Freeze Drying Your First 500 lbs of Food - Batch 18 - Ground Beef, Pasta, & Cheese Sauce Meal

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Freeze dryer batch #8 - 10 lbs of a ground beef, pasta and cheese sauce meal. A hamburger helper type dish. Started freeze drying this batch May27th.
Want to support this channel? Buy me a coffee :-) www.buymeacoffee.com/DanZm
First 500 lbs data spreadsheet link: docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ieekdk5aH_2OWLUealeOLurU9_zl03BfFEg_qhAgcaA/edit?usp=sharing
Batch worksheet link: docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/13DCB2hXo9_ZYrhIUicLk2IrEaQGszwbaJTcEH8wJxk4/edit?usp=sharing
Cost of the what: $17.06 for 10 lbs
Total batch time: 35 hours 10 minutes
Weight before drying: 10 lbs Weight after drying: 1371 grams (about 3 lb)
Power use: 26.13 kWh
Bagged into: 5 quart and 5 2-quart 7 mil Mylar bags with 300cc oxygen absorbers.
Starting your freeze dried food pantry. 100 Days: The first 50 batches - Freeze Drying Your First 500 lbs of Food
Start by asking yourself this question. Why are you freeze drying food? Knowing this should help you decide what you should freeze dry first.
I'm freeze drying because:
Just to freeze dry leftovers?
You want to make your own food for camping/backpacking?
For if/when the SHTF?
For a short term emergency?
You have your own garden and want to freeze dry the food?
You love Costco but don't have a family of 6?
You are good at finding the food sales but only have 1 freezer?
When you cook homemade chili just for yourself you make 10 gallons? Because you have 3 full freezers and are worried about power outages?
I'm going to start freeze drying from scratch, pretending that I don't have a rack full of freeze dried food.
If I knew then what I know, I would have freeze dried things in a different order. Maybe not, because I started freeze drying was because we had 3 full freezers, I was thinking of getting another one, and I decided I should buy a walk-in freezer instead. I started looking into walk-ins and realized they were expensive to buy (even used ones) AND expensive to own and operate. Then I found out Harvest Right was making home sized freeze dryers. One of my first thoughts was "I like Mountain House!" I have used their food for backpacking almost 45 years and we even kept some in our travel trailer, for just in case.
This list is about getting started on a 500 lb mixed pantry of freeze dried foods in 100 days.
(This may be a bit optimistic and perhaps it'll only be 400 lbs)
Goal of about 85 lbs per category. (100 lbs per category if we don't do the Meals/Dishes)
1) Meats:
2) Vegetables:
3) Fruits:
4) Dairy:
5) Grain / Starch:
6) Meals / Dishes:
Freeze dried food will stay fresh for many years and be ready and waiting when you need it.
We do videos showing how we are using our Harvest Right Freeze Dryer to freeze dry food for long term storage. (We have the medium size machine that we got in August of 2017) We talk about how to load and unload the freeze dryer, how to know if the food is dry, is it better to freeze dry raw food or cooked food, and do a few taste tests. Freeze dried food is also great for prepping or just for camping and snacking!
AFFILIATES & REFERRALS
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If you are thinking of buying a freeze dryer, please consider supporting us by purchasing through our link. It helps us and costs you nothing! affiliates.harvestright.com/995.html
We have the medium freeze dryer with the original vacuum pump.
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Amazon affiliate links to some of the things we have been using; it helps us and costs you nothing.
• Escali Primo Kitchen Scale amzn.to/3r8VqRe
• Etekcity Kitchen Scale11lb/5kg amzn.to/3K3ajhY
• Power meter amzn.to/3s4RVOr
• The New Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: amzn.to/33NTPtt
• This is the scoop I "adjusted" (see video) for bagging amzn.to/3pdTB4J
• Silicone Square Cake Pan - Set of 2 amzn.to/2YvAp6L
• Teflon Tape for Impulse Sealers amzn.to/3pt2nMd
• Dial Thermometer -40 to 160 F 1-Inch amzn.to/3pvAfIm
• Parchment paper - We usually get our at Costco, but they also have it on Amazon amzn.to/3owy5qC or amzn.to/3Cw1WXL
• Corrugated Plastic Sheets we use in our freezer amzn.to/2YqAM2A
• Drill Bit 5/32" x 10" Extra Length amzn.to/3tEOvRx
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We are participants in the Amazon Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for sites to earn fees by linking to amazon.com. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
For the 7 x 7 pans try the Dollar Store, that's where we got ours. (They were labeled 8 x 8 because they measure the top)

