The shelf heaters can be set to automatically control the rate of sublimation during the primary drying cycle.
In truth, I was also really worried my son would be cross contaminated and end up being sick for a week. The hostess was insistent on making something he could eat and I finally relented. Needless to say, he ended up being very sick from the food.
We’ve bought six so far with two more on the way. But families and individuals considering getting their own can and should as long as they go in with their eyes open.
I routed the exhaust from the catch can to a home made catch can that consisted of a jar with two ports with steel wool inside. I wanted to see just how much oil would escape the newly install catch can and collect in the jar.
Michelle Dubrule I recently received my new freeze dryer in a timely manner and I was pleased with the excellent service. The company kept me informed about any expected delays during transport, which I greatly appreciated.
A freeze dryer can be used to preserve entire meals, making it easy to build up a supply of emergency food or just have meals on hand that can quickly be re-hydrated and eaten.
Freeze drying isn’t my only preservation method, but it’s my favorite. Keep the skills of canning, dehydrating, fermenting and more in your pocket so you have various ways of preserving food. They all have their pros and cons but none should be ignored.
Freeze dried yogurt bites Yogurt tastes great freeze dried, but know that Greek yogurt doesn’t do as well. We like to make yogurt bites by freezing yogurt in molds, removing from molds, and then freeze drying. They are fun and easy to eat no matter where you are.
14 Posted December 16, 2015 (edited) On 7/31/2015 at 11:12 PM, TonyC said: Somehow this post got posted twice so I'll edit the second one with some more useful information. I remember reading somewhere in this thread where somebody was asking how long you run the freeze cycle with pre-frozen food. I have my chest freezer set to -12F, and I usually let the freeze dryer cool for more info an hour before I put the frozen food in. After I load the food in I wait another half hour to start the drying process. I've had a lot of cycles that the Completa time between pulling one batch out and starting the drying cycle on the next is around 2 hours. I'm running mine in a cold garage, so it cools down pretty quickly. If you have yours in a warm room it would probably take a little longer.
We have two freezers in the garage as well. All of these machines generate heat and humidity. Our FDer front regularly sweats up an storm and water drips off the door and from around the entire chamber perimeter down the front of the unit. It got so bad that I taped a plastic shield above the display to route the water around it. You can see the water on the door and on the stainless steel front past the 4 screws on the unit.
You will be addicted once you realize how much you can freeze dry, how easy it is and how much you can preserve for your household in a short amount of time.
Nicky Risk Thank you so much to Albert for all your help and advice on helping me choose the best Harvest Right for my family. We are super excited to experiment with our freeze dryer.
It definitely helps more info to have a freezer nearby. You’ll cut time tremendously by freezing the food first rather than having the freeze dryer do it. It’s also cheaper.
The food options we had there were extremely limited and full of preservatives. To counter that, my buddy Lance went in with family members on the purchase of a freeze dryer for home use.