Vacuum Frying VS Freeze Drying Technique

Recently we got more inquiry on vegetable/fruit chips, clients can't tell the difference between many kinds of dried products, like air dired, freeze dried, vacuum fried, sugar preserved, sun dried or spray dried ect. products.

You can't know exactly what you've met only by tasting or seeing them once, like the following pictures:

Look at this pumpkin and potato chips in jar, they are thinner in thickness, and salt can be seen on them.

Do you know how they are made? There are reasons to testify that they are made by vacuum frying - A processing technique made by slight frying in low temperature oil, but not our freeze dried pumpkin and potato:

1. Most slices made by freeze drying are 5-7mm in thickness, but they seems like only 2mm thick;

2. Most freeze dried items are only processed with original natural flavor and taste, may have sugar or honey added but that depends on what product they are and the technique condition are differet, but they have salt added.

3. Fruits are easy to have natural fruit flavor and aroma after freeze drying, so many clients like to order FD fruit mixed to make small packing snacks or family treats, but FD vegetables are different, they taste very bland and we don’t suggest to make mixed recipe for clients to retail, but VF items usually have mixed vegetable chips, with much flavor added.

4. Freeze dried item have fewer change in color and shape compared with their original material.

So when you are asking for vegetable chips, mostly you are referring to VF products. But when you are asking for fruit chips, then please make it clear what you are looking for, freeze drying or vacuum frying.