Freeze Drying Your First 500 lbs of Food - Batch 34 - Ice Cream and Milk

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Freeze dryer batch #34 - 10 lbs of ice cream and milk Started freeze drying this batch June 28th.
Want to support this channel?: Buy me a coffee :-) www.buymeacoffee.com/DanZm
First 500 lbs data spreadsheet link: docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...
Batch worksheet link: docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...
Cost of the ice cream and milk: $12.47 for 10 lbs (About $11.16 for the ice cream and about $1.31 for the milk)
Total batch time: 45 hours 30 minutes for the ice cream (or less) and 49 hours 30 minutes for the milk
Weight before drying: about 10 lbs, Weight after drying: 1381 grams (about 3 lbs)
Power use: 30.65 kWh
Bagged into: 16 quart, 7 mil Mylar bags with 300cc oxygen absorbers.
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:
Want to support this channel? Buy me a coffee :-) www.buymeacoffee.com/DanZm
AFFILIATE LINKS & REFERRALS - I earn from qualifying purchases from the links provided
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As an Amazon Affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases from the links provided. By clicking on the links, you can explore the products and tools I use.
www.amazon.com/shop/schoolrep...
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PackFreshUSA
We have been buying oxygen absorbers and 7 mil Mylar bags from PackFreshUSA since early 2018. During all that time (1000's of bag and oxygen absorbers, and about 6 year before before we added this affiliate link) we have been happy with the products and service we have received from them.
I earn from qualifying purchases from the links provided. - packfreshusa.com/?rfsn=787757...
Use the discount code "SchoolReports5" to get 10% off your first purchase when using the link.
---------------------------------------------------
Harvest Right - 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/9...
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Before buying a freeze dryer, perhaps research to find out more about the downside of the machine; some people have problems with their machine and it's big and heavy and hard to return!
When trying to decide what to freeze dry you can start by asking why.
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?
If I knew then what I know now, I would have freeze dried things in a different order. Or maybe not, because I started freeze drying 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.
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!

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6 июл 2022

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@SchoolReports 2 года назад

Want to support this channel? Buy me a coffee :-) www.buymeacoffee.com/DanZm AFFILIATE LINKS & REFERRALS - I earn from qualifying purchases from the links provided ─────────────── As an Amazon Affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases from the links provided. By clicking on the links, you can explore the products and tools I use. www.amazon.com/shop/schoolreports --------------------------------------------------- PackFreshUSA We have been buying oxygen absorbers and 7 mil Mylar bags from PackFreshUSA since early 2018. During all that time (1000's of bag and oxygen absorbers, and about 6 year before before we added this affiliate link) we have been happy with the products and service we have received from them. I earn from qualifying purchases from the links provided. - packfreshusa.com/?rfsn=7877576.a54e2a Use the discount code "SchoolReports5" to get 10% off your first purchase when using the link. --------------------------------------------------- Harvest Right - 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 ─────────────── Before buying a freeze dryer, perhaps research to find out more about the downside of the machine; some people have problems with their machine and it's big and heavy and hard to return! No need to send anything, but if you want to (and I do love to receive things - who doesn't) I did add the address to the "About" page on the channels home page.

@JustMe-bu1ln Год назад

This is by far my number one freeze-dry channel. I like the technique he uses with filling the trays by using the smaller trays and how he tracks the pre and post weight on the bag. Finally saved enough to order my freeze dryer and I'm taking notes from this gentleman. Thank u for all your hard work!

@Fr33.Think3r Год назад

Live.Life.Simple. tops this.

@hydej1667 Год назад

@@Fr33.Think3r Each to their own. Live.Life.Simple/Retired@40 is Way toooo Click Baity for me. And seems too commercial - always trying to sell things. Doesn't give references about many of the things he states as facts about freeze drying. Showman, yes. Entertaining, sometimes (when he's not being over the top) Someone I would trust to show me something important about freeze drying, no not so much.

@eileenniehaus5368 2 года назад

I can’t imagine a reason to add water to the ice cream, freeze dried ice cream is one of the most amazing foods I’ve ever had. 😋

@SchoolReports 2 года назад

My only thought was perhaps adding ice and water and making a milkshake. It's interesting that ice cream has a lot more fat than cooked ground beef, but I get less questions about the problems of freeze drying food with fat when I show ice cream!

