I'm not quite following this either... one of the issues with FD meals from the big boys is that they often have fairly low Cal/oz.
To be fair... that could be simple economics of using cheaper "filler" ingredients rather than looking at heartier meals or concentrated foods.
But here's a simple commercial meal supplier-
http://www.preparewise.com/emergency...d-chicken.html
Freeze dried chicken- they post 24G serving at 100 cal.
So 24/28.5= .842oz. 100/.842= 118.76 cal/oz.
Eggs-
http://www.preparewise.com/emergency-powdered-eggs.html
13g serving @80 cal. (says equal to one egg)
So 13/28.5= .456 oz. 80/.456= 175.44 cal/oz.
Unless I'm missing something I don't think you can break the basic 200 cal/oz rule? Even with all water removed I'd think eggs are the closest you'd come.
Even if you got pure concentrated fat... 9cal/g stuff... 9x28.5g= 256.5 cal and even pure oil doesn't achieve that. Remember calories are measured dry anyway... bit like we burn dry wood vs green wood.
NOW... all that said. Thanks so much for posting info about this product and process. Even if the math isn't quite right on the calories (or I'm wrong which is great!) this is still a great way to make meals and I am very interested.
I too am excited about this machine and possibly using it in the future as well. I think the cost per meal is lower too if it's something you can keep around/handy. Just like the dehydrator if you can make an extra few servings (or have leftovers you'd toss) when cooking normal meals then simply drying the extra you've made is virtually no labor. If you had a garden or could take advantage of seasonal produce sales then you can do this pretty cheaply with better quality too.
Also- when folks are looking at cost per meal with FD stuff- good economics would dictate you deduct the cost of the alternative too. As in even if this costs you $4 a meal, it still costs you to eat period. So if this is a $4 meal vs a $3 meal but much higher quality food (as in you sourced the food and know where it came from) then it's very worth it to many. Also, FD does come back much better than dehydrated no matter how well you dry conventionally.
Even something simple like being able to season your meals is a big bonus to me. Big bold stuff comes through with a dehydrator (chili, gravy (red sauce), and hot foods) but any subtle seasoning is usually lost. It sounds like herbs and aromatics come through freeze drying much better. Texture too.
Again... not trying to nitpick.. that's a big investment to make and I am very curious about it overall and really appreciate the feedback.
My only concern is the mylar packaging needed. No worse than plastics I suppose but still...