Abstract
Freeze-dried foods may advance the institu tional food service industry from today's "frozen era" to a "dehydrated era" in the next few years. Advances in food processing technology have already enabled processors to place on today's market freeze-dried soups, salads, entrees, sauces, vegetables, and beverages.
Pioneering the quantity use of freeze-dried foods is the military, which used over 2,500,000 individual freeze-dried meat dishes in 1967. For 1968, they have awarded contracts for 8,500,000 items.
The disadvantages of freeze-dried foods today are the high cost of utilizing the products in our present operations, and the lack of users' knowl edge of how to prepare them. These disadvan tages, however, are expected to be overcome in the foreseeable future.
The major advantages of freeze-dried foods are: (1) the consistency of quality, (2) ease in storing, as no refrigeration is needed, (3) long shelf life, (4) lower transportation costs, be cause weighty liquids have been removed, and (5) menu variety can be achieved without ex tensive preparation facilities.
If the progress in the next few years equals or exceeds that of the past five, freeze-dried foods will soon play a major role in the institutional food service industry. — Professor Vance A. Christian, School of Hotel Administration.
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