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Freeze Dryer


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Hello, everyone!! :wave:

 

Wondering if anyone has a freeze dryer and what your experience is with it? Any hints, tips or techniques? Ours arrived today, earlier than expected!! So now we're scrambling to get it set up. Soon, I hope!! 

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:wave:  Hellos Joyfilled.  It is soooooo good to see you here.  
 

I have zero experience with a freeze dryer but have looked at them with avid interest.   I will be following this thread to see what others say but also to read about YOUR first hand experience with one.  
 

:hug3:

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Hello Joyfilled.   I also don't have experience with freeze dryers, but I do want one. I have watched many U-Tube videos on them.  I would love to have one, but right now other things are needed first.  

Can't wait to go on that journey of you learning to use it and how you like it.  I think it would be a fun experience to learn.

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2 hours ago, Mother said:

:wave:  Hellos Joyfilled.  It is soooooo good to see you here.  
 

I have zero experience with a freeze dryer but have looked at them with avid interest.   I will be following this thread to see what others say but also to read about YOUR first hand experience with one.  
 

:hug3:

Thanks, Mother! I think of you all often, but tend to get overwhelmed with so many places to respond to (my sisters alone have 3 places they send me messages to!!). I'm thankful for communication, but wow! It is a lot sometimes and I have to back off. 

 

We are still preparing the space, but hopefully soon. I am hoping before the end of this week for sure. We have so much going on, I wish they had let us know that it was coming! This is a busy week for us and we can't give it full attention even though we want to. 

 

I'll share more info and pictures when I get them! :bighug2:

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25 minutes ago, Littlesister said:

Hello Joyfilled.   I also don't have experience with freeze dryers, but I do want one. I have watched many U-Tube videos on them.  I would love to have one, but right now other things are needed first.  

Can't wait to go on that journey of you learning to use it and how you like it.  I think it would be a fun experience to learn.

I'm so excited, I just wish we had been able to have it set up immediately!! Cold season is upon us, so nothing fresh out of the garden, but I'm going to be emptying out our freezers and making ready to eat meals. Soups, cheese, milk, sour cream, meats....so many things....shelf stable for years if properly put away. So, so excited!! 🎉 Thanks for taking the journey with me!!:bighug2:

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38 minutes ago, Jeepers said:

Ohhh, that's exciting! Only thing I know about them is that I want one. Please keep us posted as you learn. I want to know too. Looks like you are going to be our tutor on this one.  :D

Trial and error it will be! :lol:

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5 hours ago, Midnightmom said:

RoseRedHomestead (YT) has a very good introductory vid.

 

 

 

 

Thanks, MM!! Watching these now. Last time I watched something by her, I ended up binge watching a bunch of her vlogs....:pc_coffee::hapydancsmil:

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3 hours ago, Becca_Anne said:

Very excited for you and looking forward to your review. I want one but have to pay off some debt first and then save up for it. I think I want the one with out the oil pump which one did you get?

This is a gift we got with money my FIL left my hubby....we think he would approve. :wub:

 

We got one with the oil pump....the one without it was more than we could do. We went for size instead, thinking that hubby could maintain the one with oil. Also, he says that the other one is louder....I didn't realize that! We are putting it in our basement, in the very back room, so I don't think any noise from it will bother us. Here's hoping it all goes well!

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UPDATE: Tomorrow is the DAY!!! Hubby and the kids have been working on getting the space ready, and tomorrow my Dad and our SIL are coming over to help take it downstairs. Hubby ordered a chest freezer to put next to it so we can pre-freeze the trays. He thinks we can have it up and running tomorrow, so I'm trying to think of what I want to start with. I've heard that we should put liquids with liquids, so even though I would like to do milk, I'm not sure I want to start with buying that much milk.

