[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/www.timemanagementplans.com\/how-to-save-time-cooking\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.timemanagementplans.com\/how-to-save-time-cooking\/","headline":"How to Save Time Cooking","name":"How to Save Time Cooking","description":"Mankind has been cooking food for hundreds of thousands of years. \u00a0We have come a long way since our hunter-gatherer ancestors roasted a fresh kill over an open fire. \u00a0We have learned to convert raw foods into intermediate materials that we use in cooking: spices, herbs, sauces, flours, flavorings, and more. \u00a0But the more foods...","datePublished":"2016-09-12","dateModified":"2025-06-04","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.timemanagementplans.com\/author\/mark\/#Person","name":"Mark","url":"https:\/\/www.timemanagementplans.com\/author\/mark\/","identifier":2,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/131cfccbaaff5083caadb2ebb178119fe605ab5a0bdcf4a00e7f2ec170a49434?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/131cfccbaaff5083caadb2ebb178119fe605ab5a0bdcf4a00e7f2ec170a49434?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Reflective Dynamics, Inc.","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.timemanagementplans.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/time-management-plans-blog-logo.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.timemanagementplans.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/time-management-plans-blog-logo.jpg","width":600,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.timemanagementplans.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/save-time-while-cooking.jpg?fit=720%2C360&ssl=1","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.timemanagementplans.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/save-time-while-cooking.jpg?fit=720%2C360&ssl=1","height":360,"width":720},"url":"https:\/\/www.timemanagementplans.com\/how-to-save-time-cooking\/","about":["Cooking"],"wordCount":1122,"articleBody":"Mankind has been cooking food for hundreds of thousands of years. \u00a0We have come a long way since our hunter-gatherer ancestors roasted a fresh kill over an open fire. \u00a0We have learned to convert raw foods into intermediate materials that we use in cooking: spices, herbs, sauces, flours, flavorings, and more. \u00a0But the more foods we learn to make and the more complicated we make them the longer it takes to prepare a meal. \u00a0In today’s busy western society cooking has become an optional chore for many, even though it remains an enjoyable passtime for some people.To save time while cooking society has developed some wonderful technologies, including:Reheatable mealsPowdered liquid mealsMeal barsReady-to-Go snacksSpreadable foodsPackaged snacks and mealsBut we need hot food and foods that must be cooked before we can eat them. \u00a0So cooking is really a part of our lifestyles that will never fully go away. \u00a0We can pay other people to cook for us if we have the means but we still have to wait for the meals to be prepared. \u00a0If you are dining out you must travel to the restaurant where you will eat. \u00a0If you are ordering home delivery meals you must wait for them to arrive.For that reason reheatable meals have become a mainstay of western home dining. \u00a0The majority of our reheatable meals are now frozen microwaveable dinners, many of which do not taste very good when compared to freshly cooked meals. \u00a0But there is another option in the reheatable meal category, one that only a few people take advantage of.These are freeze-dried meals, which come prepared (already cooked) in airtight packages. \u00a0All you do is add water. \u00a0In most cases you have the option of adding either hot water or cold water to the freeze-dried foods. \u00a0Based on product reviews of the most popular freeze-dried food, it seems that customers much prefer adding hot water to their meals. \u00a0In fact, it takes cold water about 3 times as long to restore a freeze-dried meal as it does hot water. \u00a0Hence, in the interest of saving time you will want to use hot water as much as possible when eating freeze-dried foods.What Are Freeze-Dried Meals? \u00a0How are They Made?A freeze-dried meal is food fully cooked and ready to eat. \u00a0The food is placed inside a special package and frozen. \u00a0The water content of the frozen package is then removed through a combination of vacuum and low heat process. \u00a0Finally, the package is sealed with nitrogen. \u00a0The food can last for decades and only a small amount of the nutrients, such as vitamin C and E, are loss during the process. \u00a0The only serious drawback to the freeze-drying process, which you can learn to do at home, is that it requires more energy than canning and normal freezing.The US military adopted freeze-dried foods in its Meals Ready-to-Eat (MREs) program because they weigh considerably less than fully hydrated foods and last a long time. \u00a0Military-quality MREs have a guaranteed shelf-life of 5 years with a “re-check” date of 3 years, provided they are stored in dry temperatures no higher than 80 degrees Fahrenheit.In fact, military-grade MREs have been popular with civilians for decades and although they are not offered for direct sale to the civilian population many cases of unopened but distributed MREs have been sold through military surplus channels. \u00a0Despite their long shelf lives, MREs once issued to troops cannot be restocked in military warehouses because there is no accounting for the conditions under which they were handled in the open. \u00a0Though usually deemed safe to eat, surplus MREs have shorter shelf lives than similar MREs manufactured for direct sale to civilians.However, civilian versions of military MREs with similar caloric and flavor quality have been sold since the mid-2000s and many ex-military personnel claim that these newer civilian MREs are just as good to eat as the military-issued rations. \u00a0Hence, the shelf-lives tend to be longer than for surplus stores.Other freeze-dried food manufacturers have been selling products to civilians for decades. \u00a0Mountain House is one of the leading producers of MREs for campers and survivalists and their customers swear by the quality of their foods.How Should Freeze-dried Foods be Stored?As noted above, you should keep your freeze-dried MREs in a cool, dry place. \u00a0An air-conditioned warehouse is fine but most of us don’t have such facilities. \u00a0A cool, dry cellar or basement would be a good place but you want to keep the packages in watertight containers and stacked on shelves raised at least six inches off the floor. \u00a0It would also be best to use some humidity control products like Damp-Rid to ensure that random moisture doesn’t contaminate the food.You could also store the packages in a garage or storage shed provided you don’t allow the temperatures to rise above 80 degrees Fahrenheit. \u00a0The reason why you want to keep the products cool is that heat cooks the food even without water.How is Freeze-dried Food Reheated?The military MREs come packaged with special bags called Flameless Ration Heaters (FRHs). \u00a0To reheat a freeze-dried component of an MRE you open the package, slide it into the FRH with a heating pad, and then add water. \u00a0The water activates the heating element and the food is warmed up. \u00a0You must not drink the water.Civilian MREs may not come with their own heaters, but they can be purchased separately.How Does Eating Freeze-dried Food Save Time?Since the food in an MRE is already cooked you don’t have to do anything to prepare it except unseal the package and rehydrate it. \u00a0The heating process is automatic and the heating elements eventually run out of energy. \u00a0You may have enough energy to heat 2-3 parts of a meal. \u00a0The food can be served on a plate or any normal dish.You can buy steel, aluminum, or enamel camping dishware that is safe to use with freeze-dried meals. \u00a0Some people use these dishes in their homes and RVs as well as on camping trips. \u00a0The process of heating a freeze-dried meal takes about as long as a microwave meal needs to heat up.Which is Better, an MRE or a Microwave Meal?This is really a matter of personal taste. \u00a0Some microwaveable meals are deemed quite delicious by consumers but in general the freeze-dried meal community is more enthusiastic about the quality of their dining experience than the microwave meal-consuming public. \u00a0Microwaving your leftovers is usually more satisfying than heating up a frozen meal.\/\/ Did you like this article? 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