Acai Berry - Natures Highest Antioxidant Food

What Exactly is Acai Berry?

Acai Berry fruit is native to South American rain forests and due to its well-known health benefits it has proven to be very popular amongst its natives.

The tribals and natives of the Amazon used acai berries as a remedy for many ailments over thousands of years. Its combination of antioxidants and omega acids makes the acai berry one of the most wanted superfoods on the market. Actually, an acai berry has 10 times the amount of antioxidants in it than a grape does, and this is why the acai berry is now known as a superfood.

Acai Berry - The Process

Freeze Drying Acai Berries for Better Health Benefits

Freeze drying is a process of removing liquids from a certain product with the goal of increasing the shelf life. In fruits, freeze drying is applied to maintain the health benefits of the fruit while increasing shelf life. Freeze drying is also used by taxidermists and Astronauts usually consume frozen dried meal when in space. The most popular use of of freeze drying process is applied in fruits.

Three Part Process of Freeze Drying

Freezing

Fruits are placed in shell freezers or similar facility with temperatures that range from -50 oC to -80 oC. This step is the most important in the freeze drying process as this will separate the liquid from the solid component of fruits. Any deviation from the approved process will result to spoilage. The cells in fruits could be easily damaged and could become rotten if the area is too cold. If the area is not cool enough, water might not separate from the solid components of the fruit such as in acai burn.

Primary Drying

After the freezing process, the fruits are placed in the primary drying process. At this stage, at least 95% of the water content in fruits should be removed. Although not as important as the freezing process, it’s probably the most complicated. The latent heat of fruit should be constantly observed. Latent heat is basically the heat required of a material to transfer to a different phase. In this case, enough heat should be applied to the fruits to melt the water and transform them into vapor. The heat could come from convection, radiation or simple conduction.

Secondary Drying

During the second drying phase, the remaining water content in the fruits is removed. They are often in the form of ice which means it requires a little bit more heat to completely remove the remaining water.

If the freeze drying process is a success, the fruits could stay in the same form for a very long period of time. Aside from health benefits, the taste and smell of the fruits would even stay the same. Freeze dried fruits could then be powdered which could become soluble and taken as fruit juice.