FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Should I choose dehydrated, or freeze-dried food?
When choosing between dehydrated or freeze-dried products, the criteria will really depend on the following: How much storage space you’ll have for the products, how long you need it to last for, how quickly you want to eat and… the size of your wallet.
Both methods remove moisture from food, which inhibits the growth of bacteria, yeast and mold.
Method:
Dehydration: Food are placed on trays in a dehydrator. Moisture is removed & carried away by a steady flow of air over the food.
Freeze-drying: The food is placed on racks inside of a vacuum chamber. The temperature is lowered to below freezing and then slowly raised. The water in the food moves from a solid state to a gaseous state.
Shelf-life:
Dehydration removes between 90 & 95% of the moisture content. Although our Best Before date is 6 months from production, just to be safe, some customers have reported using our vegetables 2 years later, with no change in taste or freshness. The colour might fade over time though.
Freeze-drying removes between 95 & 98% of the moisture, which increases the shelf-life extensively.
Nutritional Content:
Depending on which study you believe; the nutritional value of the food is kept pretty much in tack.
Dehydration doesn’t change the fibre or iron content of food. However, the heat in the dehydration process, although very low, might cause the loss of more heat sensitive vitamins & minerals, such as vitamins A and C, thiamine, riboflavin and niacin.
Freeze-dried foods lack in some vitamins, like vitamin C, which breaks down very rapidly.
Appearance & Composition:
Dehydrated food are darker in colour than fresh food. After rehydration the texture is close to the original. Some veggies, like carrots, can still be crunchy, while others become chewy. Dehydrated food is light and also shrinks substantially, making it ideal to fit into a backpack, handbag, or briefcase. When rehydrated, it swells back to, close to, the original size.
Freeze-dried food keeps its original shape and texture. Although it is lighter than dehydrated food, it doesn’t shrink & will thus take up more space than its equivalent dehydrated portion size.
Re-hydration:
Dehydrated food will require a rehydration time of up to 15 minutes.
Freeze-dried food rehydrates in 5–6 minutes, or longer.
Cost:
Dehydrated foods are substantially cheaper than freeze-dried.
How long do you need to prepare my order?
We usually get meals & oats orders out within a day or two. If you are in a hurry though, rather contact us to be sure we can accommodate you in time.
Most vegetables are made to order and might take an extra day or two.
How long does shipment take?
To main centres and KZN: Usually overnight, but add a day, just to be sure.
To outlying areas: Delivery can take up to 72 hours (business days).
Please note that the couriers do not operate over weekends & public holidays.
Johannesburg, Pretoria, Polokwane, Rustenburg, Nelspruit, Vaal Triangle, Kimberley, Bloemfontein, Cape Town, George, Port Elizabeth, East London, Stellenbosch (50km around each of the these centres is usually considered a main centre).
Are courier fees calculated according to the order size?
Courier fees are standard per “Flyer Bag” (sleeve dimensions: 45cm x 35cm, when flat packed). This equates to 20 pouches vegetables, or 20 small meals/oats, or 10 large meals/oats. For larger orders, kindly contact us so that alternative solutions can be sought before placing your order.
In the event of your parcel requiring a dedicated special trip to deliver the shipment, additional charges may be levied. Examples of special delivery areas include: Mines, Power Stations, Plots/Farms, Military Bases, Game Lodges, Ports/Harbours, Embassies and Consulates. In this instance, you will be contacted prior to delivery.
Do I have to make use of the courier service, or can I collect?
Customers in the Cape Town area are welcome to collect their orders at our premises, on appointment. You will receive an email notification when your order is ready for collection.
What if I don’t like/have an intolerance to certain ingredients?
In the Raw Meals ingredients can easily be omitted/substituted. The Cooked Meals are cooked in bulk, thus ingredients can only be omitted if you order in bulk. Nuts and peanuts can always be omitted. You are welcome to contact us to see how we can accommodate you. We want to be sure you really enjoy the meals.
How ‘clean’ are your products?
We do not add any chemicals to our products. The only exceptions are the meals containing soy sauce, which contains less than 0.1%% of a preservative, and the chocolate chips in the oats, which contains sugar & some chemicals. We are still searching for a plant-based, sugar-free, chemical-free chocolate, which is affordable – a very tall order!
Do your products contain animal ingredients?
All our meals and oats are plant-based. Customers are welcome to add their own choice of meat, i.e. biltong/tuna/chorizo.
Will the meals be ready for consumption after hot water is added?
All meals need to be re-hydrated for at least 15 minutes.
Cooked Meals: For optimal enjoyment, we advise bringing the meals to a boil & re-heating it for a few minutes. Raw Meals: These are still, well, raw. It thus needs to be cooked after re-hydration.
One can also add our Cooked Meals to a pressure flask and add boiling water. After 30 – 60 minutes your meal will be ready. This is a nice, no-fuss way, as it saves on gas and the meal will stay warm for hours.
What is the difference between Raw Meals & Pre-Cooked Meals?
The Raw Meal pouch contains a raw starch base & dehydrated vegetables, with sea salt, herbs & spices and nuts/peanuts. To prepare, simply add the contents of the packet to a pot of water, allow to re-hydrate & cook until done.
The Cooked Meals have been fully cooked before de-hydration. You just have to re-hydrated & heat it.
What do I do with the dehydrated vegetables?
Add the required amount to water to rehydrate (warm water works faster). The veggies are now ready to use in cooking, as one would use fresh vegetables, i.e. add to stir-fries, baking, quiches, pizza toppings.
It is not necessary to re-hydrate the vegetables first when used in soups & stews.
Dehydrated vegetables can also be enjoyed as a snack, as is, or sprinkled over salads (i.e. mushroom & onion sprinkles).
Can the oats be eaten raw?
Absolutely. It is entirely about personal preference. We’ve had customers hooked on it raw (it will still have a chewy texture), while others prefer it cooked into a porridge.
Note that if you prefer to cook the oats, it is advised to add salt to taste.
Do you have outlets outside Cape Town?
We only sell via our own online platform, as well as those of our partners. Our products are thus available throughout the country.