@eileenniehaus5368 2 года назад

@@SchoolReports now that’s funny! I’ve seen and heard so much about meat being a problem but not once ice cream. 😂 If my memory serves, which lately seldom does, I think you had a video making a shake from ice cream sandwiches and milk. Interesting concept, but such a waste of freeze dried ice cream. 😁

@SchoolReports 2 года назад

@@eileenniehaus5368 Your memory serves you well on this! I did make a shake out of ice cream sandwiches and milk AND it is a waste, but people asked what do you do with freeze dried ice cream and ice cream sandwiches and wouldn't take "snack them" as the answer.🤣

@egomaniac8510 Год назад

It must be answered in a previous video. Why does your target wt. Of 10lbs. Matter? Is that a machine limitation or a personal limit? Tip.. just because your freezer trays are bigger than the fd trays doesn't mean you have to fill it. Tear the parchment paper to fit BEFORE scooping the ice cream. As long as the scoops stay within the paper you can just slide the scoops into place on the FD trays.

@SchoolReports Год назад

The number one reason for the 10 lbs per batch for the series was because the math and tracking would be easier! I wanted to get the 500 lbs in 50 batches. Harvest Right lists their medium machine as capable of 7- 10 lbs per batch. It depends greatly on the water percentage in each food. I still try to have an upper limit of 10 lbs of water load for batches because after that (especially on my older machine which doesn't freeze the ice evenly in the chamber) the ice will build up enough to start hitting the heated shelf/trays, causing it to re-sublimate, stalling the freeze drying cycle and/or causing more water vapor to go through the vacuum pump. If it gets to be too much, some people have found it necessary to defrost the machine mid-batch. I have done the slide-the-parchment thing with some items. It would not have gone well with the ice cream stacked as high as I did on these. 😇 I normally wouldn't stack ice cream this high, but I REALLY wanted to get the 500 lbs in 50 batches for this series!

@All_in_for_Him 2 года назад

Thanks for the extra sealing demo! I wondered, but hadn't thought through how to check. I'm rolling!🤣 Just got to the end!

@jcowan0921 Год назад

love your series. we are 2 years into freeze drying and I feel like I finally have a plan thanks to you! I have started the two hour weighing and am pretty sure the stuff from 2 years ago wasn't dry all the way. Live and learn. thank you!!

@SchoolReports Год назад

Thanks for watching and commenting. Having a plan, any plan, is better than no plan! It took us a LONG time to start freeze drying to/with a plan. Close to 5 years.🙂

@alicefreeman8122 Год назад

you are so clever with your hacks. my new favorite channel !!

@SchoolReportsOnTheGo Год назад

Thanks! And thanks for watching and commenting!

@carolclarkson4859 2 года назад

Wow you pack the batches. Well done filling up those trays.

@SchoolReports 2 года назад

Overloading the trays! 🙂 I would recommend 8 pounds for most foods. (or 6 lbs of water)

@kerry1963qld 2 года назад

Great info thankyou

@Ldybugsrus-Nadine 2 года назад

I did greek yogurt recently, I put it in a baggie to mush it to powder and there was wetness in the bag. I dumped it all into a paper lunch sack and stuck it back it. I bet your milk would have been done sooner if you had crushed it up.

@SchoolReports 2 года назад

That's true, I've done that before, but I already had my blocks weighed and I didn't want to have to re-weigh. (It's all about the lazy!)

@Ldybugsrus-Nadine 2 года назад

@@SchoolReports I 100% understand.

@jerryfrazier9694 Год назад

Have you looked into getting HR tray lids ? They also double as trays . PS love your show !

@SchoolReports Год назад

Thanks for watching and commenting! I have looked at the cover, but they really would be of no use for me. Pretty much the only time there is food on the trays, they are on their way into the freeze dryer. (or are already in) We prefreeze almost everything we freeze dry in the 7 x 7 pans, like stew or mashed potatoes or mac & cheese. The main reasons I prefreeze in those pans are: 1) So the food is pre-portioned and ready to bag in 1/2 lb or 1 lb amounts after it's dried, 2) so I don't inadvertently overload the machine. Ten of the 1 lb pans exactly fit my freeze dryer trays, and I try to not put more than 10 pounds in a load. (Most of the time) 3) Cheep. We often have many dozens of the blocks (up to 150+ blocks) in the freezer waiting for the freeze dryer, so we would need a lot of the trays. Too expensive for they way we work. If you're never more than a couple batches ahead, it could be a *great* way to go!

