Freeze Dried food

I thought I would tried a freeze dried ice cream by Astronaut Food. It says on package ready to eat and now I'm having second thoughts..It seem sketchy....Has anyone else ate this and survive? lol.

Yes-

Hubby and I did a a fly-drive-camp vacation, before which I found a "deal" on freeze-dried ice cream. It was "OK" for a sweet treat, but crumbled and was a bit messy to eat. If I have to pack and carry something, I want to be able to consume ALL of it, not to waste any part of it. The "ice cream" had the texture of dehydrated marshmallow or maybe a freeze-dried mushroom, as a comparison, and not a lot of flavor beyond sweet, IMHO. I would not recommend it for a backpacking trip as it takes up too much space and the packaging is too heavy for its "benefits." I MIGHT consider it for a day hike, but a Hershey bar with almonds or an Almond Joy would provide a lot more taste for far less space. The plus side of the FD ice cream is that it can't melt.

CM

Yeah, the "astronaut" ice cream (it first came out in the mid 1960s, when the Gemini space program was hot) is a novelty. Most people (at least in our family) stop after one - forever. Unlike freeze-dried entrees, it doesn't rehydrate, and no improvements have occurred in either flavor or texture since the original. But it was fun to buy my kids their once-in-a-lifetime taste, just like my dad did for me.

If you're looking for candy that won't melt, Payday candy bars always worked pretty good for me. Nowadays, it's granola bars. If you're looking for real desserts, I've made instant pudding on the trail (you need something to shake it in, like a plastic bowl and lid) and some of the freeze-dried desserts with a fruit base aren't too bad.

Yea, I bought a freeze dried ice cream sandwich to try? Most likley better off with Oreos. I just hadto try it. Most days will munch on Homemeade peanut butter Granola bars for a sweet treat. I did bye one dried apple cobbler. This I have had before and is pretty tasty!

I bought all freeze-dried for my upcoming trip. I've had Lasagna with meat sauce on my last one and it wasn't bad at all. I was suppose to leave today (and it mix of rain and snow today) for my trip, but I had a job interview at a bank last Wednesday and they said they will call me back by Monday if I'm selected for a second interview. If I am, half of my spring break could be canceled. *sigh* I better get the job! lol.

Also, if they don't call me then I'm leaving Tuesday morning.

I tend to use all freeze-dried, too (except if I'm eating cold lunch) simply for convenience, since my trips are rarely more than 3 nights any more.

Good luck with the job.

I am taking mostly freeze dried too. When you get to go only once or twice a year it is easyer. I am taking some dehydrated, onions, greenpeppers and mushrooms along. I find they add allot of flavor to rather bland freeze dried offerings? also taking dehydrated spagetti! Awsome stuff.

I've never bought any but someone gave me a piece.

The ice cream has a weird texture but as long as you think of it as some sort of candy substance instead, it's edible. I'm too much for the real ice cream to think the freeze dried stuff is actually ice cream.

freeze drying is supposed to be healthier than dehydrated. I looked into making/buying one.

We bought freeze dried fruit (apple, pairs, etc) for my daughter to snack on on a long flight. It actually tastes quite good. Much better than dehydrated. Just very expensive.

The reason behind it being "healthier" is that freeze-dried fruit isn't concentrated like dried fruit. Consider this....it is very, very easy for a person to eat half a bag of dried apricots and have consumed 6-8 WHOLE apricots. That is a TON of sugar and calories. Where as with freeze-dried fruit you give up long before that point (consider that you have to add a lot of saliva for the consumption of it).

Outside of that benefit the differences are not huge. When hiking/backpacking dried fruit can be good for its calories. With vegetables the nutritional stats when rehydrated are the same overall. Same with meat.

On cost though? Buy the freeze-dried fruit at Trader Joe's or Costco to save a LOT of $$!

My partner found that out the hard way, when he ate about half a bag of banana chips - which then rehydrated as he drank a couple bottles of water, and gave him a huge stomach ache. (It didn't do him any permanent harm, and was cheap amusement for the rest of us.)

Actually, in addition to not concentrating, it actually leaves the nutrients in tact and taste in tact.

Dehydrating in nearly all cases is just fine for nutrients.