Author Topic: Freeze Drying Food... (Read 5703 times)

wynnp4 · « **on:** January 13, 2021, 10:47:32 PM »

Anyone have a freeze dryer? We got one last year and have been really happy with it! I love using it... If anyone has any questions please feel free to ask....

While they are pricey I think it is a worthy investment if you have access to bulk veggies and fruit.... It is also great for meats (lean) both cooked and raw...

IMG_20200505_165602_674 by sky_soldier_82nd, on Flickr

I have done all kinds of foods...

Excess eggs...

20200509_181112 by sky_soldier_82nd, on Flickr

Yogurt and Ice cream Sandwiches

20200514_180822 by sky_soldier_82nd, on Flickr

Chocolate milk and Cooked rice meals

20200518_051803 by sky_soldier_82nd, on Flickr

Sausage gravy and breakfast scramble...

20200922_051216 by sky_soldier_82nd, on Flickr

We are still learning but it is a lot of fun...
WP

wayupnorth · « **Reply #1 on:** January 14, 2021, 07:18:57 AM »

We have been kinda looking at them but they are pricey, glad to hear it is working well for you. Thanks for sharing.

wynnp4 · « **Reply #2 on:** January 14, 2021, 09:34:22 AM »

Yes the are a bit spendy.....

I have heard the argument "I can buy a lot of food for what it costs." Yea you can... but then all you have is boxes or containers of high sodium foods of questionable ingredients and quality. With the HR I know exactly what is in it....

I can take fresh fruits and veggies out of the garden or purchase them in bulk from other local farmers and preserve it for 20 or so years with no extra preservatives.

I did an experiment with ground beef....

I used a cheaper higher fat burger which was a mistake... always use higher quality lower fat meats. Mainly because of shrinkage...

I bought 6 pounds of 73/27....

20200824_180012 by sky_soldier_82nd, on Flickr

Cooked it and weighed it after cooking...

2x 3# packages became 1.10# and 1.12#

20200824_175834 by sky_soldier_82nd, on Flickr

20200824_182211 by sky_soldier_82nd, on Flickr

After freeze drying... .85# and .82#

20200826_184950 by sky_soldier_82nd, on Flickr

20200826_184807 by sky_soldier_82nd, on Flickr

So 6 pounds of meat became 1.6 pounds....

I think going with a 93/7, while more expensive would be less loss... nind you its all water weight...

Even still..

A #10 can of Mountain House Ground beef is $68 dollars (when it's in stock). Thats 22oz..

https://mountainhouse.com/products/ground-beef-10-can

Currently 73% beef here is $2.99 a pound...so 6 pounds is $17.94.

If my math is correct I ended up with the same amount...

WP

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Jackalope · « **Reply #3 on:** January 14, 2021, 09:37:39 AM »

Very cool. We've looked at them too, but haven't been able to justify the expense. We do dehydrate a lot of things, including eggs, herbs, etc. Thanks for posting.

wynnp4 · « **Reply #4 on:** January 14, 2021, 09:46:53 AM »

I do dehydrate some stuff too... but it's definitely apples to oranges.... the end product in the FD is much dryer and more shelf stable.... i think the both have a place for sure...

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Nemo · « **Reply #5 on:** January 14, 2021, 10:08:17 AM »

Where you live? Got room in the front yard for me to park my camper and help on your electric bill for a week?

Nemo

wynnp4 · « **Reply #6 on:** January 14, 2021, 11:27:57 AM »

Quote from: Nemo on January 14, 2021, 10:08:17 AM

Where you live? Got room in the front yard for me to park my camper and help on your electric bill for a week?

Nemo

I got room... but as wet as it is I'm thinking it would be messy....

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JohnyMac · « **Reply #7 on:** January 14, 2021, 08:38:31 PM »

Awesome report Wynn. Thank you for taking the time to do it and posting here.

MrsMac and I looked at them but the price was a bit high for us. A group of friends wanted to buy one and share it amongst the group. MrsMac then brought up the weight of an item being shared within a group and rightfully so, she was worried at some point it would be broken in transport; Consequently, we backed out of the plan.

Think about it. One of these units cost two high end or three moderate AR's. At this point it is time to move on from adding more firearms to your preps and becoming more practical. You can't eat the AR's if you have more than one or two.

wynnp4 · « **Reply #8 on:** January 14, 2021, 11:01:17 PM »

Yea buying in a group could cause difficulties... I could see a family or a small community that had a central location that could be shared.. I think the biggest thing is time... you need to be able to monitor the machine to ensure you can get the stuff out when you are there or add more time so it will be ready when you are. Some things take about 24hrs to do.. others like Mango's, pineapple and other dense fruits seem to take forever.... Grapes and apples are awesome in the FD and really don't take that much time. So is water melon... it really doesn't take that long... it's moist... but porous...

Again.. it is spendy... for sure.. but I think it is a worthy investment......

WP

BARTON · « **Reply #9 on:** January 17, 2021, 12:38:48 PM »

awesome post, I'm sold!

grizz · « **Reply #10 on:** January 17, 2021, 04:18:41 PM »

Quote from: JohnyMac on January 14, 2021, 08:38:31 PM

Awesome report Wynn. Thank you for taking the time to do it and posting here.

MrsMac and I looked at them but the price was a bit high for us. A group of friends wanted to buy one and share it amongst the group. MrsMac then brought up the weight of an item being shared within a group and rightfully so, she was worried at some point it would be broken in transport; Consequently, we backed out of the plan.

Think about it. One of these units cost two high end or three moderate AR's. At this point it is time to move on from adding more firearms to your preps and becoming more practical. You can't eat the AR's if you have more than one or two.

