Crunchy Gifts: Freeze-Dried Snacks for Holidays

’Tis the season for cookies and candles, eggnog and mistletoe – and for searching high and low to find gifts that are both thoughtful and unexpected. And for anyone trying to buy gifts for their foodie friends or family members, freeze-dried snacks make for a surprise of the crunchy kind. Here’s why these treats belong on your list of gifts to give this holiday season.

A New Take on Traditional Snacks

Twenty years ago, the common holiday snacks were chocolates, cookies and fruit cakes. In the past two decades the art of snacking has taken on a whole new (ironically healthy) life with the reinvention of treats through the freeze-drying process. Freeze-dry is not just another name for snack. It is treats for gourmets, containing the same fruits, veggies and meat we cherish.

The Magic of Freeze Drying

The process of freeze-drying involves removing the water from the food by placing the food in a super low-temperature vacuum chamber. It solidifies and preserves the nutrients and flavours in place, while also infusing a crisp texture in place of the high-Grease factor that accompanies traditional snacks.

Why Freeze-Dried Snacks Make Perfect Gifts

Shelf Stability: Your meals won’t mold easily. These snacks last for a long time, which is helpful for gift-giving, especially if you’re sending them to another country.

Flavours of everyone! If you like strawberries, bananas, green beans or shrimp, there is a freeze-dried snack for you.

Health Advantages: Most of the freeze dried snacks are made of 100% natural ingredients and not any preservative is added to make them freeze dried ready for storing or eating, making them more healthy than most of the snack foods.

Specialty: Exotic crunch for the exotic eater, these snacks will certainly intrigue – and impress! This is the perfect gift for the discerning foodie.

Popular Freeze-Dried Snacks for the Holidays

Fruity Bites: Freeze-dried berries, mangoes and pineapples are naturally sweet, and great for both kids and grownups.

Veggie Crunch: From freeze-dried peas to carrots, these snacks are both nutritious and delicious.

Seafood Surprises: Currently unavailable, freeze-dried shrimp make an excellent gift for the adventurous.

Meaty Munchies: Here you can get freeze-dried chicken, beef or lamb. One Suffolk woman went wild for lamb. It apparently was the gourmet fever-food of choice for her.

Packaging the Crunch

Because they are dried using temperatures close to freezing, and all further packaging is done at reduced temperature, no melting will occur. The snacks are usually packaged in recloseable, airtight pouches that keep them fresh. There’s nothing straightforward about how these products are packaged. Most are handed out as gifts, and the pouches, which can be sealed shut again, are beautifully packaged to begin with. For an added touch, they can go in gift baskets and be wrapped in decorated papers – or, more unusually, the labels can be used to customise gift bags.

Conclusion

In our changing gift economy, the jaded connoisseur has no need of the stupid old same old edibles. Freeze-dried snacks – health and flavour and novelty rolled into one – are ideally suited for the holidays. Next time you’re in a civil-service gift-exchange rut, or making a secret Santa reciprocal gift purchase, remember: crispy, freeze-dried, nutritious, and novel. Give your gifts the gift of giving – enrich their lives with a delectable banquet of vittles from the mountaintops.