Learn which food makes the best backpacking food.
Dehydrated or freeze dried food. In this article we
will explore the pros and cons of dehydrated and
freeze dried food for use as a source of backpacking
food.

Dehydrated food is usually heated up to130F to 145F in
a food dehydrator to remove water from the food. This
process results in a reduction in size, increase in
toughness and a reduction in weight caused by water
loss. Freeze drying on the other hand flash freezes
the food to -40F and then uses a vacuum to evaporate
the ice which results in very little change in volume
and a loss of up to 98% of its water content. The lack
of water and reduction of oxygen in the packaged food
creates a product with a very long shelf life. In some
cases the shelf life can be as long as 25 years which
is ideal for long term food storage.

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