@Wakeywhodat Год назад

25:31 Chef’s choice? 😂 Great channel, subscribed!

@SchoolReports Год назад

Thanks for watching and commenting! If you do the work, you get the choice bits!😇

@veronica978 2 месяца назад

You could put the tester in a mason jar and see if it changes colors

@SchoolReports 2 месяца назад

👍 Using a Pickle Jar to Test Oxygen Absorbers - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-zCKh0gtg28k.htmlsi=X-icloek-iFCTruJ&t=176

@Wakeywhodat Год назад

Try dipping the scoop in water every few scoops and then Shake it off. My grandma taught me that, it moves much smoother.

@SchoolReports Год назад

Yeah, I know, but I was too lazy. I was working inside the freezer and it's 2 floors away from the sink!

@tomsrandomness 6 месяцев назад

Love that shirt lol

@SchoolReports 6 месяцев назад

😁

@shellic5166 Год назад

Have you ever tried using the meters that measure moisture? They have different ones on Amazon and I have seen a few yohtubers use them for freeze drying.

@SchoolReports Год назад

Thanks for watching and commenting! Sorry, this is going to be long. 😇No I haven't used any of the moisture meters available on Amazon to test food, and I have heard that some people are showing themselves using them to "check" the dryness of their food. I have yet to hear of a moisture meter up to the task of checking ALL the food in a freeze dryer load. If you know of one, I would love to hear about it. I've read comments from multiple people saying they use wood moisture meters, an infrared thermometer, or thermal imaging cameras for their food. In my opinion, wood moisture meters are worse than a waste of money when used as a moisture meter for freeze drying food; they would give a false sense of security. I'm probably a bit neurotic when it comes to water activity levels in the food for storage. As far as using an infrared thermometer, I have one and after testing I wouldn't consider using it for this purpose. I would consider them to be a big step up from the wood moisture meters that some people say they use, I but I still don't see it as appropriate for this use. At least with a good Thermal Imaging Camera you can see if there are any cold spots on the whole surface. But they still don't tell you about water activity levels, and some of the foods act like insulation; they are very warm on the outside and ice on the inside. Even with the type of meter that I would consider using, ( www.weberscientific.com/water-activity-meters-novasina ) I STILL wouldn't trust it, because it's still only checking a small sample size/location on the tray. By using the extra drying time method, I'm essentially able to test the entire load at once I would NEVER trust any moisture meter (that I know of) to tell me whether or not the food is dry. I weigh the food. I don't know of a better way to test EVERY piece of food for dryness. By weighing it all, I'm essentially testing every piece of food to make sure the water has been removed. I'm probably a bit neurotic when it comes to water activity levels in the food for storage. I won't store any food that even MIGHT have water in it. In lots of the newer videos I show my process of checking to make sure each batch is dry by doing a "dry check" cycle. I'm using the fact that the weight of the trays of food should stop dropping when all of the water has been removed. After the freeze dryer finishes, I take the trays out, weigh them, put them back in for more final dry time, and then check them again for weight loss. (Dry check) When the weight loss stops, (no more water to remove) they should be dry. I don't bag the food if there is still water in it. I show this a lot in my recent videos. Freeze Drying Your First 500 lbs of Food - Batch 32 - Peas, Frozen ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-mKh9c9nTzgA.html This is my personal guideline: #1 Never trust the freeze dryer or a spot check moisture meter to tell you if the food is dry! Do a dry check using a scale to make sure it's dry before bagging and storing. #2 Don't overload the freeze dryer. I try to keep the medium machine to a maximum of about 8 pounds of Water Weight per batch. (I have had 11+ lbs of water. It took a long time and I won't do that again) #3 Don't make the food on the trays too thick (height, not viscosity) If you do, you may have to run the batch twice. #4 When in doubt about dryness, add extra final dry time. #5 Never trust the freeze dryer or a spot check moisture meter to tell you if the food is dry! Do a dry check using a scale to make SURE it's dry. #6 NEVER trust the freeze dryer or a spot check moisture meter to tell you if the food is dry! IT CAN'T KNOW! Do a dry check using a scale to make SURE it's ALL dry before bagging and storing. I've heard from too many people that thought their food was dry, only to check again a short time later and find out it wasn't, and now it has gone bad.