 

Any thoughts? What would you guys start with? I'm thinking cheese....maybe frozen veggies from the freezer to empty out the freezers....we also have a lot of ground beef (we bought half a cow from a friend from Church), eggs....Eggs we want to pre-freeze, so maybe wait on those, or figure out a different way to do it. I'm interested in your ideas! :)

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The most interesting thing I saw freeze dried were ice cream sandwiches. No idea how they taste but I had not realized you could dry those and have them look exactly like their fresh counterparts. :happy0203:

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My cousin does freeze dried candy and sells it at festivals and craft shows and such... $$$

 

My DGD(13)‘s favorite snack is freeze dried fruit. Especially strawberries. 🍓 Again... $$$

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38 minutes ago, Mother said:

The most interesting thing I saw freeze dried were ice cream sandwiches. No idea how they taste but I had not realized you could dry those and have them look exactly like their fresh counterparts. :happy0203:

I saw that somewhere! But they don't reconstitute them, do they? They are eaten dry? We'll have to try them sometime! I'll let you know when I do.

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14 minutes ago, Necie said:

My cousin does freeze dried candy and sells it at festivals and craft shows and such... $$$

 

My DGD(13)‘s favorite snack is freeze dried fruit. Especially strawberries. 🍓 Again... $$$

Hubby wants to offer the service of freeze drying in our community, after we've gotten used to it and have some stuff stored away. I did see about freeze dried candy. Interesting! The kids want to do some things and sell them, too. Will have to see how it goes!!

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Good way to make some extra money by giving that service. I think I saw a video and can't think of her name right now. I will find it and post it here. but she does a lot of freezes drying and canning and such. I do binge watch her. She has the one with the oil and showed how to change it as she said when you change the oil once then its second hand and easy to do. She even showed how to give it a complete cleaning.  I'm looking hard at one. But not this year.

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18 hours ago, Mother said:

The most interesting thing I saw freeze dried were ice cream sandwiches. No idea how they taste but I had not realized you could dry those and have them look exactly like their fresh counterparts. :happy0203:

Many years ago, we bought the freeze dried ice cream sandwiches at the Kennedy Space Center. They did look like fresh ones, but I didn't like the taste or the weird texture when I tried to bite into it. It reminded me a bit of those circus peanuts candies. I mostly dehydrate (traditionally) a mixture of mushrooms, onions, tomatoes and peppers because I use a lot of them. I could imagine freeze drying them and storing them in canning jars. I love to dehydrate apple slices as a snack. I never seem to be able to make enough of them. I don't share them with the rest of the family and they rarely last longer than a couple of days. I wonder what a freeze-dried apple or pear would taste like...Maybe with a little cinnamon?

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I could see that as a business! I would definitely utilize it if I knew someone locally who had one. 

 

I like the idea of drying mushrooms, onions and bell peppers together. I use a lot of that combination too. Years ago Arby's had a really good sandwich. It had sauted mushrooms, onions and green peppers on it with a sort of parmesian mayo sauce, topped with Swiss cheese. I think it was called a philly beef and Swiss.  At the same time they sold lava cake. Lawsy. Good old days. Subway tried to copy it but it isn't even close. 

 

Cinnamon apple slices would be great. I wonder...when fruits come out of the dehydrator they are sort of soft and pliable. Do the same ones come out of a freeze dryer more firm and crunchy? I've seen freeze dried fruit and they don't look leathery at all. Joyfilled, you gotta do a fruit. Pweeeze.   

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4 hours ago, Jeepers said:

Cinnamon apple slices would be great. I wonder...when fruits come out of the dehydrator they are sort of soft and pliable. Do the same ones come out of a freeze dryer more firm and crunchy? I've seen freeze dried fruit and they don't look leathery at all. Joyfilled, you gotta do a fruit. Pweeeze.   


I tried one of the store bought freeze dried strawberries that DGD got. Nothing like dehydrated. The texture actually reminded me of a cheese puff. That’s the closest I can explain it. Like crunchy puff that just melts in your mouth. 

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The homesteader that does freeze drying and canning along with a lot of other things is Acer Homestead. I was binge watching her show for a long while. She showed about deep cleaning the freeze dryer and changing the oil. 

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On 10/17/2024 at 6:44 PM, Jeepers said:

 

Cinnamon apple slices would be great. I wonder...when fruits come out of the dehydrator they are sort of soft and pliable. Do the same ones come out of a freeze dryer more firm and crunchy? I've seen freeze dried fruit and they don't look leathery at all. Joyfilled, you gotta do a fruit. Pweeeze.   

My sliced apples were cut thin and dehydrated to a crispy texture... like potato chips. Maybe that is why I could never eat just one!

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