If it’s already in a can and still in date why are you going freeze dry it? This was a wonderful question I got from my friend recently and decided to share with you my top 3 reasons for why I freeze dry already canned foods.
Freeze Dry Food Weight
You have 20 minutes to pack a go bag and get out of your house. The last thing you want to do is weigh your bag down with canned goods. Canned goods are heavy and bulky and take up a large amount of space. I’m currently running out of room to store my 6 months food supply as it mostly consist of canned goods.
When you freeze dry any food the moisture content is removed. The food becomes light as a feather, well almost. Freeze drying removes up to 90% of the original weight. When packaged in mylar bags or plastic bags a tray of corn becomes super compact and lightweight. This is ideal for any bug out situation or long term storage situation.
Shortages
Unfortunately, I believe shortages are here to stay. We had all hoped after Covid the supply chain would go back to normal. This doesn’t seem to be the case. Ideally, freeze drying frozen bags of veggies would be the easiest and the best thing. Sadly, the last 3 times I’ve been to the grocery store the frozen veggie section hasn’t looked to hot. Frozen veggies rarely go on sale as well and it’s a lot harder to find a good deal. Canned goods are more likely to be on the shelf at this point, and you can also save money by finding reduced or dented cans.
Extending The Shelf Life With Freeze Drying
If reducing the weight and navigating shortages isn’t already enough to convince you, this next one will be. Canned goods typically have a shelf life of 2-3 years. By freeze drying the canned food, I’m extending the shelf life up to 20-25 years. So if I don’t get to that bag of freeze dried corn for 5 years, it’s totally okay. But had I just left it in a can it will most likely have gone bad after 5 years.
In Conclusion
If frozen foods are unavailable, rather than leave your freeze dryer empty and not processing anything, go ahead and throw some canned foods in there! If you don’t have a Freeze Dryer yet I highly recommend a Harvest Right. They also offer a layaway program and will ship your dryer once the last payment is made. This is a great way to budget for a freeze dryer. Be sure to check out our youtube channel The Budget Preppers. Be sure to also check out how to Preserve Your Eggs.
*We must disclose that we are using affiliate links. If you purchase through one of these links we receive some pennies as commission. These pennies go into keeping this blog and our social media outlets alive. We would appreciate if you did purchase through one of the links as it helps us and doesn’t cost you any extra to do so.