You should know more about freeze-drying as it has become very highly demanded in the recent past and is widely used in cooking. This article will provide you with an insight on how to free dry candy to create lasting and delicious snacks out of your favorite foods. In this article, the writer is going to describe what freeze drying is, the advantaged of having dried candies and a do-it-your self guide of how to freeze dry candies.
Understanding Freeze Drying
What is Freeze Drying?
Freezing or more commonly referred to as lyophilization is a method used for preservation whereby materials are subjected to very low temperatures in order for all the moisture to be extracted. There are three major steps including freezing, primary drying and secondary drying steps.
- Freezing: The processed food is immediately frozen, helping in retaining its structure and taste.
- First, frozen food is subjected to the primary drying phase, in which the product is placed in a vacuum chamber to decrease pressure. This desorbtion enables ice to transform to vapor without first becoming liquid, hence removing all the moisture by about 98%.
- Secondary Drying: This also helps in removing any other water content which still remains on the product, hence increasing its shelf life.
Benefits of Freeze-Dried Candy
- Longer Shelf Life: Another important benefit of freeze drying is that it normally results in an extended shelf life of the candy. Since bacteria and mold cannot survive without moisture, your candy will have a chance of lasting for months, if not years.
- Convenience: Through this preservation method, the candy retains it original taste as well as the nutrients than if other preservation techniques were used. Otherwise, Alper warned that the gradual decrease of the concentration of the various ingredients causes the flavors of the liquor to remain rather strong, which should be quite enjoyable to most people.
- Easy to store and has a crunchy feel to it: Freezdried candy is something that is light to weigh and is crunchy in nature, which makes it suitable to be taken in form of snack or can be added to recipes.
- Multiple functions: freeze-dried candy can be assimilated in lots of things such as in confectionery products, cakes or bake goods or as a snack.
How to Free Dry Candy: A Step-by-Step Guide
So, now that we’ve established the advantages of freeze drying, it is high time to take a closer look into how one can freeze dry candies properly.
What You Will Need
- Candy: Select some favorites; sweet gummy candies, marshmallows or chocolate coated are best.
- Home freeze dryer : A freeze dryer is not a cheap item, but is a must when doing this process.
- Vacuum Sealer (optional): In case of long-term storage, a vacuum sealer would be useful in maintaining the freeze-dried candy fresh.
Step 1: Prepare Your Candy
First, choose the type of candy which you wish to freeze dry for confectionery making or other purposes. It is also important to ensure that the candy should be dry and is not contaminated in any ways manner. If using big thicken candies, it is advisable to chop them into smaller pieces to take less time drying.
Step 2: Load the Freeze Dryer
Arrange the prepared candy in the trays of the freeze dryer as described in this article. It must be noted that the layout of the pieces should be evenly spaced to ensure that there is adequate flow of air. It is advisable not to overfill the trays as the temperature may not be adequate to dry up the food at the bottom while the upper layers are well dried.
Freeze drying process that incorporates different stages
After loading of the trays is complete, switch on your freeze dryer and set it to the right settings corresponding to candy. This will be immediately followed by freezing the machine and starting the procedure of drying of the candy. If the candies are thick or are of a different type then it would require 2 days or 48 hours for the entire process.
Step 4: Check for Completeness
After the second step, that is candying, the appearance of the candy must be examined to determine how dry it is. It should be not dense, crunchy, and fluffy. However, if it remains chewy or moist, it should be placed back into the freeze dryer in order to continue the evaporation process.
Step 5: Store Your Freeze-Dried Candy
It does not take so long for candy to turn into rock hard sweet brittle once you take it off the pan, and with the help of the candies for mouth, storing should begin immediately after candy is hard and dry. Among the things that can be done, one may consider using vacuum sealer to remove the remaining air in the packaging so that the product stays as fresh as it should be when delivered to the consumers. The sugar-coated sweets should be kept in an airtight pack and placed in a cool and dry place to maximize its shelf life.
Tips for Successful Freeze Drying
It is important to point out the fact that different candies freeze-dry in different manners. Using some of the above types, it is advisable to try out all methods to determine which method will work best.
- Supervise the process: bare some supervision on the freeze dryer to check it on its proper running process.
- All the ingredients used in preparing the candies should be of good quality in terms of taste and texture.
- Some of the most common questions about freeze-dried candy are as follows:
Free Dry Candy
Yes! It is not recommended that freeze-drying should be attempted on chocolate coated candies, because the chocolate may become coarse and dull. Work with thicker layers of chocolates to avoid disaster to occur while preparing the chocolates.
To the best of my knowledge the freeze-dried candy appears to last indefinitely, however the longer it is frozen the sweeter or better it might be.
If placed in a vacuum sealed bag or any other contained area properly, freeze-dried candy can easily remain fresh for years. The most important information the audience needs, however, ought to be the following: Always check for signs of spoilage before consuming it.
Is the Nutritional Value Maintained?
Indeed, freeze-drying retains the nutritive values and the tastes of the candies in a more efficient and effective way than any other preservation methods. However, be willing to note that, candy contains of sugar, therefore should be consumed in restricted quantity.
Conclusion
In conclusion, to free the dry candy, is always an interesting way that can be used to create new interesting products that meet the culinary requirements for a longer shelf life. Based on the explanation above on how freeze-drying works and the preparation procedures stated in this article, you can get crisp and tasty candy with the original flavor. Freeze-dried candy can be a fun snack time snack, hiking, camping or a great product to try new cooking techniques.
