FREEZE DRIED COLBY CHEESE - Is it any good? Augason Farms REVIEW

 I love the idea that I can keep cheese on my shelf for 30 years! Let's see if the taste will hold up too!

I purchased the Augason Farms Freeze Dried Colby Cheese this

 October 2018 from Amazon for $27.59

This is a 1 pound can of freeze dried cheese 

This can is just a little more than half full. 

The cheese is hard and crunchy and surprisingly DELICIOUS 

Instructions: soak in warm water for 15-20 minutes...

Cheese has been drained and now ready for a real taste test... 

This freeze dried cheese has passed the test in every way. It is very good and I confess that I found myself popping the dry cheese into my mouth several times before I realized what I was doing.

This is possibly one of those comfort foods that is just worth the price to keep around in food storage. Of course, this is my own opinion, but I would definitely buy this product again. 

Stay tuned for recipes with freeze dried food 

FREEZE DRIED BEEF - Is it any good? - Augason Farms REVIEW

Review for Freeze Dried Beef

This food review is for the Freeze Dried BEEF from Augason Farms. I purchased this can on October 25, 2018 for $40.84  - A one pound can --- EXPIRATION DATE is  2048     

$40.84 is a LOT of money for 1 pound of meat, but when it comes to LONG-TERM food storage, and the fact that freeze dried doesn't expire for more than 30 years... kind of makes up for the price. Kind of. 

Okay, let's get to the meat of this! 

Freeze Dried BEEF

WHERE'S THE BEEF??? 

Okay, the can is filled half way. That number #10 is half empty. I can fluff this up and say it's half full, but I just paid $40.84 for a can of meat that is filled somewhere in the middle. 

 Here's a close-up. The size is smaller than the eraser of a pencil. According to the photo on the can, I thought the meat would be chunky BEEF STEW sized, or at least the size of a dime. 

Maybe something magical will happen when I add water. INSTRUCTIONS: add boiling water and allow to stand 5 minutes. 

size of the meat has not increased much 

Water has been drained and now the taste 

Both spouse and I tasted the meat and we're in agreement that it resembeled GROUND BEEF in texture. 

As for taste, it tastes like - ground beef that used to be dry.

It tastes like it used to be freeze dried, and brought back to life.

It tastes like it used to be paper. 

PROS 

• Freeze dried meat will last for 30 years in the pantry
• Lightweight (the entire can felt as light as a feather)
• An option to have beef long-term without refrigeration

CONS 

• $40.84 for 1 pound of beef
• Meat has little substance - size is minimal 
• This product is deceptive (you are not buying a full can)
• No wow factor on taste 

CONCLUSION 

This beef was purchased for an upcoming camping trip I'll be taking OFF GRID for several weeks. I needed a meat product that didn't require refrigeration, and would taste good while cooking in the desert. This opened can will maintain freshness for several months -- giving me plenty of time to create recipes and to offer a more indepth review. 

But would I buy this again? Probably not. I'm a home canner. I would much prefer to can my own beef, or do without. Freeze dried beef is very pricey, and for the money, I feel I could have done better spending the $40 elsewhere. That is my two-cents for now. 

Perhaps I will change my mind after my camping trip. Stay tuned! 

DEHYDRATED BELL PEPPERS - Augason Farms Review

For anyone curious about commercialized Dehydrated Bell Peppers, I opened up a can of my Augason Farms brand. I had purchased a prior can (shown on left) of Augason Farms Dehydrated Bell Peppers about 6 years ago, and you can see the difference in labels. 

21 years till this can expires. My recent purchase is good for the next 30 years! 

Packed solid with 3" of clearance from top 

Vitamin A - 20% Vitamin C - 160%

The dehydrated bell peppers pack a lot of flavor - very good. As you can see, the size has not changed much after adding water, so the dehydrated is best used as seasonings, or toppings. 

Some ideas for meals:

Soups

Goulash

Casseroles

Seasonings 

toppings

omelets

Chili

 

I paid $11.32 on Amazon, and with the high prices of produce, I think the dry version is easier on the buck. But better, you can't beat this longterm food storage option, especially when growing your own is not possible due to climate or circumstances. Not to mention, dehydrated food takes up less space/weight!  I give this product a HIGH FIVE 

JALAPENO SALT AND PEPPER - How to dehydrate your own

Dehydrated Jalapenos are the best! We use this spice in practically every dish, not to mention, growing Jalapenos and preserving them through dehydration is a great way to ensure we'll be enjoying these dried peppers all year long!

My mother at her BLOG was the first to introduce the JALAPENO SALT and PEPPER combination, by adding dehydrated Jalapenos (grounded) with salt in a shaker, and also making the ground pepper batch with Jalapenos. The pepper shaker is perfect for those dishes where you want to add flavor, but not extra salt.

