foods.

Another thing is drying products in the cold, as the peoples of the northern countries have done for centuries. Chunks of meat and fish weathered in the cold do not deteriorate, they become lighter, while maintaining their size, shape and organoleptic properties.

Sublimates are widespread all over the world, in the Russian Federation they are only gaining popularity. But every day it becomes more and more obvious that they are a great option for a healthy diet. The sublimated product is a valuable innovative find, a gift of science to humanity.

Sublimates - how many in this word! Here you have something frightening, alien to Russian hearing, and something alluring, hitherto unheard of. In fact, everything is terribly simple: freeze-dried products (or freeze-dried products) are food. To understand to which "category" of edibles sublimated food can be attributed, we will conduct a small educational program.
In fact, all "camping" food products can be divided into 5 groups:
1) Sterilized canned food (stew, condensed milk, jam, etc.)
2) Dry groceries (cereals, flour, etc.)
3) Specialized concentrates (, survival rations, food in tablets, etc.)
4) Deep Freeze Supplies
5) and finally Freeze-dried products (vacuum-dried freeze-dried products, etc.)

All this is good, of course, but not everyone can keep at home a “disturbing backpack” stuffed with cereals, canned food and dry foods. Here we face such a practical side of the issue as the expiration date. Which of the five groups listed above should be purchased in order to forget about the rotation for at least a few years and not suffer with replacement with a new one? You should also take into account such an important factor as weight. Of course, you can carry away a box of the same stew, but ... only not far and not for long.
Everyone knows that for hiking, hunting and survival you need a special type of food: something light, compact and (ideally) with a long shelf life, as well as resistant to external influences, such as: weather and climate (temperature and precipitation) , shaking, shock, falls, wind-moisture-dirt resistance .... On the one hand, you can be flattered by ready-made ones, on the other hand, look for something else. Sublimates are exactly the same thing, exactly the case that meets all the specified conditions.

What are sublimated products (sublimates)?
Initially, fast food was intended for a poor customer. As a rule, the manufacturing technology of such products is based on fairly cheap thermal drying: the product is heated to 100-120 degrees and the moisture evaporates from it. At the same time, the structure of the cell is destroyed, the consistency of the product, its taste and aroma change, and only 20-30% of vitamins remain. Such products are abundantly saturated with all sorts of "chemistry". On the packages you can find: “beef flavored”, “chicken flavored”, etc., but not “chicken”, “beef”. Be sure to add various flavors, preservatives, binders.
Sublimation is a completely different method, and, accordingly, sublimated products are completely different.

What is sublimation of products (or “sublimation is…”)?
Sublimation (from lat. sublimo - I lift) means the process of transition of a substance from a solid to a gaseous state, bypassing the liquid stage. In the production of freeze-dried food products, the evaporation of moisture from a quick-frozen product bypasses the liquid phase. Sublimation technology includes two main steps: freezing and drying. During vacuum freeze drying, moisture is removed from the product by evaporation of ice.

Sublimates are a twofold product.
At first glance, it may show that sublimates are exclusively sublimated products, however, this will be an erroneous opinion. In the production of freeze-dried food, unique and innovative processing methods are used: products can be either freeze-dried or dehydrated.
The most important thing here is to correctly determine the type of food. Some products are more amenable to dehydration (dehydration) than sublimation, while others, on the contrary, tolerate the lyophilization process better. Some ingredients, such as fruits and vegetables, retain their flavor better by undergoing the sublimation process. Other ingredients like noodles or rice taste much better when dehydrated. Despite these differences, both processes provide an extremely long shelf life and the preservation of all useful substances.


Thanks to an extensive system of scientific research and testing, in the production of freeze-dried products, either a sublimation or dehydrogenation process is used for each type of product separately, taking into account its unique properties and characteristics. This hybrid processing method ensures the best taste, texture and nutritional value of the product. Such a production process is especially well suited for "assorted" dishes - for example, freeze-dried meat with vegetables or something similar.
Why are sublimates so good? How are they better than ordinary, familiar food? There are several answers here:

Plus the first - usefulness.
It is important that during sublimation the product is NOT subjected to heat treatment. The greater the temperature and duration of the heat treatment of the product, the more it loses useful substances. Therefore, in general, a freeze-dried product has a greater nutritional value than canned in another way, such as heat or microwave drying.

The main idea of ​​sublimation is the most gentle preservation mode. According to laboratory studies, the absence of heat treatment of the original products retains more than 95% of nutrients, vitamins, enzymes and other biologically active components.
Sublimation removes moisture from food, not flavor or texture. Unlike heat-dried foods (which shrink and dry out), freeze-dried foods almost completely regain their original appearance and texture after cooking. It is enough just to add water - and after a few minutes of rehydration, the sublimate will return to its original state. With taste and aroma - an identical situation: they are completely preserved, which makes freeze-dried products terribly appetizing.

Plus the second - low weight and volume.
One of the important properties of sublimation is to reduce the weight of the product by removing water from it. Here you just need to remember how many percent of a person consists of water, so that everything becomes clear. Freeze-dried products can be either in small pieces or in powder form. This allows them to reduce their volume and weight by almost 90% compared to the original product. The weight of sublimates can easily be 5-10 times less than the original weight of the product - it all depends on the type of product. Something perfectly goes through the process of sublimation, something is a little worse. Basically, it depends on the texture of the product and its category: meat, vegetable, liquid, desserts, etc.

For example: if you take a kilogram of meat, then it turns into 200-400 grams of sublimates, but a kilo of vegetables turns into 150-300 grams of sublimates. From 10 kilos of strawberries, 1 kilogram of sublimates is obtained - the weight is reduced by 10 times! In a word, for each type of product, the process is purely individual - some food can really be reduced up to 90% of the original volume and weight.

Plus the third - a variety of choices.
Omelette? Lasagna? Hamburger? Chicken tobacco? Sweet corn? Thanks to modern technology, the number of types of flavors of freeze-dried products is amazing. Here are the first courses (soups), and second courses (with a side dish), and meat products, and fish, and vegetables, and cereals, and even! In total, there are over 500+ different items.

Plus the fourth - a long shelf life.
On average, the shelf life of freeze-dried products ranges from 7-10 to 25 years, which is most suitable for a survivalist.

With all this, the freshness of the product remains intact and it doesn’t matter how many years the packaging of sublimates has been lying in your backpack.
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