Ultimate Candy Crunch: Freeze-Dried Top Picks

A crunch in a sweet snack just takes it to another level. With freeze-dried foods skyrocketing into popularity, candy lovers are getting to taste the sweet part and the crunchy part. We decided to explore the freeze-dried candy world and list our top 3 picks for candy crunch.

The Science Behind the Crunch

It might be helpful to talk about science before finally arriving at my very personal list of favourites. Why exactly is freeze-drying so good at making candy taste the way it does?

The Freeze-Drying Process

So let’s return to the method of dehydration: lyophilisation, or ‘freeze-drying’, unlike hot or the extreme osmotic treatments, freezes the foodstuff then reduces the pressure surrounding it before replacing the ice with vapour through sublimation (frozen water moving from the solid directly to the gas phase). In the cellular structure, it performs like a void, leaving the mould light, porous and crispy.

Why Candy?

The sugars and other solubles in candy make a crispy, crunchy freeze-dried candy – as a result, freeze-dried candy is an addictive in-between snack.

Freeze-Dried Candy Top Picks

1. Skittles

Tasted heavenly because the rainbow wasn’t only chewy any more: gone was every last bit of moisture, and the fruity treat was now crunchy. Skittles are tasty as they’re naturally composed, a coating of sugar on top of a jelly centre compressed with flavours such as lime, strawberry and orange, but ever since NASA sent freeze-dried food into space on the Apollo 7 mission in 1968, the candy has become even more exciting to eat.

2. Gummy Bears

Still, they turn these little bears from squish to crisp, making them a sweetly agreeable treat: a concentrated gummy flavour served with crunchy.

3. Starburst

Perhaps more dramatic still is the change in texture, as the object of my desire – Starbursts – passes through the freeze-drying process, turning the soft candy into a crunchy cloud.

4. Sour Patch Kids

With their flavours becoming more sour and sweet after they undergo a freeze-drying process, Sour Patch Kids are considered a must-eat by sour-punch connoisseurs.

5. Marshmallows

Certainly not your typical s’more. In the freeze-dried state, marshmallows become light and crispy and the sweet taste can be perceived in a very different manner.

Making the Most of Your Freeze-Dried Candy Crunch

Storage Tips

If you’d like to keep their delightful crunch intact, you should store them somewhere dry and cool – ideally in an airtight container – away from the humid clutches of moisture.

DIY Freeze-Dried Candy

For those who have been envious of the freeze-dried M&Ms seen nestled atop gourmet panna cotta on restaurant menus the world over, several home-grade freeze dryers should now be hitting shelves. (As with most embryonic technologies, the early products have their critics: your freeze-dried cookies will not taste anything like the real thing. Then again, neither will your frozen peaches, but after feeding fruit to a waffle iron, there’s probably not much left to corrode your taste buds.) Candy is also a good choice: its bland taste intensifies under dehydration, so tooth-rotting equals deliciousness. But candy will also add sugar – make your own candy, and, net sugar, your ration is even. And if it fails? Too bad. You’ve likely spent the same amount of money as you would have had you just trooped down to the market or supercenter like a chump. Corroded taste buds and all.

Conclusion

Whether it’s Skittles or marshmallows, freeze-dried candy is one of the most insightful examples of unadulterated deliciousness and an insight into the world of candy and the rewards of crunch. When you consume some freeze-dried candy, I recommend that you do it one flavour at a time. It’ll give you a greater sense of the flavours you love. The next time you are in the mood for a candy treat, you should try some freeze-dried candy. I promise you won’t be disappointed. In fact, I’m sure you’ll be pleasantly and deliciously surprised.