@brianschindler1511 4 месяца назад

👍👍👍👍👍

@gingerschottler8394 5 месяцев назад

Buy a set of the freeze right covers they double as trays

@SchoolReports 5 месяцев назад

🤣

@sandybear1480 2 года назад

Thank you for the great video! Please provide info on the brand & where u can purchase the mylar bags and the oa's you are using. Thank you.

@SchoolReports 2 года назад

We have been getting our bags from packfreshusa.com/ for a few years; we get the 7mil bags. 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/ 300cc Oxygen Absorbers in 10-Packs (1000) packfreshusa.com/300cc-oxygen-absorbers-in-10-packs-1000-wholesale/

@sandybear1480 2 года назад

Thank you for that! We've been using that the Harvest Right bags but it's nice to have an alternative that we know someone else has used and are happy with! There are so many mylar bags available through Amazon but many people comment that they have holes or are very poor quality.

@SchoolReports 2 года назад

@@sandybear1480 I know what you mean! I don't know if you had seen this video - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-B0KUfoHuCk4.html It was the results of our "adventure" of having bought random cheap bags off Amazon when we ran low on bags one time. We had to re-do hundreds of bags.

@Judten1 8 месяцев назад

Where is your drain/pressure release valve located? I have to reach toward the far back side of machine. I had a 5 gallon bucket with a hole drilled in top. Which I THOUGHT was a big enough hole. Collapsed my bucket so now I don’t use a lid. Im learning. Lol

@SchoolReports 8 месяцев назад

The drain valves on our machines (mine and my sister's) are both on the back left side. The valves can be put on either side, we just chose the left because of our setups. I used to have mine on the right with my old setup. We use a 1 gallon jug in a bucket. Every Little Detail ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-lpa3db5al20.htmlsi=YIBJMAToAFle9nGH&t=554

@Barbie08081 7 месяцев назад

Do you have a video were you explain in detail your calculations on how to know if you need more time?

@SchoolReports 7 месяцев назад

Great question! I hope I can give you a satisfactory answer. The short answer is - no. I don't have a single video just about the _Dry Check_ and any calculations. (Good video idea!) There really is no calculation for knowing if it needs more time - If the weight drops during the _Dry Check_ it needs more time. I feel very uncomfortable with any number other than 0! That being said, if it was no more than 1 gram and has been at least a 2 1/2 hour "Dry Check" _and_ the dry weight of the food on the tray is over 100 grams (meaning the loss was _well below_ 1%), than I sometimes will take it out. You can see on this video at this spot- ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-5cHronGQID0.htmlsi=P8nUr6hs_1m8iamQ&t=1406 - that tray #1 had a 1 gram loss in 2 1/2 hours. After I mixed all 4 trays together for a total of 538 grams dry weight, the loss was less than 2 tenths of one percent. The only reason I kind of comfortable with taking it out after this small loss, is because after doing another round of _Dry Checks_ many, many times, I've found that the next weight check would show _no_ loss under these conditions.

@glennarishenkoff7331 11 месяцев назад

try putting milk in ice cube tray first!

@JaniceCrowell Год назад

All that scooping just looks like so much work.

@SchoolReports Год назад

It was a lot more work than just cutting the ice cream into slabs, like I've done before, but I liked the results.

@angelataeschner1596 Год назад

Have you tried putting a finished ice cream into the freezer to see if condensation would bring it back to an ice cream state??

@SchoolReports Год назад

I haven't tried that. I don't think it would work because freezers are very dry, which in part, is why food can get freezer burn, especially if it's a frost-free freezer. Of course, since I've never tried it, I could be wrong! 🤣 It might be interesting to see what would happen.

@ChristinesBackyardGarden 11 дней назад

Nice video. Where did you get the parchment paper that's already cut to the size of the trays?

@SchoolReports 11 дней назад

Thanks. We cut our own parchment sheets from rolls we get at Costco. I've made a couple videos of cutting the paper - here is one of them: Cutting More Parchment Paper for our Freeze Dryer Trays - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-td9lV6ftWhQ.htmlsi=dkeEc2eyBJ7LlkKs

@astatine0085 Год назад

Question. Do you use the same dry time for all of the items. Eg if milk is always xx hours, do you measure each batch?

