If you’ve followed us for a little while, we talk a lot about nutrition. While ultimately we’d all love to be able to feed a huge variety of fresh fruits and vegetables all year round and for our birds to eat them gladly, sadly that’s not the case. Our birds don’t always like what we offer, and who wants to eat tasteless strawberries in January anyways?
By using some pretty cool science, there is a way we can maximize seasonal produce. Most of us have heard of freeze drying, but how many of us really know how it works? Sublimation is the process by which a solid (in this case water frozen into ice) goes straight from a solid to a gas skipping the part where the ice melts into water. This is the basic principle of how freeze drying works. This process can only be achieved by lowering the atmospheric pressure in a sealed chamber (i.e. a vacuum is created). Once the temperature starts to rise the water goes straight out, allowing the frozen food to maintain its shape, texture, color, and taste.
Freeze dried food is also the most effective form of food preservation with regards to preserving the nutrition, especially when it comes to heat sensitive vitamins like vitamin C. Some birds, my own in particular, don’t care much for “wet” food. Having a nice crunchy piece to bite into is more enticing and 98% as nutritious as fresh. On top of texture and nutrition, the shelf life of freeze dried food cannot be beat! If your bird is suspicious of dry food, freeze dried food can be reconstituted to close to the same texture if it's soaked in water.
Looking to try some freeze dried produce? We carry Karen’s Naturals, which includes a variety of fruits and vegetables. For questions, or to place an order, message us here, or text or call (937) 848-4819. We can ship almost all products!
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