It's week #2 in April and the focus item is....

This week we will be focusing on Freeze-Dried/Dehydrated Meat. Now......one of the biggest comments I heard when Dehydrated/Freeze-Dried Fruits and Vegetables were the focus item was the cost of these products. One sister said she couldn't believe how costly they were no matter where she shopped for them.

Keep in mind that the water has been taken out of these products.....so they are more "concentrated". Think of the Frozen Orange Juice Concentrate you purchase at the store. To prepare the drink, you have to add water. So, you are getting a lot of "product" in a smaller container. Also, these last on your shelf (some claim to last up to 30 years) for long periods of time. If you have a power outage, if you want to go camping, if you are short on time and want to make a casserole or soup....these are so convenient to use.

Also, you can Dehydrate your own meats at a safe temperature (155 degrees or above) so if you have left over meat from a meal, this is an easy way to make sure you can store it. Certainly, make sure you remove all fat etc as it will make your meat go rancid. So, if you get meat on sale, this is certainly a viable option for you.

I have 2 different brands of Freeze-Dried Chicken in my home. They are from Alpine Food Storage and Emergency Essentials. I thought I would do a comparison for you.

 

I choose to use a large picture so that you can see the details more clearly.  The brand from AFS is on the left, the brand from EE is on the right.  Right off the bat, you can see a size difference in the pieces of chicken.  The color is similar.

I then put 1/4 Cup of each product into a 1 Cup bowl. 

I filled the containers with water.  Just so you know, the directions on the can instruct you to place the same amount of water per the amount of Freeze-dried meat in a container when rehydrating.  I just wanted to see if "I could get a little more" by doing this.  I waited over 5 minutes.  The labels instruct you to put in warm water and wait 5 minutes.

For size comparison, I put the cup of drained chicken in a container....on top of the can lid.  This is the product from Alpine Food Storage.  I measured it and it came out to be 1/2 Cup of product.  (Just an FYI, I only got 1/2 cup and no more for both...so extra water doesn't give you any extra product).

Here is the product from EE, which also equaled a 1/c of product.

The prices vary between products, but now that you can make a visual comparison, you can make a more informed choice.  Here are prices as they were during this past week from these two distributors:

Alpine Food Storage  (http://www.alpinefoodstorage.com/):

• Diced Chicken:  $38.00/can, $210.00/case
• Diced Beef:  $38.00/can, $210.00/case
• Pork Chops:  $30.00/can, $169.00/case

Emergency Essentials (http://www.beprepared.com/) in-store pricing:

• White Turkey Chunks:  $41.95
• White Chicken Chunks:  $41.95
• Sausage Crumbles:  $14.95
• Italian Meatballs:  $44.95
• Diced Ham:  $52.95

Just an FYI, we will be stocking up on Canned and Frozen meat later in the year.  As I suggested earlier in the year, you need to have more than one means of storing your food, so that if one fails, you have another to access to feed yourself and your families.