Does Anyone Here Freeze Dry Food

[Hoji]

We have a Harvest Right freeze dryer ordered and wanted to see if anyone here does freeze drying and if they had any particular food that was a favorite

 

[Sam7sf]

Do these units have cycles that handle peas or blueberries or will you still have to cut the skin?

 

[Hoji]

I believe all I have to do is put them in and turn it on.

 

[Sam7sf]

I was wanting to see one of these smaller dryers work and was hoping a guy didn’t have to break the skins on peas or bb’s

 

[Sam Colt]

Fruits with skin do better if perforated. For blueberries we freeze and then bash on counter like a bag of ice on game day.

Do you have the medium size dryer?

 

[Sam Colt]

Get a couple of y fittings for the top of the drain hose. I know you're a process guy, but the first time you accidentally crack the pressure valve with the drain hose in the water bucket you'll thank me.

 

[Sam Colt]

Eggs are on sale this month. $.97/dz. We do 15 to a tray, blended. Then crush to powder and seal in mylar. 2 tbsp egg + 2 tbsp water = 1 egg. Great scrambled or use in baking.

When strawberries were <$1/lb we put up 60 lbs. They're tricky. The seeds hold moisture. Go to final dry and then let it run until you're flirting with 200 mTorr. Like 40-45 hrs.

 

[Hoji]

Fruits with skin do better if perforated. For blueberries we freeze and then bash on counter like a bag of ice on game day.

Do you have the medium size dryer?

Yep. Ordered the medium and zero maintenance pump. Decided that based on the medium drying food a bit faster than the large.
Should be here in December

 

[Sam Colt]

I was wanting to see one of these smaller dryers work and was hoping a guy didn’t have to break the skins on peas or bb’s

Short answer is that damaging the skin, like we do by freezing and bashing, cuts the cycle time in half. With skins intact it can take 60-80 hours to do grapes, BBs, or the like properly. And you want to go proper so you don't open a bag in a couple of years and get grand funk blueberries.

 

[Hoji]

Get a couple of y fittings for the top of the drain hose. I know you're a process guy, but the first time you accidentally crack the pressure valve with the drain hose in the water bucket you'll thank me.

I’ll thank you now

 

[Sam Colt]

Yep. Ordered the medium and zero maintenance pump. Decided that based on the medium drying food a bit faster than the large.
Should be here in December

That pump is money. We have the premier and it has a 20 batch oil change interval. When they dropped ours off the truck there were 3 more on the van for delivery.

 

[Hoji]

That pump is money. We have the premier and it has a 20 batch oil change interval. When they dropped ours off the truck there were 3 more on the van for delivery.

It was expensive for sure, but not having to keep up with oil changes…….

 

[Sam7sf]

Short answer is that damaging the skin, like we do by freezing and bashing, cuts the cycle time in half. With skins intact it can take 60-80 hours to do grapes, BBs, or the like properly. And you want to go proper so you don't open a bag in a couple of years and get grand funk blueberries.

I know I worked for Oregon freeze dry. Curious to know how good home dryers are. Definitely post more of your methods. Consider my questions learning to see what’s changed. If anything.

 

[Sam Colt]

Venison stew FTW. We did 2 trays and 2 of curry chicken. Rice separate. Tastes really good.It's going to be gold in camp.

What I found is the math is pretty easy. For liquids, it's 90%+ water. Fruit & veg 80%. Prepped food 70-80% The dryer can pull roughly 1.5 lb. of water per tray without straining. Over that and the ice buildup on the drum starts slowing the cycle limes measurably. So for strawberries we do about 1.75 lbs per tray. Soup or broth 1.5. Pasta meals about 2 lbs.

 

[Hoji]

So, realistically , how much food can you reasonably expect to process/store in a year? I know what the numbers from Harvest Right say, but…….

 

[Sam7sf]

I was gonna ask about ice. You say drum. Do these units use aluminum fins? On big units such as ones large enough for a lock out tag out it’s easy to clean. How’s cleaning on these?

 

[Sam Colt]

Skittles ARE the bomb. Crazy good. Gummy bears turn to foam crunch when you bite them, and then epoxy on about the 3rd chew. Flavors are way enhanced. Filling trays with ice cream sandwiches cut into fourths is great, but they can foam up sometimes so keep some space between the pieces. Kids love those.

Dip avocado slices in a water bath with a couple of tbsps of lime juice stirred in. They re-hydrate well for guacamole.

Everything benefits from pre-freezing. You'll want the stacking clips 3D printers are selling and a level freezer. We freez fruit and meat slices in a thin layer on regular cookie sheets and then ziplock. Spread out on dryer trays and go. Freeze liquids and eggs in quart ziplocks level on the same kind of sheets, 2 with the bags peeled away fit on a dryer tray nicely.

 

[Sam Colt]

I was gonna ask about ice. You say drum. Do these units use aluminum fins? On big units such as ones large enough for a lock out tag out it’s easy to clean. How’s cleaning on these?

No fins. Smooth drum. Defrost and wipe dry. Mild soap after raw foods.

 

[Sam7sf]

Skittles ARE the bomb. Crazy good. Gummy bears turn to foam crunch when you bite them, and then epoxy on about the 3rd chew. Flavors are way enhanced. Filling trays with ice cream sandwiches cut into fourths is great, but they can foam up sometimes so keep some space between the pieces. Kids love those.

Dip avocado slices in a water bath with a couple of tbsps of lime juice stirred in. They re-hydrate well for guacamole.

Everything benefits from pre-freezing. You'll want the stacking clips 3D printers are selling and a level freezer. We freez fruit and meat slices in a thin layer on regular cookie sheets and then ziplock. Spread out on dryer trays and go. Freeze liquids and eggs in quart ziplocks level on the same kind of sheets, 2 with the bags peeled away fit on a dryer tray nicely.

You freeze dried gummy bears!? How can I become your friend and try some? Lol

 

[Sam7sf]

Sam colt try this: after freeze drying apple slices put them back into a freezer. Really good!