As the cost is prohibitive for most, would be great for community food growing groups. Like the way old villages would have one big oven for everyone to bake their bread and roasts in.
As long as you aren't selling anything, you could try a share buy. Read up on it. Who's house will it be at or what building. There is upkeep and cleaning and access to the building to consider. The shortest run we have had so far since getting ours is 38 hrs. There is no fast turn around. Will each user have their own set of trays to use? Since pre freezing all your ptepared foods is best to shorten cycle time, will you have a community freezer? Will it be big enough for multiple users to store their product for their turn? This guy was supposed to wait 24 hrs before start up. He doesn't say he did. He has no drain hose set up. After spending 5 grand, reading the directions is important.
I was laughing hard on the taste test, the way you were describing things: “I’m having AN experience” “…is like it get compress into a smaler flavor molecule” 😅
The vacuum pump should be plugged into the back of the freeze dryer, with the pump's power switch left in the "on" position. During normal operation, the freeze dryer will send power to the pump so it will kick on after the freeze cycle is complete and then cut off power when a proper vacuum is achieved. Having the pump running during the freezing cycle, or the warming/drying cycle, can pull moisture into the pump, which can cause damage in the long term. You also risk causing premature wear on the pump if you keep it running constantly. I briefly worked at Harvest Right and heard some absolute horror stories of customers who completely ruined their pumps because of water contamination. There are also Facebook groups where people share their experiences and advice on using the freeze dryer.
The banter between you and mr garden hermit takes the channel to another level. I used to think you were just a smart, keep-to-yourself person. Now I have a lot of respect for you as an authority figure in the community. All love ❤️
I can imagine pulverizing the basic ingredients for a soup base and saving that for quick soup stock. Saves space and I bet it makes the cooking process quicker because the water can get to everything more readily
Yes, here in former Yugoslavia they add a blend of MSG, salt and freeze-dried vegetables to all food all the time. Your suggestion is a more versatile and "natural" version of that.
Yess! I'm on my way to buy one! FYI, silica packets do not absorbs oxygen, it absorbs humidity. Oxygen absorbers absorbs oxygen and those work better in mylar bags. Silica packets work good in the bowls or mason jars etc. 👍
I've read that if you withhold water from tomato plants for a couple of weeks before harvesting that the flavor is concentrated and magnified. I've never tried it myself, but a similar phenomenon might explain the added burst of flavor you got from the freeze-dried tomatoes. I look forward to seeing what you try next!
Omg imagine doing this to peaches how intense the flavour would be and crispy it would be like candy lol. Never tried it but u bet it would taste guuuuud! Lol
When you opened the containers of the freeze dried stuff you mention the silica packets draw the air out. The silica actually just helps draw out moisture to keep them from re-hydrating, if you want to remove oxygen, there are little packets that look similar called "oxygen scavengers".
I love the putting it together part. My grandmother who I loved more than anything used to call the instructions that came with stuff "the destructions" - and from how bad she (and I) manage to mess stuff up she was right lol. Thx for keeping it real. ~Amy in SD
Something that would be interesting would be a freeze dried dragon fruit. Since they’re relatively bland fresh, I wonder if they have a nice flavor when freeze dried and the flavor is compressed.
You two guys are so silly! Kevin with flipping the strawberry tops in the air, & you both munching on the samples! I dehydrate and blanch & freeze. Freeze dryers are so costly & canning is a lot of work! Oh but the rewards of our fruits of labor! 💚🌎
Ice cream, peaches and eggs. Beat the eggs and put them in raw. Powder when they come out. 1:1 with water to rehydrate. You will not be able to tell they were freeze dried. 18 - 24 eggs per tray.
I’ve had mine for a few weeks now, and I love it. I really love how my herbs came out. Much more flavor! This is great for preserving garden harvest. I’ve also been making bigger meals and just freeze drying the leftovers for convenience meals. Just did broccoli cheese soup and it came out great
I'm a chemist and have used a freeze dryer before for my research. Ever since using one I wanted one for home use. I loved this video so much. You would definitely get a subscriber (me) if you make another channel solely consisting of freeze drying stuff. I've used a high vacuum oil pump for most of my PhD. If you want to get the most out of your pump, make sure you change your oil when it starts going dark. If you notice two layers in your oil when your pump has turned off it might be due to some water from your food accidentally ending up in the pump. To get rid of this, you need to balast the pump. There should be a knob on the pump for that. Make sure it is pulling a decent vacuum and then switch to balast and let it run like that until the water has evaporated. If your pump is really good, you wouldn't notice too much of a loss in vacuum.