@SchoolReports Год назад

No. I never trust an amount of time to tell me when anything is dry. I do a dry check using a scale. This is my personal guideline about dryness: 🤣 #1 Never trust the freeze dryer or a spot check moisture meter to tell you if the food is dry! Do a dry check using a scale to make sure it's dry before bagging and storing. #2 Don't overload the freeze dryer. I try to keep the medium machine to a maximum of about 8 pounds of Water Weight per batch. (I have had 11+ lbs of water. It took a long time and I won't do that again) #3 Don't make the food on the trays too thick (height, not viscosity) If you do, you may have to run the batch twice. #4 When in doubt about dryness, add extra final dry time. #5 Never trust the freeze dryer or a spot check moisture meter to tell you if the food is dry! Do a dry check using a scale to make SURE it's dry. #6 NEVER trust the freeze dryer or a spot check moisture meter to tell you if the food is dry! IT CAN'T KNOW! Do a dry check using a scale to make SURE it's ALL dry before bagging and storing. I've heard from too many people that thought their food was dry, only to check again a short time later and find out it wasn't, and now it has gone bad.

@te5844 10 месяцев назад

Have you ever experimented with taking things that are close to dry like your milk and putting them in a dehydrator for the final dry? I've heard of people doing this because the food is "set" and won't shrivel and it saves a ton of electricity from doing it in the freeze dryer.

@SchoolReports 10 месяцев назад

I've had people suggest (or ask about) this from time to time, and it's honestly a good question. I believe it's a really bad idea. Most of the time it's being asked by people coming to freeze drying from a dehydrator background. (They already have a dehydrator and have used it for some time) No, I haven't done this and I never would. Two main reasons: 1) A normal dehydrator can not get the moisture levels down as low as the freeze dryer can. 2) While drying in the freeze dryer, the food is in a near vacuum. In a dehydrator, the food is being heated in an oxygen rich environment, the worst possible conditions/combination for prepping food for long term storage. Remember, I'm just another idiot on the internet. I could be wrong. The #1 joke at our house is "But, I saw it on the internet!" I look at what commercial companies are doing. If they can do it, we probably can too. (with method adjustments)

@happydays1336 2 месяца назад

It's not safe to home can or dehydrate dairy products. Only a commercial food manufacturer can process them at high enough temperatures and pressures for the products to be safe. People who home can foods such as milk and butter are risking serious bacterial food poisoning or even death. Keeping a person's family safe is much more important than listening to some random RU-vidrs' canning instructions. If a RU-vidr says, "My ancestors have canned this way for 100 years and we've never had any problems" (such as "Amish canning" of low acid vegetables in a water bath canner) is someone to stay away from.

@astatine0085 Год назад

What about pre freezing? Can you reduce your freeze time on the sugary stuff that way?

@SchoolReports Год назад

Yes. We prefreeze just about everything we freeze dry, and we make sure the food is -40 before starting the main dry cycle on the freeze dryer when doing ice cream or things like that.

@floridaman9260 2 года назад

Thank you! Question: Have you ever tried to freeze dry aloe? I have a couple gallons of pure aloe gel I am thinking about drying...and I'm CHICKEN haha.

@SchoolReports 2 года назад

No, I've never even had any aloe gel, so I know nothing about it. From what I've seen of it, I'd bet it would do fine. Test #1, do a freeze - thaw trial and see what happens.

@floridaman9260 2 года назад

@@SchoolReports 1 gallon complete. 1 gallon filled 4 med trays really full, took 42 hours to dry (not true I gave it 8 extra hours to dry so I didn't have it finish in the middle of the night) , came out very light and airy. Powdered down to just under a pint. Storing in a jar for easy reseal. Will do the other one soon. The smell is a very concentrated aloe smell.

@SchoolReports 2 года назад

@@floridaman9260 That's great!

@CraftEccentricity 2 года назад

How often do you make meals with your freeze dried food?

@SchoolReports 2 года назад

Often. We've probably used 2/3 of everything we've freeze dried.

@CraftEccentricity 2 года назад

@@SchoolReports Thank you!

@hydej1667 2 года назад

😀 ❤️ 🐸

@astatine0085 Год назад

How are the oxygen absorbers different from vacuum sealing?

