Both freeze-drying and dehydrating fruit are methods for preserving nutritious produce for later use. By removing the moisture from fruits,the food becomes more shelf-stable and resistant to mold or rot, which plagues fresh fruits as they age. While dehydrating and freeze-drying are both great ways to preserve fruit, the processes and the final products differ.
Dehydrated fruit is chewy because it retains about one-third its water content.