Freeze-dried berries and fruit

Last year, several places were carrying bags of freeze-dried unsweetened fruit fairly cheap; Target had some under it's Archer Farms brand and IIRC we found others at the Aldi, and maybe even at the Jewel. We all like it; it's very sour, but still tastes like fruit with a crunch something like Cheetos; excellent for winter cereal (most of the branded cereal containing freeze-dried fruit sugar it to the point that we may as well be eating Fruit Loops)

Unfortunately, all our inexpensive sources have dissapeared, leaving only the $5-a-quart tub "Just..." brand. Anybody seen other sources out there?

Hi,

The Home Economist in Skokie has dried fruits, though perhaps not freeze dried fruits.

I always liken the freeze dried foods to eating NASA's astronaut food. As bad as it may be, I will occasionally buy the freeze dried ice cream at the Science and Industry. It has the "I'm eating like an astronaut" tingle I get from Tang.

Regards,

Mhays wrote: Anybody seen other sources out there?

I've seen freeze-dried mangosteens at Trader Joe's. A quick Google search also turned up TJ freeze-dried pineapple and strawberries. There might be others, and I imagine the prices would be competitive with your previous sources.

An online option for bulk purchases is http://store.honeyvillegrain.com/. It's still pretty expensive, but the shipping is at least a flat rate. I've never bought the freeze dried fruits from here, though, so I can't vouch for the quality. It's mainly my source for specialty flours in bulk.

I have seen freeze-dried rambutans at Trader Joes. Also Dominick's carries a brand called "Cereal Toppers" that come in a pouch and includes combos like strawberry/banana, raspberry/blueberry. I THINK they are about $2.99 for a decently sized pouch.

Right - THOSE were the ones I remember getting. I don't seem to be seeing them in my local Dominick's - where are you finding them, cupcake?

I hate the drive to Trader Joe's, but I'm curious about rambutans and loved the frozen mangosteens I had once...

Ugh--wish I could be more helpful, but I've been really cutting down on my trips to Jewel and Dominicks lately (in favor of produce markets and Trader Joes) so I don't have current info for you. I do remember that I initially thought they would be by the dried fruits/raisins, but they were usually in a display at the end of the cereal aisle or in an endcap. The bag is brightly colored with a cobolt blue color most prominent, especially at the top of the bag and the name (Cereal Toppers) is in big letters. I used to just scan around until they caught my eye! You can see a picture and read about them here: www.cerealtoppers.com. They still list Dominicks as a distributer.

Good luck!

FYI: found a different, but still acceptable, brand at Hungarian Kosher Foods at Crawford and Oakton. They are Sensible Foods brand; about $2 for an admittedly small pouch, but which tops 3-4 bowls of cereal.