You’ll have to decide whether the pros outweigh the cons. For me personally, non-e of the cons outweighed the pros. The high price tag is an investment in my ability to preserve food for long periods of time for me and my family without relying on others. The noise doesn’t bother any of us and it’s like white noise.
Finding used freeze dryers isn't easy. That's because most people who get them consider them a long-term investment. As such, they hold on to them for years. However, a used freeze dryer or two sometimes makes its way onto the market.
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.
That also goes for dense foods like mashed potatoes. Liquids or soft foods can be put in silicone molds and frozen. Then pop them out of the molds, put them on the freeze dry trays, and put them in the machine when it’s ready.
This includes setting as many as five different shelf temperatures, thus allowing the material to dry in phases, at different temperatures. For instance, you might have the material begin drying at 10ºF and increase the temperature in phases until the ultimate final dry temperature is 70ºF.
I've run the system in countless tests including over filling the pump and running the pump without a load (both result in lots of oil spitting out the exhaust port of the pump). I've drained the catch can twice, once with over 5 oz of oil in it, but have not collected any oil downstream in the jar so the system is performing well.
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.
The pros and cons are easy to understand. In fact, there really is only one pro and it’s a huge one. YOU control the food you’re storing away for yourself and your family. Those who are willing to spend the time and money to freeze dry their own food should do so as long as they’re going to be committed.
A bit of background on me - I used to work in a sold state fabrication lab (university research lab) and had a lot of hands-on work with ultra-high vacuum equipment. The pumping we do for freeze drying was what was required to just start
Are we trying to rip people off? On the Shop Now contrary, our beef cubes are actually an exceptional value considering the four-pack offers 48 adult servings with 24 grams of protein each.
As a bonus, freeze-dried products are lightweight making them desirable for outdoor activities, emergency kits, and even space missions. Food manufacturers looking to broaden their offerings find freeze-drying prepackaged food as an enticing option because of the increased safety of food and reduced waste.
Recently we took a trip to Hawaii. After doing some research, I found a few restaurants that I was fairly confident would be safe for my son. However, I also knew how expensive even regular groceries are in Hawaii, let alone gluten-free food.
Control of the amount of time a material is held at the ultimate freeze temperature before the drying cycle is started.
The process consists of stages: primary drying, where most of the water is removed, and secondary drying, which removes unfrozen water molecules to preserve the product.