/

/

Batch-Crafted at Under 118°F

Dehydration is the key to a healthier and more flavorful snack choice.

Why We Love Dehydration

Aspen Crunch specializes in batch-crafted artisanal healthy snacks, dehydrated at under 118°F. When cooking our ingredients, we take delicate care to preserve their nutritional value while bringing out their intense flavors. We love dehydration because it keeps the ingredients’ nutritional profile intact, making the healthiest and most artistic way to make snacks.

• “Raw” Food
  
• Natural Without Preservatives
  
• Energy-Boosting Snack
  
• Amplified Flavors
  
• Pairs Well With Recipes
  

How Dehydration Works

Dehydration uses gentle temperatures (90-118°F), minimally elevated over a long period of time to remove moisture from food. In order for a food to qualify as dehydrated, 95% of its moisture must be removed. Aspen Crunch has less than 1% water content in its snacks.

Dehydration is a delicate process where original water and sugar content, surface area, temperature and humidity, and molecular gastronomy are all taken into account. When creating a new snack, we go through dozens of iterations before landing on the perfect combination of thickness and size of each slice and the temperature at which the dehydrator is set. The end result is a perfectly dehydrated snack full of intense flavor and optimal texture.

Some people ask, is dehydration new? The answer... no. In fact, it’s the oldest known method of food preservation, and the preferred method used by Aspen Crunch to make all of our tasty, nutritional snacks. 

“Raw” Food

Studies have shown a direct relationship between raw foods and better health. Changing your diet to include a higher percentage of raw foods is one way to help achieve a goal of healthier lifestyle. When cooked, baked, or otherwise exposed to high heat, food looses most of its important nutrients.

So how do you make a dried snack without sacrificing nutrients? Dehydration is the only answer. Dehydration has an average nutrient loss of only 3-5%, while other common methods of drying fruits and veggies such as freeze-drying, has an average nutrient loss of 40-60%. 

Natural Without Preservatives

Dehydration is the oldest known form of food preservation. This is because most bacteria and mold cannot grow on food that has less than 10% water content (and remember, dehydrated foods must have less than 5%). It’s a great all-natural way to extend shelf life without sacrificing nutrients or using preservatives.

Dehydrating and storing fruits also allows you to have access to seasonal fruits and vegetables all year long, so you don’t miss out on their specific nutritional benefits when they’re not in season. Dehydration is also an environmental health benefit! If you take food that has almost reached its expiry date and dehydrate it, you extend its usage and reduce food waste, which has become a leading contributor to global warming. 

Energy-Boosting Snack

Another benefit of dehydration is that it increases a food’s calories per ounce, making dehydrated foods more caloric-dense. Essentially, dehydrated fruits deliver a higher amount of energy and nutrients in a smaller portion, so you can eat less while gaining more.

Amplified Flavors

When you dehydrate fruits, you get concentrated fruit sugars, which intensifies flavors and makes especially sweet and tasty snacks. Many people tell us that they've never truly experienced the taste of pineapple until trying Maui Gold Pineapple in our Mountain Munch.

Pairs Well With Recipes

Dehydration brings out the true, natural flavor of foods. Their intensified flavor help improve many homemade recipes from energizing morning parfaits to salad dressings to spiced apple cider. At Aspen Crunch, we're fascinated by molecular gastronomy, which is a science that questions what flavors pair well on a molecular level.

If you believe that eating healthy can make a big impact on the way you feel, consider buying yourself an Aspen Crunch snack.