Freeze-Dried vs Dehydrated: What's the Difference?

“Dried fruit” can mean very different things. The two most common methods are freeze-drying and hot-air dehydration.

	Freeze-dried	Dehydrated (hot air)
How	Frozen, then ice removed under vacuum	Warm air blown over the fruit
Texture	Light, crisp, crunchy	Chewy, leathery
Shape	Keeps its original shape	Shrinks and shrivels
Colour	Close to fresh	Often darker
Best for	Snacking, toppings, powders, inclusions	Chewy snacks, cooking

Which should you pick?

For crunchy snacks, bright colour and a fresh-fruit taste, freeze-dried wins. That’s why we use it for our fruit chips and dices.

For powders, both methods can work well depending on the fruit or vegetable. We choose the method that gives the best colour, flavour and solubility for each one.