Mike and I have been entertaining the thought of investing in a Freeze Dryer to help with the large harvests of foods we get each year and the abundance of meal prepping we do. Of course there is always a question as to what to do with the leftovers when you’ve cooked for an army instead of a family of four. Is there any other way to cook? There is always room at our table for more hungry humans as cooking for many is easier for me than cooking for a few.
We started looking at Freezer Dryers when we started running out of Freezer space and shelf space for our home canned goods that had multiple jars filled with fruit. Freeze drying fruit would be not only space saving but delicious as well. We dehydrate a lot of fruit but it is still sticky and causes a big mess in the dehydrators at times. Mike would love to freeze dry ice cream as that was one of his favorite treats when he would go camping with his freeze dried packets of food. He cracks me up!
We started to research Freeze Dryers pros and cons. Since this was a topic of conversation with our daughter this past weekend, I thought maybe others would also benefit from what we have learned over the last couple of years.
First and foremost purchasing a Freeze Dryer of any kind is an investment. A huge financial investment. For a Home Freeze Dryer such as HARVEST RIGHT, a small FD begins at around $2500 (without oil free pump,) to a large FD which costs around $3600 (without the oil free pump.) To purchase one of these Freeze Dryers with the oil free pump, you need to tack on another $1500 to each price. They do have occasional sales if you want to save $100-$300. Easy and low maintenance. They also sell accessories that you will need so you can see how this would be a huge investment. We feel that if we are going to invest in this machine, we want it to be top producing with little headache so the oil free pump would be part of that investment.
Another investment on top of cost is time. Average time to Freeze Dry a food is 20-40 hours because of the process stages the food goes through. There are 3 phases: Freezing, Vacuum Pump and Drying. These phases are all done by the machine which comes with a guide book for the settings. If you buy a Freeze Dryer from Harvest Right, it actually comes with most everything you need if you don’t buy the oil free pump. It includes the oil for the basic pump. You may see a small jump in your electric bill too. You should probably find out what your cost would be should you choose to invest. I think average cost per month if you used it for 10 days is about $35. Not our quote. Used the quote found when researching recently.
I mention Harvest Right because they offer various sizes for home freeze drying and home freeze drying is their focus. They also sell Pharmaceutical, Commercial and Scientific/Lab Freeze Dryers as well. Harvest Right is not the only company out there that sells freeze dryers but it is the only one I found that has one that is specifically for home freeze drying. So what are the pros and cons?
For us, the fact that preserving you food this way is the healthiest choice. Freeze dried retains its nutrition and quality, when done correctly for up to 25 years. Texture remains the same as well. For instance, we will be getting a new flock of layer chickens in the early spring. With 8 new ladies, there will be an abundance of eggs. Freeze drying eggs is an awesome way to preserve them besides Water Glassing or Freezing them. Love that they would retain their nutrition and flavor in powder form. Cooking meals and baking both benefit from freeze dried eggs.
Another advantage to freeze drying your food is you can get more food into your containers which means less crowding on shelves in pantries. Let’s take those farm fresh eggs for an example of space saving. On average, it takes 48 freeze dried eggs to fill a one quart glass jar! I also want to explain that to freeze dry eggs, you need to crack the eggs into a bowl and whisk them together like you would if making scrambled eggs. You would then pour them into the freeze drying pans to be processed.
So, right now price of the machine, pump and accessories are the only ‘Cons’ that I can see. Then benefits of freeing up space on shelves and in the regular freezer far outweigh those cons. Soups, stews, full dinners freeze dried can only be an advantage when camping or hiking, or needing a quick meal. Add water and stir. Freeze drying milk, fruit, veggies, are all money saving ideas, plus the nutritional value, alone, is a huge benefit.
What can you store your freeze dried yummies in? This is a good question because I automatically reach for glass mason jars. You can sanitize them and they hold quite a bit which works for the way I cook. The foods look pretty in them and I like to see the levels of each food to know if it is time to do more preserving. So let’s look at ways to store your hard work! Use mason jars ONLY if you plan to eat these foods in the near future. Glass jars preserve foods for SHORT TERM, 0-1 year.
Side Note: I would not preserve all of my eggs this way unless I was sure I could use 48 powdered eggs in a year.
Another way to preserve your freeze dried foods is in Vacuum Sealed Bags. The Vacuum Sealer and Bags are a small investment but if you take care of it, it can last for years. We’ve had ours for about 7 years and it’s used ALL the time! Again, you can find it on Amazon. Vacuum sealing freeze dried goods is wonderful except for high-protein foods or meats. (Use Mylar bags and silica packets.) Shelf life for vacuum sealing is 1-10 years.
All storage containers MUST be AIRTIGHT or the moisture from the air will be reabsorbed and your food will spoil. I recommend silica packets to help prevent this. You can find them on Amazon for a nominal charge. Mylar bags, also found on Amazon, come with silica packets and labels, also a nominal charge. Mylar bags will also give you the LONGEST PRESERVATION TIME - 25 YEARS Make sure to remove as much of the air as possible during the sealing process.
To us, the investment is worth every penny. Between our daughter and ourselves, the machine would pay for itself many times over through the years. Making a decision to invest in a Freeze Dryer is not an easy one. Weighing all factors is a must. Dollars, Time, Energy, Maintenance, Space, all have a roll in the decision. We are looking to invest in one next summer. Until then, we will keep doing our research making sure that the machine and the money, are 100% worth it.
There is so much more that we learned about Freeze Dryers and Freeze Drying. I think I will leave you with all of the above for a start if you’re interested. There is a plethora of information out there and you just have to weed through the good and the bad. Everyone has an opinion online.
Please feel free to leave a comment or question below and I will do my best to answer all questions thoroughly. Until then, happy food preservation!
Love, Light and Peace!