How To Freeze Dry Apple Pie Filling
Jul 6, 2023
Fresh herbs are awesome, but the problem is, they take a while to prepare. Most of the time, you often end up throwing out almost a third (or more) of the herbs you bought. Litehouse freeze dried herbs solved that issue, and we’re here to talk about them in our review!
Litehouse started as a company offering refrigerated salad dressings. Then, as the company grew, they added more to what they bring to the table – literally.
They go far back as 1882 in the food business. But it wasn’t after WWII that Ed Hawkins Sr. received inspiration that would soon lead to a great company. While working as a chef in 1949, Ed heard his boss complain about the poor quality of the blue cheese they used on their salads. So after prayers and a lot of experiments, Ed finally made it. He made a bled of mayonnaise, crumbled blue cheese, spices, and buttermilk. For him, it was the first creamy blue dressing that ever existed.
Almost 10 years later, Ed and his wife Lorena got Hurshell’s Litehouse restaurant at Lade Pend Orielle, Hope, Idaho. The dressing was such a hit that people would bring empty jars to fill and take home.
Since then, their vision has been to improve life, starting at the dinner table. Their goal is to make meals memorable. To this date, the company is 100% employee-owned and has 4 food products brands that provide a mix of flavor and culture.
You have a satisfying number of choices when you shop for Litehouse freeze dried herbs. Their website offers the following options of freeze-dried herbs and aromatics:
They also have flavor blends that make life easy. These can be a lifesaver if you’re cooking a recipe for the first time or in a hurry to cook something up. You can choose from:
What’s great about them is that they offer the convenience of dried herbs. You can take them anywhere with you and won’t have to worry about spoilage. They can also last long in your pantry, so you have herbs to use on demand.
Where Do The Herbs Come From?The bottle says Product of Germany, with no other source details.
Litehouse keeps their process a trade secret. Very few companies are transparent about their process, so this can be expected.
Litehouse freeze-dried herbs cost between $4.48-$18.81, depending on the size of the jar. As for the herb blends, you’ll be spending $18.71-18.76.
In their Amazon store, though, you’ll be spending $5.61-$11.61 on the herbs and $6.90-$8.99 on the herb blends.
Litehouse recommends that for one tablespoon of fresh herb needed, you substitute with one tablespoon freeze dried. It’s a veer from the usual practice of dehydrated herbs, isn’t it?
But many customers do find success in following this ratio. This can only mean that their freeze-dried herbs are close to fresh ones.
You can add water to reconstitute the freeze-dried herbs completely. Or you can add them as is to sauces, soups, and marinades for a delicious meal.
Litehouse has a 3-4 year shelf life, which is pretty short for a freeze-dried herb. However, these aren’t stored in Mylar bags but in vacuum-sealed resealable bottles. So once you open them, you have 6 months to 1 year to use them before they lose their flavor.
Some customers say, short of using fresh basil, these herbs are the best they found. The taste is “almost” like they came straight from the herb garden. They look and smell almost like fresh herbs, and better than dehydrated ones. The freeze-drying process was able to preserve the essential oils. You’ll get a luscious aroma of the herbs of it when you open your bottle. These are the closest thing if you’re looking for fresh herbs and can’t find them.
They’re definitely convenient. They solve the problem of having herbs always going bad in the fridge. No more wasting herbs; every piece is good until the last one. Many make this their go-to when they run out of fresh herbs to use.
Those who are used to getting their herbs straight from the garden love the Litehouse flavors. They keep them on their shelves for stock and use while waiting for the next harvest. It gives so much flavor to food and tastes fresh like they were just picked.
Some are unimpressed, though. One thought they’ll be getting something special but was disappointed. For her, it’s just the same as any other dried herb.
Litehouse freeze-dried herbs are one of the popular brands of commercial herbs and with good reason. The flavors are spot-on, and the company continues to improve through the years.
They’re great for daily use or for emergencies when you run out of fresh herbs to use. Although some aren’t impressed with the flavor, many still love the brand. They would rather spend more on getting quality freeze-dried herbs, than save a couple of dollars on stale, brown, dehydrated herbs.
If you use herbs a lot for cooking and it’s okay for you to spend on your food, this is a good investment. But if you only use herbs occasionally, the short shelf life makes it inadvisable. We haven’t heard someone re-pack them in Mylar bags for long-term storage. This is of course, pretty ridiculous since you’re buying something for instant consumption. But if you want to test if it can last longer with better storage equipment, it would be fun to know the outcome.
Have you tried Litehouse Freeze Dried Herbs? Let us know in the comment section what you think about it!
Also, remember to subscribe to your YouTube channel. We’ll be sharing reviews of freeze-dried products and comparing them with those we freeze-dried on our own. See you in our channel!
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