@SchoolReports Год назад

Vacuum sealing removes MOST of the air out of the bags, (and my or may not crush the food) but without an oxygen absorber, will do nothing for future oxygen that gets in. Oxygen absorbers remove (or convert) the oxygen that is present now and going forward into the future. I didn't know if you're asking about vacuum instead of oxygen absorbers, and I'm not against vacuuming the bags, but If I were to do only one or the other, I would take the oxygen absorber only over the vacuum only. I have no issue with doing both except cost of the chamber vac, time (maybe a minute per bag x thousands of bags), and the potential of crushing some delicate foods. I would always use oxygen absorbers for long term storage, even when vacuuming, because there is still going to be small amounts of air/oxygen between every particle of food. The oxygen absorbers will remove the oxygen exponentially better. Of course, both might be better. The long term problem is gas permeability - oxygen and moisture ARE going to be going through the bag, slowly, forever. The better the bag the slower it happens. If you have oxygen absorbers in the bag they keep absorbing any oxygen that comes through. The oxygen absorbers we use are "guaranteed to absorb at least 180% of their rating". In one test we did they absorbed over 300% of their rating. The oxygen absorbers will take care of all the oxygen without any need for vacuuming. And with some foods if you vacuum it well, it would crush the stuffings out of the food, e.g. tomato slices, green beans or other delicate items. I would love to find a way to do nitrogen flushing of the food when I open the drain valve, and when I bag, like the commercial producers do. It's really simple, I just need to find time and do it! Even with nitrogen flushing I would still add an oxygen absorber.

@Lisa-xe5vs Год назад

Hello. What kind and brand are the thermometers do you use?

@SchoolReports Год назад

Here is an Amazon affiliate link for the Thermometer we are using -40 to 120 F 1-Inch amzn.to/3NElaja (link is in the description) We also have some of these: Thermometer -40 to 160 F 1-Inch amzn.to/3pvAfIm

@kimskluckers5665 Год назад

⁉️⁉️Your scientific approach and weighing methods make me very unsure of the products I have already dried! I gave each batch an additional 2 hours, the feel temp test and quickly bagged. My question is do I trust this or consume within a year or what❓. I have been doing cheese and meat and meat dishes going non stop for 2 months now.

@SchoolReports Год назад

The good news is that everything could be just fine. If it were me (and it kind of was once, I'll leave a video link at the end), I would do a "dry check" of some of the bags now to make sure they were/are completely dried. Meats and cheese usually dry well and quickly, so they are probably fine, but I would check to give myself piece of mind. A few couple years ago I messed up and went cheap and used some thinner bags. I was low on bags, in a hurry, and bought some cheap bags. The thin bags did not stop the moisture! Moisture made it through the bag - 1% to 4% by weight. So, what we did was empty the bags back onto the freeze dryer trays and put them all through more "Final Dry" or "Extra Dry" time to remove any moisture that had migrated in. (We weigh them carefully before and after to check them for any weight loss.) In our case, we then re-bagged them in to good bags, if you have good bags you can probably just re-bag into the same bags. (With new oxygen absorbers) Re-drying is a very fast process, you can do multiple batches per day, and could give you piece of mind about the condition your food. You could probably start with just a few bags from each of the past batches, and maybe you'll find out that everything is just fine. The Freeze Dry Video I Never Wanted to Make ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-B0KUfoHuCk4.html

@SchoolReports Год назад

Also, check to make sure you have a sealer that actually seals. A number of people received sealers that only look like they seal, but don't.

@missyivey9630 7 месяцев назад

How do you figure kilowatts used on your google spreadsheet? Thank you.

@SchoolReports 7 месяцев назад

I just read it off the power meter at the end of each batch. See at 45:13 A few people had ask how much power batches were using, so I bought a power meter.

@paulcharles1212 Год назад

Just letting you know that half your amazon links in the description no longer work. Thanks for the great videos.

@SchoolReports Год назад

Thanks. That's one of the problems of having separate links on the videos. Well, maybe someday I can get one of those fancy Amazon Store links and have everything in one place.

@pattihagerty5049 Год назад

Where can I get the dividers you use in the pans you pre-freeze in?

