Long ago. and B. I don't have the test equipment I did then. I guess what I'm saying is don't be afraid to get too technical with me in your answers. What I wouldn't give for a helium leak detector right now...
The shelf heaters can be set to automatically control the rate of sublimation during the primary drying cycle.
Not only does this save time and money, it saves the headache of trying to throw together a last minute meal if we are in a hurry. And again, it cuts down on food waste.
I take trips to larger stores to stock up on gluten-free and lactose free staples. Then I can use those to make meals or freeze dry the individual components.
When my son goes to college in a few months, we will send him with many freeze dried meals and continue to mail them to him as needed. Most colleges don’t have safe gluten-free options, and while in an ideal world my son would be able to cook all his own food, I know that’s not practical or likely. Freeze dried meals on hand are an easy way to keep from being cross contaminated at the cafeteria!
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.
You can count on me sticking around to talk about the food side of things! My wife looked at me a little oddly when I got the freeze dryer, but now she's a fan too. I'm discovering things that it can do that I hadn't expected, such as making more info low carb snacks.
So I corrected the oversight - I drilled and tapped the elbow to add the port. Here is a picture. It worked great today when I flushed the pump to clear out the gunk.
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.
This is the case with meats as well. The trick with meats is to cook out as much fat as possible, then run it under water to remove even more fat. However, you can also freeze dry raw meat as well.
7. Energy Efficiency: Evaluate the energy consumption of different models since this will affect your electricity bills over time.
You can freeze dry soy and almond milk as well as most non-dairy yogurt, sour cream, and cream cheese substitutes. This has been especially helpful in avoiding food waste, as my son is the only one who uses the non-dairy substitutes, and he rarely is able to finish them before they go bad. I just throw them in the freeze dryer for him to eat later.
For me, a prepper, a freeze dryer is 100% worth it because I can freeze dry whatever I want/need to fill my pantry with food that will nourish our family for years, pelo matter what might come our way.
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.