What is freeze drying?

Freeze drying, also known as lyophilization, is widely regarded as a superior industrial drying and preservation method. By drying at lower pressure, boiling points are lowered which allows products to dried at lower temperatures compared to other methods. This reduces damage to the product and ensures cellular integrity is retained. Perhaps the key benefit of freeze drying is that all cellular integrity is retained throughout the drying process. The only thing removed from the product is water. This means that products retain the following characteristics from when they're fresh to when they're dry. Other benefits include the fact that vitamins and enzymes remain intact, shipping weight is significantly reduced and shelf-life is extended to over 5 years, providing suitable packaging is used. Reconstitution (rehydration) is almost instantaneous when water is added to the dried product.