@SchoolReports Год назад

The divider is just 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. The file is on Thingiverse. www.thingiverse.com/thing:3848619 I have a picture of the pans on the Community page. They were called 8x8" pans when we bought them at the Dollar Tree store, but the bottoms are about 7x7", a perfect fit for our medium freeze dryer trays. (Turns out they have them online too www.dollartree.com/cooking-concepts-square-cake-pans-75-in/10065 )The different batches of pans that we have bought (over the past 20 years) have had slightly different side slopes, which would require a slight change in the divider shape. That's why some of our pans have an "X" on them. It might be doable to make dividers using foamcore or cardboard and covering it with plastic wrap, for those without a printer. (no 3D printer? ) Another viewer used cut some out of thick plastic (like thick cutting board) to make their dividers. (They did have a laser cutter) I'm planning to try to figure out how to make a good, usable (1/2" thick) divider without using a printer. (For those odd people who don't have a few 3D printers) Clarification on the 2 1/2 pans per tray; it only works IF the divider is the thickness I use. (or thicker) The freeze dryer trays actually fits about 1/2" less than 2 1/2 pans; that's one reason I made the dividers that thick. And to fit the magnets

@pattihagerty5049 Год назад

@@SchoolReports Thank you for your reply but that is way out of my ability. I may try to make the pieces out of cardboard covered in plastic wrap and see what happens. I love your channel. We just got a freeze dryer last month and I'm so glad I found your videos.

@astatine0085 Год назад

If they expand though they’ll get stuck, no?

@SchoolReports Год назад

If they are properly frozen, -40, ice cream won't expand and get stuck.

@missyivey9630 7 месяцев назад

Where did you get the dividers for the 8x8 pans? Are they homemade?

@SchoolReports 7 месяцев назад

Thanks for watching and commenting! The dividers are just something I made. The dividers are designed to fit the pans we got at a Dollar Tree store. They were called 8x8" but the bottoms are about 7x7", 2 1/2 pans are a perfect fit ** for our medium freeze dryer trays. (Turns out they have them online too www.dollartree.com/cooking-concepts-square-cake-pans-75-in/10065 ) 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. The file is on Thingiverse. www.thingiverse.com/thing:3848619 (Some people feel that it's wrong to have food touch plastic - it's low on my personal risk list) I've updated the Thingiverse listing to include a new version of the divider that is slightly narrower at the bottom to fit more of the pans. ** Clarification on the 2 1/2 pans per tray; it only works IF the divider is the thickness I use. (or thicker) The freeze dryer trays actually fits about 1/2" less than 2 1/2 pans; that's one reason I made the dividers that thick, that and to fit the magnets. For those without a 3D printer, here's my best ideas for getting some 3D printed dividers. Lots of areas have Maker's places with people that would love to do it for you. Or, better yet, some schools have 3D printing labs. Check with a the local charter school that has junior high or high school age students. I taught 3D Design and Printing for 3+ years at a local 6th - 8th grade charter school. We loved it when we could find/were given a real-world project with a real need. I finally made a couple of the dividers without using the 3D printer a short time ago. It turns out it's an easy craft project and my sister says they are working well. (I will be making more non 3D printed ones, they're easy, cheap, and work!) Making Dividers for My Pre-freeze Pans Without Using a 3D Printer (For Our Medium Freeze Dryer) ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-XNsbWn29xdE.html Stay tuned. 😁 I'm going to show another way using 1/2 thick cutting board. (For people with more tools and/or skills)

@missyivey9630 7 месяцев назад

Thanks so much your response. As I was watching more of your videos yesterday, I saw the one explaining how to make the dividers. I’ll scout around next time before asking a bunch of redundant questions. Making those today. Love your videos.

@SchoolReports 7 месяцев назад

@@missyivey9630 I don't mind at all. Thanks for all the comments, it helps feed the YT algorithm and it'll show the videos to more people! 😁

@ingridposendorf5376 6 месяцев назад

I thought you had to vacuum pack it. Can you explain the reason please? I’m just a new FD’er

