01%, effectively preserve these packaged foods without the need for preservatives or additives and without the need for vacuum sealing.
5 Posted October 24, 2015 Hi everyone - new member to the forum, and I was drawn here by this thread. I have been using my HR freeze dryer for a few months now and it's been great. Reading about all your experiences shows that I'm not alone in loving this machine!
If you don’t have the time or money, or if you believe the food crisis will hit hard very soon, then it makes more sense to buy freeze-dried food instead.
One of the reasons I like the small freeze dryer is the size. At the same time, my large freeze dryer takes up space equivalent to a clothes dryer—the small one doesn't.
I'm brainstorming ideas on what to do with it. Gourmet astronaut ice cream? Crispy cheesecake? Some weird variant on beef jerky?
Tray lids– Though freeze drying is underway, you would possibly end up prepping for the next batch. Tray lids are vital in these conditions, preserving your prepped food from contaminants, odors, or unintended spills with your freezer.
Easy preparation. Food is prepared for freeze-drying the same way food is prepared for regular freezing. After rinsing and removing blemishes, blanch most vegetables; pretreat fruits if necessary to prevent browning; meats can be freeze-dried cooked or raw; casseroles are typically assembled from already cooked foods.
What tastes best? Some foods may taste better to you using traditional preservation methods, others may taste better to you preserved by freeze-drying.
No commercial kitchen would be able to function without a proper ventilation system. There are many different kinds of commercial exhaust hoods available for your specific kitchen and requirements.
I, too, have noticed a significant difference when I defrost mid-cycle. I do that routinely now. I carefully use a heat gun to "shock" the surface of the ice, moving back and forth across it fairly swiftly, which causes it to crack and separate somewhat from the cylinder.
Now that I've filled you in on why the most affordable freeze dryer is the small Harvest Right, let's talk about how you can score one without breaking the bank.
There are 3 ports on the chamber that I made slits in the plastic to get around and taped them up once around them. Do not tape to the insulation. Tape only to the vapor barrier plastic. It doesn't take long, just be careful. After the plastic is in place and secure around the chamber I sealed the plastic to the back of the front and back panels using the packing tape. All the way around the front and back of the chamber to completely seal the chamber from outside air and humidity.
Tony, if you see this, I went ahead and purchased the catch can. Do you think it's okay to just purchase a reducer to go from the size of the exhaust to the size of the hose that came with the can?
A couple of other points: There are obvious and easy improvements that could be made, such as using Buy Now a container with a dispensing faucet (think of a lemonade jar, for example). Also, for the technically savvy, auto-mechanic-type person who may be wondering about it, there is an anti-backflow seal that has to be removed from the oil filter, but that can be removed by cutting through it and pulling it out with needle nose pliers, which is easily done.