For dehydration and speed, slice the Jalapeno's long ways, and dehydrate.

Dried Jalapenos

I prefer using the Magic Bullet for grinding my spices - pictured, I was making my own sweetener from STEVIA

For the Dehydrated Jalapeno Salt and Pepper, just dehydrate peppers, grind with salt, and store your seasonings in a shaker, or jar. Repeat process with black pepper and Jalapenos. That's it. Simple, easy, and your meals will be enhanced!

We've used our Jalapeno Salt and Pepper on practically every dish, but my favorite is baked chicken!

Pinterest!

HOMEMADE HERBAL TEA - Dehydrate Your Own Herbs

 

Although we enjoy the convenience of buying herbal teas at our local grocery stores, there is nothing more satisfying than growing one's own herbs for food and beverage.

 

My family's all time favorite tea blend is MINT and LEMON. This is something we reach for when needing a boost for our throat, and feeling under the weather. For sweetener, we mix in pure local honey.

In this batch, I had dehydrated a combination of regular mint and Peppermint, Stevia, and Lemon Balm.

 

You can see my post here about Dehydrating Stevia

 

 

Another favorite food to dehydrate for tea is LEMONS. I posted another blog on the importance of DEHYDRATED LEMONS.

When I first started thinking about how to stock up on lemons, I couldn't find a single blog on the web. Not even dehydrated lemons. I guess this was about 10 years ago when I tried to come up with an idea on how to preserve lemons for emergencies. After all, I couldn't imagine anything worse than facing an illness and not having my comfort foods and favorite tea. I ended up canning some lemons.

After I discovered the ease and convenience of dehydrated lemons, I was hooked!

I'm on the quest for growing my own tea leaves to add to my herbal blends, but for the time being, I use a variety of commercial black & green teas. I try to find organic as much as possible, but I do enjoy buying in bulk from nearby Indian stores.

This is my spill on "organic"...  I try to avoid pesticides as much as possible. This is why I prefer reaching for homemade EVERYTHING when my family is sick. The less MSG, and unnatural ingredients introduced into a diet, the better.

 

A few years back, I ordered a bunch of herb seeds for my medicine cabinet. I wasn't quite sure HOW I was going to use these herbs for medicine, but I just knew I needed to have these for just in case.

 

This was before I discovered my dehydrator. I needed a way to store these valuable herbs long term, and drying was the solution. Another option is tinctures, and of course, fresh herbs.

 

 

 

The sky is the limit on the blends we can come up with.

I like Amber's outlook...

"Let nature be your teacher!"

 

DEHYDRATED STEVIA - Homemade Sweetener

 

I've finally gotten around to dehydrating Stevia and wanted to share some comparisons on using 100% pure Stevia Rebaudiana

 

 

On the left, fresh leaves rinsed and ready to dehydrate. On right in less than 24 hours, the leaves retained their shape and are completely died and brittle.

 

 I first tried grinding with a Mortar and Pestle. It worked well to create a fine powder, but it took a lot of energy for breaking down the fibers.

The winner for breaking the Stevia down into a nice powder was my tried and true Magic Bullet

 

In a mere few seconds, I had my Stevia ground to the consistency that I wanted.

 

 

A Quick Comparison

 

 

 

I first started using Stevia several years ago before it became mainstream. When it finally started  appearing locally on the shelves, I'd either have to hunt for it in the pharmacy section, or track it down with a clueless employee.

 

Back then, I was on the quest to find a more natural sweetener. I had many years ago sworn off NutraSweet, and other chemical sugar substitutes.

 

For awhile I was excited about Splenda and I used to buy it by the pound. I thought it was the best sugar substitute ever invented, after all, it was made from sugar, so it tastes like sugar --- until I was selected to be a part of their marketing research group and met the inventor . You can read about my experience here. Is Splenda really splendid?

And of course, now that Stevia is popular, other companies have jumped on the bandwagon and have marketed their own versions with additives. Labels. We're forever reading labels it seems.

So the only way to get the REAL DEAL was to make my own.

Comparing the powdered marketed versions, I didn't find any difference in sweetness. With the pure Stevia I had ground, it had a distinct earthy taste. I can handle that, because I am 100% sure that I am getting 100% pure Stevia, not to mention, it was organically grown with no pesticides.

Using a pinch to my iced tea, I handed a glass to my husband. Now mind you, he's diabetic and he doesn't drink sweet tea, nor did he ever get into the habit of using substitutes. I wanted him to be honest and tell me if he tasted the sweetness and if it was pleasant to the taste.

His exact words: I can taste some sweetness and that is some good tasting tea!

 

Those words made my tea even sweeter.