I wasn’t expecting it to look so much like a washing mashing and need so much space. Would it be worth having a dehydrator AND this? You should do a blind taste test!! And do a meal maybe? And let Jacques have some more strawberries! 😂
We have 2 vacuum roughing pumps in our lab with one that runs 24/7 to keep our mass spec vacuumed down. If your freeze dryer is gunna be run pretty regularly while you work inside, I def recommend some sorta noise cancelling mechanism like headphones or something to protect your ears. They're the only reason my hearing isn't completely gone by now after 4 years of that pump running nonstop while I'm working in lab. 😅
Some flavors are intensified with freeze-drying. You are going to LOVE that machine! I've been freeze-drying raw eggs, tons of cooked chicken, lots of candy, fruits & veggies, and getting ready to try milk & broth. Anything liquid needs to be frozen before going into the FD'r. Some liquids will explode into a huge foam mess if you don't pre-freeze them! When reconstituting FD'd foods, I always use hot water or if making soup just drop it into the soup and let it reconstitute as it heats.
I’ve owned a HR FD for 3 years. One of my favorite FD snack is cherry tomatoes with chopped basil, salt and pepper. Sometimes I FD my capers salad but the balsamic vinegar can get a little sticky. Have fun, it’s an adventure for sure.
Love the idea of freeze drying, especially the whole meals. That would save so much in terms of potential waste of leftovers spoiling. But the cost on one of those units is still just a little too rich for my blood. One day, one day. Curious about the maintenance/upkeep on them though. Like how often do you have to replenish the oil in the pump, what kind of cleaning is required (just the pans or are there internal components that need to be cleaned between uses), what the life of the pump is like, etc.
Freeze dry onions, garlic, peppers, tomatoes and herbs, blend into powder for a salad dressing base. Lots of spice mixes and dressings/dips mixes could be made. I keep freeze dried minced shallots and diced peppers to toss into sauces and soups
I have had one for a few months now. I have freeze dried cucumbers, tomatoes, scrambled eggs, bananas, apples, peaches, blueberries, pineapples and strawberries. I love it!! Nothing goes to waste anymore. Have fun with it!
You're as giddy as I was when I got mine, love it! You're definitely going to want to put the freeze dryer on a cart or elevate it, helps with draining when the cycle is complete!
I buy a lot of it for my two year old granddaughter who loves fruit and loves freeze dried fruit. It is helluva expensive. But, I don't have the money to invest in a freeze dryer. I dehydrate some things but yeah, I agree with you.
There is no end to what you can do with one of these .....iv been investigating about these for a while now and I will say harvest right so far has been the best reviews
I had a freeze dryer for over a year now my favorite thing I love about it is I preserving garden goodies. Also my favorite "bought" freezed dried food was dragon fruit. I growing a plant in hopes of being able to replicated that.
@@linda-MyLifeAndOtherAnecdotes there is only the Harvest Right brand for home use. They have 3 different vacuum pumps you can choose from and the noise varies with each. They list the decibel levels on their web page. On average, I would say about 24 hours a batch. But the whole pitted cherries I have in now are more like 36 hours. It depends on how densely packed the trays are and what you are FD.
Have you ever used a straw to cap a strawberry? You take a straw and poke the berry in the center of the berry and push up to the top. It takes the cap off without losing any of the top of the berry. You lose a bit from the core but it is far less than what you usually lose from the top and way quicker.
😅 I've got a bunch of stuff I need to freeze dry Kevin! I live I Fallbrook so it's going to take me about 45 mins to get to your house 🤣jk.. CONGRATS on the freeze dryer though! ML 🌱❤
Have a large harvest right and love it. Recent Onion harvest into diced onion and onion powder. I'm going for zucchini next and will have chips and shredded (for bread). Find it the easiest way to get most of large harvests in the garden. Can never eat it all fresh but now...maybe. Peaches are almost ready and looking to try that as well.
