Guide
Start here
A simple route from a packet you are curious about to something useful in your kitchen.
hello, crunch lovers!
Freeze-dried fruit and veg, with a brilliant crunch
Freeze-drying gently takes the water out and leaves the good stuff in: colour, flavour and fibre. We explain how it works, how to use it and what to look for, in plain friendly English.
- Colour and flavour keptGentle drying, no cooking
- Nothing addedJust the fruit or veg
- Light as a featherPerfect for bags and lunchboxes
- Keeps for agesLess food in the bin
- Proper crunchOr soft again in minutes
How freeze-drying works
Four calm steps. No frying, no syrup, no mystery.
Picked ripe
Fruit and veg are harvested when flavour is at its best, then washed and sliced.
Frozen fast
Everything is frozen quickly to around minus 40°C, locking the shape in place.
Ice to vapour
In a vacuum the ice turns straight into vapour and drifts away. Scientists call it sublimation.
Sealed tight
What is left is light, crisp and dry. Sealed away from air and moisture, it keeps for a long time.
know your stuff
All guides
Friendly guides
Guide
What is freeze-drying?
Freeze-drying takes the water out of food without cooking it. Here is how it works, why the fruit stays so colourful, and what tha...
Guide
Freeze-dried vs dehydrated
One is crisp and airy, the other chewy and dense. Here is how the two methods differ, and when each one is the better buy.
Get to know the fruit
What each one tastes like, how to use it and what is inside.
Freeze-dried strawberries
Crisp, scarlet and intensely fruity. How to use freeze-dried strawberries, what is in them and how to choose a good pack.
Freeze-dried raspberries
Sharp, crimson and the baker's favourite. How to use freeze-dried raspberries whole, crumbled or powdered, and how to pick a good...
Freeze-dried blueberries
Whole, crisp and rattling in the pack. How to use freeze-dried blueberries, what is typically in them and how to pick a good pack...
Freeze-dried blackcurrants
Britain's sharpest berry, concentrated. How to use freeze-dried blackcurrants, what is typically in them and how to choose a pack.
Freeze-dried cherries
Sweet or sour, crisp and deeply cherry. How to use freeze-dried cherries, what is typically in them, and how to pick a pack.
Mixed berries
Most UK mixed berry packs are built around strawberry, with raspberry and blueberry alongside. How the common berries differ, and...
Freeze-dried banana
Pale gold, crisp and one ingredient. How freeze-dried banana differs from the fried banana chips most UK shops sell, and what to d...
Freeze-dried pineapple
Tangy, tropical and crisp as a wafer. How to use freeze-dried pineapple in the kitchen and behind the bar, and what is really insi...
from the veg patch
All vegetables
Vegetables that wait for you
Ready in minutes, happy in the cupboard, brilliant for quick suppers and camping trips.
Freeze-dried peas
Sweet, bright green and ready in minutes. How to rehydrate freeze-dried peas, cook with them and even snack on them.
Freeze-dried sweetcorn
Sweet, golden and properly crunchy, or soft again in five minutes. How to snack on freeze-dried sweetcorn, cook with it and choose...
Freeze-dried beetroot
Deep magenta, crisp and concentrated. How to use freeze-dried beetroot for natural colour, snacking and cooking, and what is actua...
How much is that in fresh?
Try the fresh to freeze-dried converter
fresh from the blog
Visit the blog
Latest reads
Freeze-Dried Know-How
How to keep freeze-dried fruit crisp in a shared office jar
Moisture is the main reason freeze-dried fruit loses its crisp texture in a jar.
Recipes & Ideas
How to crush freeze-dried fruit for smoother baking
Crush to the texture your bake needs, not automatically to a fine powder.
Freeze-Dried Know-How
How to compare freeze-dried labels without mix-ups
Per 100g and per portion are different label bases and should not be compared directly.
Recipes & Ideas
How to use fruit and veg powder without guesswork
fruit and veg powder can add flavour, colour or solids, but it does not behave like fresh produce in every recipe
Recipes & Ideas
A practical guide to dried fruits for everyday baking
Dried fruit is a broad category with important differences in texture, sweetness and moisture.
Recipes & Ideas
Simple baking ideas when your cupboard is running low
Fewer-ingredient baking works best when each ingredient has a clear job.
Easy recipes
Measured in grams, written for a normal kitchen.
Recipe
Real strawberry buttercream
Naturally pink, properly fruity and firm enough to pipe. The trick is freeze-dried strawberries, which bring all the flavour and n...
Recipe
Baking with freeze-dried fruit
Freeze-dried fruit gives bakers flavour and colour without water, which is why it works where fresh fruit fails. Here are the amou...
Recipe
Strawberries in chocolate
Crisp fruit sealed in chocolate, made at home in about half an hour. Amounts in grams, temperatures in Celsius, and the moisture t...