The topic of spray drying is brand new to this blog, and I couldn't be more thrilled to share it with you today. Although I have mentioned spray drying in the past, I would like to highlight this method more frequently on the blog because it is a technique that is frequently used in research and development formulation labs. I've decided to talk to you about spray drying as well as freeze drying because I want to add an old face into the mix and make the introduction. You'll get a clearer picture of the differences and similarities between freeze drying and spray drying here in this post. Are you just as pumped up as I am? Dry on! On Saturday night, a group of our very best friends extended an invitation to join them for dinner. After a few glasses of wine, we started reminiscing about the good old days and telling stories about them. The main course consisted of fish and potatoes, so my wife decided to tell a funny story about how we used to prepare meals when we first started dating each other and how our relationship evolved over time. It would appear that I was the one who cooked the fish sticks in the oven and she was the one who cooked the fries in the frying pan. It has been many years since we last prepared this meal that is appropriate for children, but I believe that if we were to make fish sticks again, we would have continued to use the same methods. While I believe that fish sticks made in the oven are less greasy and crispier, she insists that fried fish sticks are more flavorful and require less time to prepare. It wasn't until I was lying in bed that I realized how many distinct approaches there are to accomplishing the same goal, which is to prepare fish in a cooked state. We could boil the fish, bake it, fry it, broil it, or even smoke it! In addition, the situation is precisely the same in the laboratory. There is more than one approach that could get you the same results. In point of fact, I have already touched upon this topic in a previous post where I discussed the ways in which rotary evaporation and freeze drying can be utilized to concentrate proteins.
Freeze Dried Cucumber Salad -- How to Use Up Your Garden Cucumber