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2 июн 2022

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Комментарии : 54

@SchoolReports 2 года назад

Want to support this work? Buy me a coffee :-) www.buymeacoffee.com/DanZm First 500 lbs data spreadsheet link: docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ieekdk5aH_2OWLUealeOLurU9_zl03BfFEg_qhAgcaA/edit?usp=sharing Batch worksheet link: docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/13DCB2hXo9_ZYrhIUicLk2IrEaQGszwbaJTcEH8wJxk4/edit?usp=sharing

@fatjellydonutglaze2230 2 года назад

Why do you undercook the pasta

@SchoolReports 2 года назад

@@fatjellydonutglaze2230 I do this because by the time I get it out of the boiling water, drained, mixed with the other hot components, cooled, and then rehydrated using boiling water, it will be very done. (I could be wrong)

@fatjellydonutglaze2230 2 года назад

@@SchoolReports thank you for texting me back I figured the same thing I do the same I just want to make sure that we are in the same reality🤪 all that extra liquid soak up in the rice every time I make soup I keep on putting too much rice in it the rice keeps on soaking up the chicken broth it's not soup no more I enjoyed your videos👍🏻

@hjkroeger1 2 года назад

I have learned so much from you. My daughter is printing me the dividers. Thank you so much!!!!

@SchoolReports 2 года назад

Thanks for watching!

@kchandler4985 2 года назад

How do you get these dividers

@SchoolReports 2 года назад

@@kchandler4985 The divider is something I designed and 3D printed to fit our pans. Here is the design and print video if you are interested; ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-3KLblPCTpHk.html They were printed with ABS then vapor/acetone smoothed to seal them. It would probably be pretty easy to make dividers using foamcore or cardboard and covering it with plastic wrap, for those without a printer. The pans are just some pans we bought at a local Dollar store. They were called 8x8" pans, but the bottoms are about 7x7", a perfect fit for our freeze dryer trays. Another viewer used cut some out of thick plastic (like thick cutting board) to make their dividers. (They did have a laser cutter) 😁

@locutus8496 День назад

Sorry, this is my second comment for this video. But I've been curious about Minute Rice, and can't seem to get an answer anywhere on whether it's already freeze dried, or just dehydrated. Considering the packaging I suspect it's merely dehydrated. What would you do if you wanted to add rice to a recipe you're freeze drying? Would you use Minute Rice, and if so, how would you prepare it? Or would you just cook regular rice and freeze dry that?

@SchoolReports День назад

Thanks! More comments, more better! YT "sees" the engagement and will recommend the video to more people. 😄 You are correct, Minute Rice is cooked/partially cooked (I believe it's steamed under high pressure) and dried, but not freeze dried. We have freeze dried boxes of "dry" Minute Rice to remove the remaining water for longer term storage. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-lbJRIpulhD0.htmlsi=cGgDIl601ZVWaa-q For rice we mostly cook our own regular rice because we think it comes out better than Minute Rice and keeps the cost down. If we're doing a recipe with rice, when we put it in depends on the recipe and how it is cooked. Example: If we were going to make some chicken and rice soup using Minute Rice we would probably freeze dry the chicken and broth part and than add the dry Minute Rice (which we had dried) when bagging.

@locutus8496 День назад

@@SchoolReports I see. Thank you, that makes sense.

@locutus8496 День назад

These products you're buying at the Chef Store sure make your process convenient, but I wonder if you're really okay with the ingredients. Considering the seed oils, preservatives and other additives that many of them have, I think I'd want to make things from scratch with more wholesome ingredients instead. For example, your Trio Cheese Sauce, which is made by Nestle, has these ingredients: MALTODEXTRIN, TAPIOCA STARCH, WHEY*, SALT, SOYBEAN OIL, MODIFIED CORNSTARCH, CANOLA OIL, 2% OR LESS OF BUTTERMILK*, SUGAR, YEAST EXTRACT, EXTRACTS OF ANNATTO & TURMERIC (COLOR), DRIED CHEDDAR CHEESE (CULTURED MILK, SALT, ENZYMES)*, NATURAL FLAVORS, SODIUM CASEINATE (A MILK DERIVATIVE), BUTTERMILK POWDER*, SPICES, CITRIC ACID, DISODIUM INOSINATE, DISODIUM GUANYLATE, PAPRIKA (COLOR). *Adds a trivial amount of cholesterol. ....Actual cheese is way down the list. Same with the Ore-Ida hash browns from the last video. In fact, this is one of the main reasons (other than cost savings) that I bought a freeze dryer in the first place versus buying Mountain House, Ore-Ida and many other ready products. With a freeze dryer I can package hash browns that are nothing but potatoes, and mashed potatoes that are nothing but potatoes, butter, milk and a bit of salt. This applies to probably 95% of the packaged items in the grocery store.

