Freeze Dryers and Freeze Dried Food (Part 1)

[Shalmanese]

What about Sambal Oelek? The Huy Fong webpage claims it's only chillies without added sugar/vinegar/garlic etc.

Edited December 13, 2014 by Shalmanese (log)

[Kerry Beal]

What about Sambal Oelek? The Huy Fong webpage claims it's only chillies without added sugar/vinegar/garlic etc.

I might have some of that around the house.

[yesterdays]

Here's our latest load... Stole the gummy bears and marshmallow ideas... This is a simple fun load with peas, corn, green beans, broccoli, carrots, bananas, strawberries, pineapple, mandarin oranges, radishes and cheddar cheese.  I'll update once it is completed. Can't wait to try the gummy "crunchy" bears....

 

http://s48.photobucket.com/user/Terri_Christie/media/photo3_zpsc8de9688.jpg.html

http://s48.photobucket.com/user/Terri_Christie/media/photo41_zps4f85d583.jpg.html

http://s48.photobucket.com/user/Terri_Christie/media/photo22_zpsac465340.jpg.html

http://s48.photobucket.com/user/Terri_Christie/media/photo22_zpsac465340.jpg.html

[Tango Charlie]

What about Sambal Oelek? The Huy Fong webpage claims it's only chillies without added sugar/vinegar/garlic etc.

Yes, that is the their other product I was thinking of, just couldn't remember the name. I think that would work beautifully! I have some of their chili garlic sauce. I'll try that tomorrow. It might produce an amazing dry rub.

[peggy w]

Hi everyone!! great info here, I ordered a HR FD and am expecting it next week. Getting really excited about all the things I want to try.  Your experiences will help me weed out the stuff that doesn't do as well. I was surprised about the high sugar stuff not working well. Good to know! Can anyone tell me how the BBQ ribs turned out? Can you FD any meat with bones in? And the sauerkraut? How well did it reconstitute? Dill pickle slices? Do they come back good for a sandwich? I have tons of questions and as you can tell, really excited about this process. Thanks in advance for any replies to my Questions> peggy w 

[Kerry Beal]

peggy welcome.

 

I haven't reconstituted the pickles or kraut - I'm using them dry.  Shall try to remember to try it and report.

[peggy w]

Thanks, that would be great to see how they are reconstituted

[BGW]

Here's our latest load... Stole the gummy bears and marshmallow ideas... This is a simple fun load with peas, corn, green beans, broccoli, carrots, bananas, strawberries, pineapple, mandarin oranges, radishes and cheddar cheese.  I'll update once it is completed. Can't wait to try the gummy "crunchy" bears....

 

http://s48.photobucket.com/user/Terri_Christie/media/photo3_zpsc8de9688.jpg.html

http://s48.photobucket.com/user/Terri_Christie/media/photo41_zps4f85d583.jpg.html

http://s48.photobucket.com/user/Terri_Christie/media/photo22_zpsac465340.jpg.html

http://s48.photobucket.com/user/Terri_Christie/media/photo22_zpsac465340.jpg.html

Anxious to hear how the  did the mandarin oranges and radishes turn out.

[yesterdays]

Darn the gummy bears must be the wrong kind because they didn't expand.. boo hoo. I'll get pics up with a review of the rest of the goodies this weekend. 

[Canon4me]

Just curious about how long you had to wait for your machine after ordering? I ordered mine on 12/4/2014. Called them today and they thought they would be shipping mine to me at the end of the first week in January 2015. Seems a little long perhaps, but then again it is a professionally constructed machine made in the USA.

[Deryn]

They are still, to my knowledge, hand assembling them and I know with their promotions lately they had a lot of orders. I know it is hard to wait but these are not 'made in China' or 'auto-plant conveyor belt assembled' items. I ordered mine before all the 'rush' lately and still waited almost 3 weeks. It is also the Christmas season right now which I am sure will slow things down a bit for your order. HR is a great company and once you have your FD I am sure you will be glad you got it and they took great care in putting it together, even if it takes a bit longer than you may have hoped for when you placed the order.

[Verna Barclay]

I am freezing meatballs.  My first batch came out and I figured out how to rehydrate them so they taste good.  It is great preserving good food.

[Deryn]

Verna - Welcome to the forum and to the fun of freeze drying. If you can provide some details (such as what size meatballs and how you rehydrated them 'so they taste good') that would be a great help to everyone here I am sure.

[JimR]

Hi all, This is a great forum. We’ve had our FD’er since Thanksgiving. We also dehydrate and pressure can foods.  A request, and I’m sure others would like this also, could you all provide re-hydration info for the foods you have FD’ed. I think this can make the difference in the final product during food prep. Some things FD fine and eat dry fine, however, not so much after re-hydrating. Example; FD’ed cucumber. It FD’ed fine and eating dry fine, however, not really useful after re-hydrated. But they’re great dry on top of a salad like croutons except with more flavor.

A couple of quick thoughts,

Raw Meat: Have FD’ed raw hamburger patties and lean pork loin chops. The burgers re-hydrated in about 10 minutes and the finished COOKED product was just like fresh raw. I re-hydrated the pork the same but I think it could have been in the water longer (a touch tough but do-able). Maybe cook them in some type of liquid instead of frying. Will test again and report back.

WARNING: Treat all raw FD’ed meats as thou they were fresh raw meat. Wash hands, don’t cross contaminate, cook properly after re-hydrating, DON’T eat it dry or if not properly cooked, and mark the product as RAW MEAT on your storage container. Pre-cooked meats are more flexible and can be eaten dry without fear of bacteria. But FD'ing Raw might fit a need.

