FAQ
What is Freeze-Drying?
Freeze-drying, also known as Cryodesiccation is a process that involves removing moisture from a food item while continuing to preserve its taste, texture, and nutrients. It is achieved by freezing the product at extremely low temperatures and then subjecting it to a vacuum, causing the frozen water to evaporate directly from ice to vapor via sublimation. This process helps maintain the integrity of the food while vastly extending its shelf life.
What does Freeze-Dried Candy taste like?
When candy is frozen down to very low temperatures and all the water is extracted, the texture changes from heavy and chewy to light/Airy and crunchy. Freeze-Dried candies are a delicious twist on a familiar Candy favorites that anyone can enjoy. While almost all moisture leaves candy, the flavor remains. The light and crunchy texture releases all of the flavors at once. So, generally, chewier sweets tend to have an enhanced flavor when they are Freeze-Dried. Honestly the only way to explain it is to try it for yourself, we assure you wont be disappointed.
What is the shelf life on Freeze-Dried Products?
The process of freeze-drying removes between 98%-99% of all moisture in food, normal candy already starts with a very low moisture value. Freeze-dried food and candy retains almost zero of the moisture from its original state. Microorganisms need moisture to break down food, the lack of water in Freeze-Dried products makes that process impossible. Products preserved through Freeze-Drying have the longest shelf life of any food. Freeze-dried food storage will last nearly 25 years when kept in a dark, dry and controlled environment.
How should I store my Freeze-Dried candy before and after opening?
We use the highest quality resealable Mylar bags at a 9mil thickness (other companies use cheap bags that are thin and allow air to pass between the layers, over time breaking down the products inside) our bags once heat sealed are water tight and allow no moisture or oxygen to pass between the walls of the bag creating the best environment for Freeze-Dried products to last! Our bags do have a window front for product viewing so it is recommended to store them out of direct sunlight.
Freeze-Dried products are moisture sensitive, once opened they act like a sponge looking for moisture (its a slow process but over time it will pull moisture from the environment surrounding it), so its best to remove as much air and reseal the package if you wont be consuming the product for a long period of time. We have tested and once opened if stored and resealed properly products can still last upwards of 8 months to a year and still taste fresh.
Do Freeze-Dried Products need to be stored in a Fridge or Freezer?
Because the word Freeze is used in Freeze-Dried food and candy, some may think that once preserved, Freeze-Dried foods have to remain frozen—this is not true. You can keep Freeze-Dried foods at room temperature.
Once the Freeze-Drying process is complete, there is no need to keep them cold.
Where do you ship?
Due to Cottage Food laws in California, we are only allowed to ship or personally hand deliver to confirmed California addresses. We ship UPS or USPS . Shipping price is based on the total weight of your order. We have a way to save you money by offering FREE shipping on all orders over $50.00.
NOTE: We do not ship on Saturdays or Sundays due to our local post not being available for pickup of packages. All Packages are shipped out M-F only. (If you place an order on Sat-Sun your order will be fulfilled during weekday business hours)(If you need your order sooner we will be happy to accommodate you the best we can, as we do have vendor events on weekends. Please reach out to us by email or phone so we can help you with expediting your order)
Order Processing, Fulfillment, and Shipping Information:
Once your order is received through our system we will begin processing your order, this can take anywhere from 1-3 business days depending on payment methods used and speed of banking organizations processing payments on both ends, as well as size of order. (average process time is 1-2 business days) We strive to keep all items in stock but try to keep our products as fresh as possible for our customers.
Once your order is fulfilled with all items you will receive a fulfillment email and shipping/Tracking information from our system (please be sure to add us to your safe email list as our emails are automated by our system and can be sent to your spam folder)
Tracking information: You will receive an email with tracking information but this does not mean your order has shipped yet, our local post only picks up every other day at our location for bulk packaging - Monday, Wednesday, Friday. Excluding weekends and USA recognized Holidays (We do our best to speed this process up and frequently drive to the post office and drop off daily to help with postal delays and wait times to keep our customers happy)
All packages are sent out Via USPS or UPS and should be received within 3-5 business days (sooner if you are closer) Please allow extra time during holidays as we have no control over post office delays due to weather and high volumes of packages.
ONLY SELECT THE LOCAL PICKUP OPTION IF YOU PLAN TO PICK UP YOUR ORDER AT OUR LOCATION. Local pick up hours are M-F 10am-6pm excluding holidays. please send us an email after your order requesting a pickup time and we will find a time that works best for you, please also allow time for processing of your order as stated above. ALL ORDERS NOT LOCAL THAT CHOOSE THIS OPTION WILL BE REQUIRED TO PAY FOR SHIPPING OR YOUR ORDER WILL BE REFUNDED.
Return Policy and Shipping Delays/Lost/Stolen package Policy:
We cannot exchange products or return items. Once Cali Freeze Dried products are out of our hands, we cannot resell them to other customers. If you believe your product is defective or you have an issue with a received order, please contact us at: Califreezedried@gmail.com
We are not responsible for errors made by the shipping carrier. (ex.Delayed items, Damages, or Lost Packages).
To File A Claim for any of these reasons, Please Visit the USPS OFFICIAL WEBSITE or UPS OFFICIAL WEBSITE. (click link below)
We are not responsible for delays in shipping for reasons that are out of our control. (ex. Inclement Weather or any other unusual circumstance that may cause an unforeseen interference with carrier routes.
In the case that your shipment is lost or damaged in transit, YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE TO FILE THE CLAIM WITH USPS.
-WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR LOST PACKAGES DURING TRANSIT!
-WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR SHIPMENTS SENT TO FORWARDING SERVICES OR COMPANIES REGARDLESS OF SHIPPING SERVICE SELECTED, IF YOU PLACE AN ORDER AND YOUR SHIPPING ADDRESS IS A FORWARDING ADDRESS YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR CONTACTING YOUR FORWARDING COMPANY OR SERVICE TO LOCATE YOUR SHIPMENT.
-WE ARE ALSO NOT RESPONSIBLE TO WEATHER RELATED DAMAGE OR DELAYS! ONCE PACKAGE LEAVES OUR HANDS IT IS COMPLETELY OUT OF OUR CONTROL!
-WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR STOLEN PACKAGES FROM YOUR REQUESTED DROP OFF LOCATION. If you location is prone to package theft please contact us for assistance with a more secure method of shipping (ex: post office pickup, sign for delivery, do not leave on porch request we will do our best to help you find a suitable method) By placing an order to be shipped you agree as the customer to these terms. Chargebacks will not be accepted for items shipped out and fulfilled on our end.
We do our absolute best to package all orders in Crush Resistant boxes, packing peanuts or bubble wrap, and mark them all as fragile and handle with care. but once it leaves our hands we have no further control of its handling. If you encounter issues like this please contact us, as we will do our best to help you with the Claim process, we dont want to see any damaged packages or unhappy customers but we cant control what the mailman does with them once we ship them out.
Have another question not covered here? feel free to contact us at:
CaliFreezeDried@gmail.com