carolinagirl

I think people aren't excited because they really don't understand how FD is different from dehydration. I know some people keep wanting to call the freeze dryer a dehydrator. I know most people kind of get a glazed over look when I tell them about it. lol. It's not until they see and taste the food that they realize it's something very different and very special. I think it may be a couple more years before people begin to understand. Most people think you are nuts when you tell them you paid $3500 for a kitchen thing-a-ma-jig. So I don't bother telling most people. I don't discuss it on my public facebook page, only in the private groups. Surprisingly, my 85 year old dad (who is VERY frugal) thought it was an awesome idea. That surprised me. I couldn't exactly hide the machine when the whole family came over for Christmas dinner, so I made sure I had some real special treats for people to try. It's going to take time for this machine to become more main-stream. And it still might not because of the price. But I feel good knowing that my delicious home grown meat won't freezer burn and become dog food. It's safely stored away in mylar.

I use my freeze dryer 24/7. As soon as I take the food out, I open the oil to drain it and turn defrost on. When I come back 15 minutes later, I refill the oil and finish defrosting with a hair dryer. Within 30 minutes of one batch ending, another has started. The pump holds about 3 cups of oil and I have a gallon that I keep filtering and using. That way I have time to let oil settle and then work it's way through the filter. I takes about half a day for the oil to filter. Keeping a gallon in use means I am never rushed. always oil in the jug ready for use, oil settling in the catch pail and oil working through the filter. I don't know if you have access to Amazon, but that's where I get my sawyer filters. They are about $18 each. I have a spare one so if and when my original one clogs, I can just switch them out. I'll try to post here more often. Freeze drying has become such a passion. I no longer cook for two......I cook for 10 or more and freeze dry all the leftovers. I FD raw eggs when my hens lay faster than I can use them and I am gearing up to have a very large garden this year and will be freeze drying so much of what comes out of it. I have reduced my dependency on my chest freezers so much in just a few months it amazed me. I have FD pork, chicken, beef (all home grown) and wild venison. I am starting to open jars of home canned meat and FD it because I know it will keep longer. It's just amazing what these machines can do!

This is a really good forum. When I was trying to decide if I needed/wanted a freeze dryer, this thread and the part one played a huge factor in deciding. Very worthwhile information here. I share a link to these two thread on the FB group I am a member of whenever a person needs help in deciding.

yes the end is cut off of the bottle. I let the oil sit overnight so most of the water settles out and then pour in all but the last of it in the catch bucket. I change my oil every batch and have been filtering and reusing the same gallon for over 3 months.

I wanted to share my method for filtering oil. I didn't come up with this idea, but I have been using it since november and it's perfect. Been filtering and reusing the same gallon of oil for a couple of months now. The main part of the filter is a 2 liter soda bottle packed with polyfil, charcoal and more polyfil. Then I screw a Sawyer mini water filter on the end. The result is perfectly clear oil. I have backflushed the sawyer once with clean oil and it started running almost like new again. Here's some pictures.