Why FD meat except for emergencies or camping? I also FD’ed cooked hamburger patties, among other cooked meats. I re-hydrated a few of them (5 mins), heated them up in a frying pan (5 mins), and had very good hamburgers. Didn’t have to thaw the burger, forum the patties, etc. FD’ing meats is not just for emergencies or camping and is the only way to store for long periods of time.
 

[Deryn]

Welcome to eGullet (and more particularly, to this FD'ing thread), Jim. And thank you very much for re-iterating what I have tried to ask for several times now - and for the personal experience/safety information you added.

We are all somewhat 'pioneers' here in the home freeze-drying world - and the drying part/learning curve seems quite simple and straight forward for the most part, but how one goes about rehydrating the FD'd result (if at all) may indeed make the difference between success and failure (as measured by food waste and discouragement). We can all learn from each other - and when new people come into this world of FD'ing they will have more and more information that one hopes will make them successful and happy earlier.

[yesterdays]

Rehydrating for certain foods takes longer. In our first batch I rushed the rehydrating of pork chops and they were a little tough (About as tough as half of them I get from the store - so I didn't blame that on not rehydrating long enough), but the next time I used chops from the same pork loin and batch I soaked them in water overnight in the fridge and WOO!HOO! they were juicy and tender when cooked.

 

With raw NY Strip the rehydrating was faster than pork or chicken and with very little water, they were juicy and tender. The cut of meat makes a difference, as well as, the type. I've found that using a blade tenderizer on meat prior to freezing/freeze drying has a double benefit; it makes it more tender, and rehydrates faster. I will likely do this with most raw meats. I imagine it would benefit cooked meats too, but I haven't tried that yet.

 

Pasta rehydrates wonderfully, but there is a trick to it. To get pasta that is perfect on rehydration it should be "overcooked" before freezing. It shrinks slightly and rehydrates a bit too al dente if you don't overcook the initial product.

 

I plan on doing several different types of pasta in varying degrees of being overcooked then rehydrating to see just how "over-cooked" each pasta should be prepared for real dishes turn out the way we like when rehydrated.

 

I learned this pasta trick by accidentally overcooking my spaghetti to the icky (almost mushy) state - I figured , what the heck, it'll be labeled as emergency or camping spaghetti - and went ahead and freeze dried it -Don't you just love it when Karma is on your side. It is perfect when rehydrated. 

Edited December 20, 2014 by yesterdays (log)

[Kerry Beal]

Thanks for the pasta rehydration information - I can certainly overcook my pasta!

[BGW]

Welcome, Jim!

 

Since my last post, I've FD'ed  raw homemade sauerkraut, raw eggs, beef vegetable soup w/ dehydrated veggies.cooked pork loin, ham, cooked turkey mashed potatoes, bananas, and apples. I use the bananas and apples to fill trays if needed to make a full load.  The sauerkraut was great after rehydrating, my homemade kraut is raw, and it is crunchy . the raw eggs  (powdered) were really good scrambled, and they should do well in baking 1egg= 4tsp + 6 tsp water.

Thanks, yesterdays for the info on rehydrating meats.

[btbyrd]

Anyone tried rehydrating in a flavorful liquid rather than water? I wonder how a freeze dried burger or steak that's rehydrated in demi glace would taste.

Edited December 21, 2014 by btbyrd (log)

[Kerry Beal]

Tried that with my FD sous vide steak - rehydrating with the rehydrated osmosome - not sure if there was any advantage.  With the information above that longer rehydration leads to moister meat - I might have had a different result.  

[peggy w]

Thanks for the info on the pasta and rehydrating meat. Also answered my question about kraut when rehydrated. My FDer will be here tomorrow and can't wait to get started.

[yesterdays]

The radishes are definitely different! They taste like a fresh radish, but airy and dry.... The jury is still out on them by themselves as a chip.... But, what a cool seasoning. I'll throw them into a blender and make a spicy-tasty powder. The oranges are wonderful like a fluffy sour candy ( we used canned mandarin oranges in juice- next time I'll try them in light syrup). 

 

I lightly misted some of the corn w/canola and sprinkled with cajun spices then roasted for a for a bit at 320 in the oven and "WOW" what a cool snack (it was a bit rubbery until it cooled- but it cooled to crispy yummy-spicy perfection). I loaded the peas way to deep, and had to put them back in the machine with the next load.. Next load is already in and includes homemade Lasagna and raw pork loin chops (as well as those pesky peas). 

 

The marshmallows and gummy bears didn't turn out well, but we'll try again with a different brand. 

 

Thank you all for sharing your experiences. You give me courage to go ahead and try different things in the freeze dryer. So, as I count my blessings this Christmas, you're all in that number  . Merry Christmas... 

[peggy w]

So disappointed!  My FDer arrived today and was damaged in shipment. Talked with HR and they will be shipping me another one but really want it right now. It seems like I have waited forever already (a whole 3 weeks). As I wait, my list of things to FD gets longer and longer.

 

Peggy

[ArpaRN]

Hi.I found this forum a few weeks ago while looking for information on freeze dryers. I received my dryer last week (yeah) after ordering it during the black friday sale.I have read thru all of your conversations and found them very helpful. I got off to a slow start trying to figure out what I was doing....but now I am having a blast. I started with raw steaks, have done cottage cheese, and a load of smoked ham. Now I have a tray of cream cheese, a tray of raspberries and asparagus, a tray with leftover clam chowder and ground turkey. I loaded more onto my trays this time after seeing the photos that were displayed here.

[BGW]

Welcome, ArpaRN

This is a really good place to share and learn about FD'ing.  FD'ing seems to be so new for home use that there is little info available, so how great it is for this forum.

A big thanks to Kerry Beal for starting this, she has shared a lot of her FD'ing experiences and we do appreciate her!