I love the outdoors as well as being prepared for just about any situation. So, I started this channel to show the food that I am freeze drying for both purposes.
I would add more time so the freeze dryer does not stop when I am asleep or gone. Letting it sit like that with ice surrounding your drum would rehydrate your food wouldn’t it?
did you consider making the oatmeal exactly like you have but separately store different toppings that can be added at reconstitution time ? Like small pouches or jars if at home. strawberries, different nuts, bananas etc. You could even add your own powder milk when away or fresh when you are home. You motivated me to do this, thanks
A few questions if you dont mind. I plan on freeze drying some lasagna so was hoping to learn the proper time and settings for freezing, and drying which you did not go over in your video. Also I was hoping to learn the formula for figuring out how much water to add which was not mentioned either. You mentioned you had figured the water amount to add by divding the weight into thirds but wouldn't that be different if it was portioned into five bags?
Tip: just because the machine said it’s done. It’s not done. You need to weigh your trays to find out it’s completely done. You run into problems depending on the machine telling you it’s done. I weigh stuff after the machine told me it was done, to find out it wasn’t. I had to run extra dry for more then 6-8 more to get it completely dry. Once’s the Freeze dryer has finished. You weigh the trays in grams. Write the weight down of each tray. Put the trays back in for 2 more hours of dry time. Once done, weigh them again. If the weight has drop from before, then there is still moisture in the food and it needs more drying. But if the weight hasn’t changed from before, then everything is fully dry. Trust me on this, to confirm everything is dry. You need to weigh those trays. I do raw chicken breast, raw hamburger patties, raw eggs and my own MRE’s. No matter what I do, I run them for over 40 hours and still weight check the trays.
I have been waiting to freeze dry peaches from our Orchard here is North Texas... The grasshopper devoured them all before I to get to them... Insane! Hundreds and thousands of them. 😢 Looks great! Love my Cube! ❤
Would be a good idea to use sterile gloves while handling food others will eat, and maybe not sampling food with the hands you are packing the same food with 😁😉
Hi! Am I right that Harvestright is a fully automatic machine and you don't need to set any parameters manually? And is it possible to freeze dry different products together and the machine will choose the correct regime itself? I'm thinking of ordering it to Europe so will be grateful for any answer.
Umm.... Actually.... If the strawberries are cold to the touch when you pull them out, it means they still have ice crystals in them and aren't freeze dried yet.
How do you store candy? Will it not absorb moisture from the air? If you are going to store for a couple of weeks, do you vac bag them? thanks for the vid. My unit is newer and does not have a 'candy mode'. I can adjust temp/time though in 'custom'.
If you have a Harvest Right, when you raise the tray temp over 135, it will switch to Hi Temp mode, and when you go to start the batch it will have a toggle you can turn on to go into Candy Mode.
OMG, I saw the cost for The Cube Freeze Dryer. They are OVER twice the cost of the Harvest Right freeze dryer and only comes in one size. The harvest right comes in 4 sizes and even the XL is still 2K less!!!
Not sure how well the cube works but I own a harvest right and it’s been a nightmare. In my case i have basically become a service technician having to troubleshoot and repair the machine. It has not work consistently for more than 4 batches without a problem. Its currently not working due to a vacuum error.
You also can’t freeze dried chocolate completely because of the milk fat it doesn’t break down and freeze the machine removes moisture and water. The milk fats don’t work I have done gummy’s. They do not come out like this and I can prove that because I have it on videos.
Technically you are not actually freeze drying the candy at all since it never freezes, but you are right, the chocolate doesn’t actually freeze dry. The results are fun and very popular though.
Don’t forget to make it very clear that’s all you can do in 2 1/2 to 3 hours but that machine is candy. Anything else takes 24 to 36 hours fruit takes anywhere between 21 and 36 hours it’s junk it’s not worth it.
It is true that only candy can be done in the candy express mode. All other foods should be done in regular mode. I just did strawberries in 19 hours and $12 including electricity for example, but to get the equivalent at Walmart it is currently $37. Seems like a deal to me.
@@thecamperdad I added that to my business so it’s just another form of product for me but for people who actually want to do it for food prep or storage for emergencies I would just find somebody with a machine and rent it from them. It’s about three dollars a day to run my large and I can run it three candy modes back to back The problem is that if you put different products on different shelves, they’re not gonna freeze properly you have to use one product in the machine at one time on all the shelves. I’ve been playing around with it and I’ve pretty much got the candy Concord but the ice cream is a challenge that sometimes it’s worth it and sometimes it’s not from my situation with my business. It’s worth it if I can get it right
@@mandyjocochran4976 Every person's situation is different and I am glad that you have found a solution that works for you. It costs me just under $2 to run the Cube. And I find that freeze drying our leftovers is perhaps the best emergency food stockpile I have found. I have found that by making just a little bit more than my family would eat then freeze drying what is leftover I build my food storage rapidly and really cheap. Compared to $10/ prepackaged meal, I end up with meals I know I like for $3 or less. And depending on the food I can do 12-20 servings per batch.
If you don't have mats, use non-stick parchment paper. Works great, and I wipe off and re-use it. (I would not on raw meat, though.) The bananas looked great.
Can you explain how you came up with the 291/2 gram conversion? Is that a set number that you always divide by? Sorry math is not my strong suit, and I'm super new to freeze drying.
@@gwenhathcock8002 The silicone mats can be purchased with the Cube freeze dryer or direct from Prep4Life website. They are made to fit the Cube trays specifically.
Sale my ass. They kept the prices the same and put up an inflated “regular price”. I’ve been thinking about buying a freeze dryer and have been looking at these and Harvest Right. This so called sale speaks volumes about this company. Harvest Right here I come.
We’ve been looking into freeze dryers and decided to go with Stay Fresh because of all the bad reviews we’ve seen about HR in videos. Someone on YT did a side by side comparison of Harvest Right and Stay Fresh but sorry I can’t recall who it was. A consistent complaint about HR was their customer service. Couldn’t find the same comparison with the Cube.
I think if you had broken up the meat a bit the first time you pulled it from the freeze dryer to check it then you might have been able to cut some time off? All in all..Nice! 😃
I actually think it was dry when I pulled it out the first time, I just was a little unsure. Based on the texture when I finally pulled it out I believe it actually was.
If selling any do not run them together. A person can be allergic to particles from one candy to another floating in the chamber. Dangerous! People allergic to peanuts can die from any type of contact, even touch, with a peanut product. One of the reasons home candy will soon end. I see people already not following rules of weight, packaging etc.
I would love it if you show how to use The Cube freeze dryer. I’ve heard it is way better than Harvest Right. Please show more of how it works and your opinion of it . Thanks
This has to be the most eye catching and exciting video title I've ever seen...I mean I read it and just instantly know I had to watch this video....(sarcasm for those that don't get it)
I love watching freeze drying videos. But here in Australia it’s way to expensive. Medium machine is $8195 then around $500 for delivery but not to your house, only to the couriers warehouse. You then have to go pick it up yourself. So no chance I will ever be able to afford one. But will keep watching.
