We have some really great 'techy' type guys here who are, as they have been exploring the FD mechanics and sharing that in their posts, writing what is turning out to be a 'troubleshooting manual' for us less capable folks.
I will place a piece of parchment over the baking sheet and add another layer of fruit. After it is frozen solid, the fruit can be taken off the tray and placed in freezer bags if needed.
The best choice I ever made when it comes to long-term storage food is getting a freeze dryer. I didn’t always think that. It was far more work than I imagined and the maintenance on the machine is annoying when it needs it.
What type of oil does the vacuum pump use? Harvest Right freeze dryers use food-grade vacuum pump oil, which is available for purchase. One gallon typically lasts several months with proper filtering and maintenance.
Obviously things like ice cream and marshmallows you would want to let the freeze cycle run longer. When I'm ready to start the drying cycle, I open the door, remove the insulator, and check the temperature of the food on the trays with an infrared thermometer. As long as it's below -10F I start the dry cycle. A side note for TonyC, have you ever thought about attaching a mirror to each side of the tray rack to reflect the radiant heat back in to the trays? I've looked at some mirror finish stainless on ebay, and it looks like you could do it for about $quarenta. Not sure if it's worth a try or not. I would think it would let you get more water out in a cycle because the radiant heat wouldn't be warming the ice on the chamber walls. Just a thought.... Edited December 16, 2015 by Pipsqueak duplicate post (log)
Adopting such technologies puts these businesses in a better position to meet regulatory standards and makes Know More them more viable in the market.
They can last for decades, with regular maintenance of course. It’s like any other major appliance, it has running parts and will need to be maintained or repaired as needed.
The process involves freezing the food and then reducing the surrounding pressure to allow the frozen water in the food to sublimate directly into vapor. This method is particularly effective for fruits, vegetables, meats, and even complete meals.
In addition, the casing stayed in a Secure managing temperature during our lab examination, even on the best placing.
Foods with lots of seeds can be freeze dried but usually take longer. That’s because the seeds hold moisture. If you’re processing strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, tomatoes, and kiwis you’ll need to add extra time. I like to add at least 12 hours when processing these foods.
And therein lies the cons to buying a freeze dryer. It takes time to make them cost effective. Depending on humidity in your area, a single run can take up to two days to complete.
The system’s shelf heaters and adjustable vacuum pressure ensure controlled sublimation during the primary drying cycle, preserving your materials at peak quality.
So the bottom line is this: If you can afford the money and time to spend on freeze-drying your own food and you believe the need for the food is many months or years away, then eventually the Harvest Right freeze dryer will pay for itself.
Unfortunately, freeze-dried food can often be very expensive. We’ve seen this first hand as the only company that sells both frozen beef boxes to store in the freezer for up to a year as well as freeze-dried beef cubes to store in the closet for over a decade.