We have one of these freeze dryers and love it. We freeze dry everything. You can load the trays more than you did. Really interested to see more of you do. The results have been impressive for fruits, veggies, meats, eggs, and milk. We did some camping meals that turned out awesome as well. We did biscuits and gravy. Awesome name for your freeze dryer.
If you have an abundance of zucchini or cucumber you can slice them thin and sprinkle any seasoning you want. Then dehydrate them. They are delicious, just like chips but healthy.
Hello ! Happy for you that you got one of those babies :-) you could do a Collab video with a chef, him sharing ideas about how to freeze dry and then cook with your freeze dried produce ! That would be awesome
I read a comment on another video where a lady used freeze dried tomatoes on her sandwich. She spread mayo on the tomatoes, but not next to the bread, then the rest of her ingredients. By lunch time the tomatoes had rehydrated. She said her sandwich was perfect.
@@epichomesteading Not in my neck of the woods... I hadn't seen any in years until I saw 2 this year, although I'm much farther NorthEast than you are.
North County San Diego growing zone 10b checking in 🌱🌱🌱 You know, you could recoup the dehydrator cost by scheduling people to come over and dehydrate their crops for a nominal fee! I'm available any time next week... 😉👩🌾😏!! Seriously though... 🤔😍🙏
Those are oxygen absorbers. Silica packs would be desiccants. What they gave you are oxygen absorbers. They remove the oxygen (not the other gases) from the mylar bag once sealed. They have to be in an air tight container within minutes or they get used up on the oxygen out in the air where they're sitting. You can use a desiccant pack along with an O2 absorber, but put them at opposite ends of the container since the O2 absorber needs a little moisture (that it should have within itself) to work. If you get desiccants, be very careful to get food grade. Clay may be better since silica may be acidic.
You’re inspiring me to pull out my dehydrator and save up for a freeze dryer! Costco has some freeze dried herbs and stuff and the garlic is AMAZING. I use it in everything.
An oil less pump is available....but you did not mention, same with the cover before the door is closed. Beets don't mature in flavor, the just grow larger by the day, they do have an earthy flavor, which I'm sure intensifies when dried or freeze dried.
Good device, friend, so it's nice I was delighted to see this video because I had no idea that this device existed in a big way, I'm staying at your house for more videos and thank you very much friend
Now just think, freeze dry some greens with various vegetables and powder them turning it into a homemade smoothie mix. Meal on the go for sure. Freeze dry and powder herbs, peppers, flowers (nasturtiums) for grinding and seasoning foods. You can create an "Epic Everything Garden" seasoning :)
Such a great video as always! Making me drool. By the way, I buy freeze dried strawberries and powder them to make my son’s favorite cupcakes (or cake) with and add it to a cream cheese frosting as well for berry berry cake…it’s just amazing!
I don't know if anyone mentioned it but the pump NEEDS to to plugged into the outlet on the back of the freeze dryer. That is how the freeze dryer tells the pump when to kick on and off. Otherwise you could blow up your pump when you let the air in. Hope this helps
I heard that using dehydrated tomatoes on a sandwich instead of fresh and you get the taste but not the soggyness. I imagine freeze dried might work the same.
Please play around with blanching. This would have made your beets much better tasting. I think you might enjoy freeze dried sweet potato snacks. Blanch in plain water or lightly sweetened water until halfway to almost cooked. I do these in my admittedly old school dehydrator. They come out sweet and chewy. I'd love to hear how they are when freeze dried. Sweet and crunchy - Yum! I've been following this freeze dryer company for several years. So expensive but so cool. Also how about trying to make some freeze dried bone broth? Ok one more...Freeze dried black garlic!
Are you guys channelling Cheech and Chong's (I won't reference L&H or others who came before) slapstick comedy? Because if you are, you've nailed it! The repartee you two have is so fun to watch.
Great video! Thanks for all the info. Im actually considering getting one to freeze dry raw meat for dog treats/food. Im sure I’ll be spending $2000 on freeze dried treats from the store in just two years so it wound be worth it over his lifetime and we could use it for us too.