@SchoolReports 6 месяцев назад

I assume you're referring to vacuum chamber bag sealers. As I mentioned before, air isn't a problem for the food, oxygen is the problem and the oxygen absorbers take care of removing that. I look to what commercial companies are doing for guidance. Some of them do vacuum pack/seal their Mylar bags, most do not. As far as I know they all have oxygen absorbers. I'm not against vacuum sealing the bags (as long as there are oxygen absorbers), except for the cost of the chamber vac, time (maybe a minute per bag x thousands of bags), and the potential of crushing some delicate foods, e.g. tomato slices, green beans or other delicate items. I have no plans to get a chamber vacuum for Mylar bag sealing. I would always use oxygen absorbers for long term storage, even when vacuuming, because there is still going to be a tiny amount of air/oxygen between every particle of food. A little oxygen goes a long ways when it comes to damaging food. The oxygen absorbers will remove the oxygen exponentially better. I don't know if vacuuming the bag - and including oxygen absorbers - is any better than oxygen absorbers without vacuuming. I've seen nothing to say it is. If the bag has a lower pressure on the inside vs the outside, there will be a pressure pushing the oxygen in. The long term problem is permeability - oxygen is going to be going through the bag, slowly, forever. The better the bag the slower it happens. Of course if you have oxygen absorbers in the bags they keep absorbing any oxygen that comes through. No matter how we pack them, we always add oxygen absorbers. It was all the freeze drying myths that were being pushed that made me stop watching freeze drying videos a few years back and start making my own. How about these fun ideas: "Just touch the food. If it feels warm it's done and ready to bag" or "Use a lumber moisture meter to see if it's dry" or "You can store the food in foodsaver or Sous Vide cooking bags" or "If you vacuum seal the bags, you don't need oxygen absorbers" One viewer said that they were told to ". . . soak then rinse and then soak then rinse, to remove as much sugar as possible" when they did peaches! There are just so many of these. And, perhaps my all time favorite; one person even pointed me to a video where "they" state, as a fact, that if you put an oxygen absorber in a bag with your baking soda it could make it EXPLODE! - Show me the data. I do think companies selling freeze dryers (I have a list of about 13) are doing a disservice in portraying them as "fully automatic" and suggesting that you just throw the food in, it does the rest, and "DING" it's done and ready to bag. You do really need to check it yourself and the HR manual (at least mine) just says ". . .Check the material thoroughly to make sure it is completely dry . . ." with no hint as to how to accomplish this in a way to ensure it's 100% dry every time! Don't trust the machine - It has no way of knowing if it's dry or not. I have a bad feeling that a lot of people are going to find out someday that some of their food was not dry enough. Many foods can hide moisture that's not noticed at the time of bagging.

@ingridposendorf5376 6 месяцев назад

@@SchoolReports wow! Thank you for clarifying the use of them little packets (lol) and why. I subscribed! I’m learning very quickly, as I’m using it regularly. 🙃

@duanebradley1121 2 года назад

I may have missed it, but could you tell me the percentage of milk fat in the milk you used? Skim or whole?

@SchoolReports 2 года назад

I forgot to mention it. This time it was 2% milk. I have done whole milk and chocolate before, but I've never done skim milk because I don't like skim milk.

@duanebradley1121 2 года назад

@@SchoolReports Thank you. I am trying to learn all I can before I order my FD. I've learned plenty from your channel.

@joyquinn1566 3 месяца назад

Why do the trays have to weigh 10 pounds.

@SchoolReports 3 месяца назад

They absolutely don't have to weigh 10 lbs! But I'm lazy. (And for this "50 Batch" series, I really wanted to get as much done as possible in 100 days) We do 10 lbs most of the time to maximize our freeze drying per batch. (With some foods, like fresh mushrooms, 10 lbs doesn't really fit:) The medium machine can handle about 10 lbs of ice maximum before it starts to cause the machine issues and slow down the drying. It's fine to put any amount you want per batch. (Again, up to about 10 lbs of water weight) I could do two 5 lb batches instead of one 10 lb batch, but the total time won't be less and the power usage and hands on time will be more.

@lanehunter947 2 года назад

Thanks Jim Carrey!

@SchoolReports 2 года назад

Help me. 😁I've missed the reference.

@lanehunter947 2 года назад

@@SchoolReports you kinda sound like Jim Carrey... I was watching your video and my wife said, " Is that Jim Carrey? " I closed my eyes and it's slightly true hahah

@SchoolReports 2 года назад

@@lanehunter947 Well, in that case - Somebody Stop Me!🤣

@eileenniehaus5368 2 года назад

@@lanehunter947 wow! I don’t hear it but would rather watch SchoolReports freeze drying videos then ANYthing with Jim Carey in.