Dehydrated Meals
From ZombieSquadWiki
Dehydrated Meals are the most efficient way to carry more traditional food stuffs. They are far lighter and more compact than MREs, canned food, or other types of packaged foods. This is offset by their higher cost, and the need for potable water to rehydrate them. To save on cost one can create their own dehydrated foods.
Contents |
Drying Processes
There are two primary dehydration processes, one using heat and the other using cold (i.e. below freezing) temperatures to dry the food. Dehydrated meals are generally freeze dried meaning they require no cooking, only water of the correct temperature added to them.
Heat Dried Foods
Heat drying requires a food dehydrator which works by a electric fan circulating heated air until the foods are removed of sufficient moisture to prevent rotting to occur. Heat dried foods are generally not prepared as full meals but are ingredients for meals such as dried legumes, vegetables, fruits and nuts. However, dried meats (i.e. jerky) and fruit leathers are edible dehydrated meals that do not require reconstitution, merely water to drink with them.
Freeze Dried Foods
Freeze drying or "Lyophilization" has been around for centuries. The principle of freeze drying was known to the ancient Incans in the high Andes Mountains where foods left in the dry cold air would dehydrate and later found to be edible by rehydration. In 1905 a scientist named Shackell took the idea of using a vacuum pump to dry out frozen foods creating freeze drying. During WW-II freeze drying was used for blood plasma and penicillin to preserve them till needed on the battlefield. Since the 1960's hundreds of foods have been freeze dried first for the space program and then for other more recreational uses.