BUT the AR is able to put really fresh food on the table, IF you are a hunter

I saw one at the local grocery store a few months ago but didnt pay much attention, I'm going tonight and will double check.

Is there a forum dedicated to these things?

wynnp4 · « **Reply #11 on:** January 17, 2021, 07:08:44 PM »

I don't know really... FB is full of it and is one thing I do miss about being on there. That and a few plant ID groups.

I haven't really looked to be honest.... off to start page... I'll report back..

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mechmedic · « **Reply #12 on:** January 18, 2021, 06:23:53 AM »

That sausage gravy you made sure was pretty good! I definitely want to add one of these to the house. I think the cost is definitely worth it.

wynnp4 · « **Reply #13 on:** January 18, 2021, 07:56:32 AM »

Only place I can find anything is on Facebook... I am just done with that place.

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Maypop52 · « **Reply #14 on:** April 09, 2021, 07:51:53 PM »

My wife and I made the plunge about six months ago. It took almost two months to get it. We have been very satisfied with the freeze dryer. One of our main things is freeze drying eqgs. Last year when we had excess we just sold them for 2.00 per dozen. Will never make money like that. Now we are just freeze drying all our excess eggs. it is working great and we will have eggs in the winter when the hens all but quit laying. Win win for us. After we got the freeze dryer we started working on foods we already had in the freezer. My concept is that once those foods were freeze dried no power required for preservation and shelf life is amazing. I will also give testament that most things I have reconstituted from freeze dried was as good as fresh. Very happy with the purchase. I agree a little pricey, but I figure the way things are headed all our savings that we are so preciously guarding may become worth a whole lot less in the near future. ( That may be a discussion for another thread )
I did learn one bit of wisdom that I will pass on for anyone that is considering a purchase. I will share that later if anyone is interested.

wynnp4 · « **Reply #15 on:** April 09, 2021, 08:29:53 PM »

Good deal brother?

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grizz · « **Reply #16 on:** April 09, 2021, 09:32:40 PM »

How do you freeze dry eggs?

special-k · « **Reply #17 on:** April 10, 2021, 03:25:02 PM »

A freeze dryer has been on my wish list for if I ever win a big lottery.

FYI: In order to achieve maximum shelf life, an oxygen absorber should still be used.

Maypop52 · « **Reply #18 on:** April 11, 2021, 01:03:49 PM »

Yes, oxygen absorbers are required if planning on long term storage. We do some things, long term that go in mylar bags with oxygen absorber. The other option is food that will be used in a more short term. We just put that in canning jars with a lid. I figure we will consume what's in the jar before any problems come up with shelf life.
Wynn, I do not think there are good deals with Harvest Right. You just have to want one bad enough to get one. I ordered mine with the oilless pump. The pump they sent was a small unit they wanted to substitute for the bigger one. I stood my ground, made them pick it up and send the proper pump. I have been very satisfied with that one. I am really not sure why that occurred. You would think they would just send the one they advertise.

Kevin · « **Reply #19 on:** April 21, 2021, 12:25:20 PM »

We've had the medium HR freeze dryer for about a year now. Everything we've put in there has come out very well. Like Maypop, we use ours a lot for eggs when production is up. Right now we get ~24-29 eggs/day. My wife sells some at work, we eat a bunch, and freeze dry the rest. With the 4-tray unit we do 6 dozen eggs a batch and they fit perfectly into a 12x8 mylar bag. I toss 3 small O2 absorbers in each bag.

@grizz For the eggs, we scramble them up and freeze dry them raw. I prefer to FD meats pre-cooked so that step and the concern of undercooking isn't an issue if we're in a grid down situation when it's time to break those bags open. Eggs I don't worry about as I eat these raw anyway, and we want to be able to use them for baking as well. And it wouldn't take long to cook up some scrambled eggs on the rocket stove or in the sun oven.

Jackalope · « **Reply #20 on:** April 21, 2021, 02:11:17 PM »

We've been dehydrating eggs, it seems to work well.

Kevin · « **Reply #21 on:** April 27, 2021, 02:02:52 PM »

Quote from: Jackalope on April 21, 2021, 02:11:17 PM

We've been dehydrating eggs, it seems to work well.

I've not dehydrated eggs. We've done a lot of other foods, but not eggs. My favorite in the dehydrator is jerky. I've done both beef slices and ground beef and both came out great.

Back to eggs. One of my sisters is prepper minded and raises chickens as well. She water glasses her eggs for intermediate term storage. It's a pretty cool way to do it. There's a good demonstration video on YT.

Kevin · « **Reply #22 on:** April 27, 2021, 02:05:03 PM »

I've got our first run of turnips in the FD right now. The garden has been great this year and we've got way more than we can eat so plenty to put back. I'm doing 1 tray of turnip greens and 3 trays of sliced turnips. We've got lots more to go.

JohnyMac · « **Reply #23 on:** April 27, 2021, 03:13:51 PM »

Mmmmmm. I love turnips.

I grow rutabaga's but all in all they are similar.

Nemo · « **Reply #24 on:** April 28, 2021, 02:14:20 PM »

Quote from: Kevin on April 21, 2021, 12:25:20 PM

@grizz For the eggs, we scramble them up and freeze dry them raw. . . . Eggs I don't worry about as I eat these raw anyway

Thats just gross sounding and reading. After the first time I always made sure to miss that scene in Rocky.

I'm quivering and shivering typing about this.

Nemo

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Author Topic: Freeze Drying Food... (Read 5703 times)