@SchoolReports День назад

First a minor correction; the hashbrown potatoes were _Idaho Spuds_ brand. A big point I try to make, but apparently not well enough, is exactly what you seem to be saying. The wonderful thing about having a freeze dryer is that everyone can freeze dry the recipes that they want and we don't have to rely on only getting what the freeze drying companies want to make. I happen to like powdered cheese sauce. A lot. In fact I've never had a homemade cheese sauce that I've liked better than the sauce that comes in the packets in boxes of Kraft mac & cheese. I would never tell anyone else that they had to eat it, but I like it. I've also had a fair number of comments on the Costco Rotisserie Chicken video telling me how bad it is for me. More chicken for me! 🤣 I'm not trying to convince anyone of anything, I'm just trying to show what I do, tell why, and show resources to back it up when I can. I wouldn't tell anyone to eat some of the junk I eat, nor would I eat some of the junk I see other people eating, but I know what I like. 😁 I'm also not going to pretend that everything I freeze dry (or eat) are healthy choices, I'm just trying to show how I dealt with each thing.

@locutus8496 День назад

@@SchoolReports Thanks for responding. Hey, I LOVE Costco rotisserie chicken too! Not so much my wife, who prefers to spend more at "Whole Paycheck Market." Reading the label of the Costco chicken though, it doesn't seem too bad to me.

@SchoolReports День назад

In that case - More chickens for us! 🤣

@judyjohnson1012 10 месяцев назад

Too bad you don’t make and sell the plastic dividers, but I find that if I have something thick, like mashed potatoes, I can make a cut halfway through the potatoes and it will stay that way enough for me to break apart from the freezer. Thanks for the idea of making half pan batches and the 7” pans from Dollar Tree.

@SchoolReports 10 месяцев назад

Before I made her a few dividers, my sister would wait until her pans of food were partially frozen and then make a space down the middle of the pan using a spatula. Worked for her for many months until I finally made her some dividers.

@judyjohnson1012 10 месяцев назад

@@SchoolReports great minds think alike!

@locutus8496 День назад

Third comment this video. Just a suggestion this time: How about adding a 7th category: Desserts?

@SchoolReports День назад

Good idea!

@locutus8496 11 часов назад

@@SchoolReports Category 8: Candy. (Although I know you have several videos on candy already.)

@SchoolReports 10 часов назад

@@locutus8496 I would just leave candy lumped in with desserts.

@bobbiewilliams3109 Год назад

😊In your list of food categories that you listed above, food #4 is not listed. Would that be a Dairy/Cheese item? My husband loves your method of freeze drying but we will not be making as much as it is only the two of us ole' seniors! We have downloaded your spreadsheets and putting them to work! Thank you so much! By the way...would you share your first name please? I would like to call you by name other than "School Reports" when talking to my husband. 🤣

@SchoolReports Год назад

Thanks. Number 4 was missing in the description of 50 videos and no one mentioned it until now. (and I didn't notice it either) Corrected. We are pretty much the same number as you, I just love to cook large batches. My name is in many of the videos, sometimes twice, at the bottom of some of the photos at the open and/or close of the videos, right after the copyright symbol. 😇 All the photos are mine, but some are marked because I had used them for other purposes in the past. (former profession/hobby)

@floridaman9260 2 года назад

Thank you

@SchoolReports 2 года назад

You're welcome and thanks for watching.

@eileenniehaus5368 2 года назад

You could probably sell those dividers. 😉 Love the shirt!😂😂😂

@SchoolReports 2 года назад

Thanks! In our home school group, we always made sure to say "solve for x"

@germanprepper21 2 года назад

It is definitely time to double down on food and water preps guys! Happy to offer help and advice if needed👍

@mlydick Год назад

I've understood everything but the addition of the 2nd removable acrylic circle plate....what does the addition of that plastic plate provide to the process? Getting my freeze dryer this month and following you step by step

@SchoolReports Год назад

My machine is from 2017. With the newer machines they use "vacuum freezing" to help cool the food, so the machine is under vacuum much sooner than with my machine. The older machine's freeze time without vacuum is much longer than the new ones. I'm not sure if the disc would make a difference with the new machines, but I may test it; my sister just got a new machine. The disc seems to work better than the pad that used to come with the freeze dryer for lowering heat transfer. I'm basing this on the fact that the front of the door does not get as cold with the plastic disc in place as it did with the pad that came with ours. (think airplane window) Once the machine is under vacuum the pad or disc probably don't matter, but while it's freezing it seems to help

@horticultureandhomes 2 года назад

I like this series. You're doing a great job! Nice to see a face with the voice too. Funny to see chickens making appearances in the window every now and again too.

