Tangy Snack: Freeze Dried Peach Rings

Currently though, the front-runners in the race for an innovative, portable and healthy way to snack are freeze dried foods. Of all the new products I’ve tried, my latest favourite is a zingy, sweet pulse stopper in the form of freeze dried … peach rings. Fruit lovers and snack seekers, do I have something for you!

The Rise of the Peach Ring

They are one of the most popular candy flavours of all time. The taste, a tangy sweet balance, was exclusively owned by the peach rings candy. Then freeze dried peach rings came to the market. Now consumers expect their peach rings to be healthy.

What is Freeze Drying?

Preserving food by freeze drying (lyophilisation) entails putting the item to be preserved in the freezer first and then de-pressurising the ambient air. This makes the frozen water in the material sublimate from the solid phase to the gas phase.

Benefits of Freeze Drying

Preservation: In a freezer they can even last for years, but freezing them isn’t even necessary if you want to keep them preserved. They won’t degrade when stored in a sealed environment and neither will maggots.

Nutrient Retention: Close to the majority of the Amino-protein value of food is retained, making it a healthier route.

Light: The food was quick to prepare since it was already dry – and since it lacked any water weight, it became a lightweight, hip-packable high-energy snack.

Why Freeze Dried Peach Rings?

When it comes to melt-through freeze dried peach rings, purity tends to rule. When you shrivel peach rings, you’re essentially concentrating those fruit’s innate sugars and flavours and making them crunchy, a little tangier.

Sweetness From Nature: Unlike their candy counterparts, this form is mostly free of added sugars, relying instead on innate sweetness from the peach itself.

Portability: They’re lightweight, making them a perfect snack for on-the-go moments.

Versatility: Besides consuming them whole, they can be added to your yogurt, cereals or salads as an unexpected twist.

Enjoying Your Peachy Snack

To really enjoy the singular texture and taste of the freeze dried peach rings – and the concentrated flavour of dried foods in general – one has to take them in small quantities, or risk being disappointed. This is one place where less is definitely more. Food that has been a revelation to me as an adult might have proved off-putting to me as a child (it took me 18 years to venture banana) but for that same child, the freeze dried peach rings could well have been a revelation.

Pairing Ideas

Tea Time: Pair them with a cup of herbal tea for a complementary taste.

Serve crumbles over vanilla ice cream for an unexpected mix of textures. Desserts: Sprinkle over yoghurt or ice cream.

• Trail Mix: Mix with nuts or other freeze dried fruit for a custom trail mix.

In Conclusion

Freeze dried peach rings are neither a mirage nor a novelty snack; they’re a brilliant example of how technology and innovation can transform a humble piece of fruit, imbuing it with a gustatory sensory colour beyond natural phenomena. As snacking works toward plenitude, it’s astounding to consider where freeze dried peach rings and other gastronomic works of art will transport us this time. Deep into health, serial sampling or paradox humour, motive for indulging in these fruity rings – fuzzy like a derrière, tangy like a goatee – is immaterial.