@SchoolReports 2 года назад

Thanks! I'll be videoing away and I'll hear - tap, tap, tap! Always makes me smile. The chickens keep pecking at the window or the door, wanting treats.

@wilmahughes8436 2 года назад

Do you reuse your bags

@SchoolReports 2 года назад

We don't/haven't reused the bags for more freeze dried food for storage, but we have used them for other uses.

@emailausdrucker 2 года назад

Love the shirts. ;)

@SchoolReports 2 года назад

Thanks. I could do a whole video just showing shirts for a few seconds at a time.

@BlueBabsy 2 года назад

Love your videos. Would you mind sharing the link for where you purchased the scope? I've been searching for one that size everywhere. I think you shared this before but I can't find it. Thank you!

@SchoolReports 2 года назад

Scope?

@BlueBabsy 2 года назад

@@SchoolReports sorry. The gray/plastic "French fry" scoop that fits perfectly on the trays.

@SchoolReports 2 года назад

@@BlueBabsy Oh, That makes sense! 😄 The scoop is something that I "adjusted" starting with a scoop I got from Amazon. (link in the description) This is how I changed the scoop - Food Scoop For Freeze Dryer Tray ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-trs26E42Zho.html It could be done without a 3D printer by heating up the cut off pieces with a heat gun (could be done over a toaster or in an oven) and I was able to easily flatten them. It would then be very easy to sand them to fit the side of the scoop and glue them on.

@iselasmith4526 2 года назад

Hello there. What is the shelf life of the Trio Cheese Powder?

@SchoolReports 2 года назад

At the time we bought it, the "Best If Used By" date was 2 years later. I assume we could re-bag it in better bags and add oxygen absorbers to extend that by many years.

@YakAttack145 2 года назад

Where do you get your 2 quart mylar bags?

@SchoolReports 2 года назад

We have been getting our bags from packfreshusa.com/ for a few years; we get the 7mil bags. It seems like they have been having a hard time keeping the bags in stock lately. These are the ones we get the most: packfreshusa.com/quart-7x-9x3-7-mil-seal-top-gusset-mylar-bags-1000-wholesale/ And these are the 2 quart ones packfreshusa.com/two-quart-7-mil-seal-top-gusset-mylar-bags-500-wholesale/

@YakAttack145 2 года назад

@@SchoolReports Thank you. I was searching them just yesterday. The only place I could find in stock was at topmylar but they are more expensive.

@SchoolReports 2 года назад

@@YakAttack145 Yeah, it's been a bit hit and miss lately. I check every few days even though I just got a box of 1000 quart bags; I get nervous any time I get below about 1500 bags.

@YakAttack145 2 года назад

@@SchoolReports yeah, I think I'm going to have to start buying in bulk.

@SchoolReports 2 года назад

@@YakAttack145 I'm more calm and happy with a full box of 1000 plus the open box next to it. And the other size bags, too.

@nancysala7769 2 года назад

Curious, did you rinse the meat to get the rest of the fat out, from sautéing, and the olive oil and butter?

@SchoolReports 2 года назад

The short answer is: No. Never. The longer answer is: There is absolutely no need to. If you saw the making homemade course ground, ground beef video, you saw how lean it was. (This beef was cooked as part of that batch) Next, I added only about 2 tablespoons of oil and butter in a 13 lb batch, making it a VERY low fat dish. Finally, the Mountain House freeze dried ground beef info that I mentioned before.

@nancysala7769 2 года назад

@@SchoolReports thank you so much. I will have to go check your ground beef video. I’ve missed a couple of videos due to time constraints on my part. I always find your videos very informative and your information very reliable. I only ever use very lean meat (96% lean), but had been told that I still had to rinse it. There is so much conflicting information out there. I’m glad that there’s no need to rinse. Thanks again.

@SchoolReports 2 года назад

@@nancysala7769 I figure if Mountain House has freeze dried ground beef that's good for 30 years and has 15 grams of fat in a 37 gram dry serving, I should worry too much. My ground beef was probably at least 96% lean.

@bobbiewilliams3109 Год назад

@@SchoolReports I cooked up three pounds of ground beef (probably at least 90% lean), drained it with a strainer over a bowl, laid it on a large cookie sheet with a paper towel, spread the ground beef out and took a couple of paper towels to blot the hamburger fat remaining. I didn't want to rinse it with hot water as I think that would take the flavor out of the hamburger meat besides wondering what to do with rinsed/fat water!! I didn't want it going down my kitchen sink drain for sure!! Our Chef's Kitchen store does not sell the powdered Trio cheese sauce but I did find a small container of powdered cheese sauce at our local grocery store. I will try it in your recipe and make a smaller batch! Thank you for taking time to share your FDing moments with us!! Keep them coming please!!