Freeze Dryers and Freeze Dried Food (Part 1)

[Mr. Mike]

Veggies I've dried that are AWSOME are corn, sliced mushrooms, okra.. waaaay different dried.. very sweet, peppers, roasted hatch chilies and jalapenos (and fresh) carrots-jullian and baby, snow peas, sun dried tomatoes, brussel sprouts, onions etc.. ALL are good n sweet.

 

 

Just did some dirty rice w/ green chilies and hamburger.  I have some sliced pork butt and spaghetti going now.

 

 

Mr. Mike

Edited September 27, 2014 by Mr. Mike (log)

[thegreatdane]

Kerry,

Thank you for starting this conversation about your adventures. And Mike, thank you, too, for your info and pictures.

 

I like the idea of freeze-dried ganache. Kerry, keep us posted on what you do with that. We'll be salivating from afar.

 

Also, I wonder if you've considered freeze-dried marshmallows. Could be fun!

 

One thing I wonder about is how cost effective this is, considering the electricity and volume of goods one can make.

Thanks,

Tom

[Kerry Beal]

Tom - check out the marshmallows in post #56.  Very crispy.  Chocolot had the guys do Peeps for her.

 

Maybe Matt can address the volume and cost effectiveness questions.

Edited September 27, 2014 by Kerry Beal (log)

[Mr. Mike]

Marshmallow:

 

Have to load them in a specific way as to allow easy removal of the trays.

 

They WILL swell up and if you have them "behind" the heating block on the udner side of the trays.... you will not be able to remove the trays without removing some from the "front" of the tray and jiggle the trays until the marshmallows "move round" the block.  PIA.. So I just arrange tehm accordingly and it makes my life easier.

 

You can store these in a ziplock for months... leaving them out in the open.. after a coupla hours they start to get tacky.

 

The flavor intensify immensly.  You MUST freeze for the 9 hours or they will shrivel up.. ask me how "I" know. 

Toasted cocconut, key lime and pink lemonade are KILLER GOOD.

 

You'll see the tray arrangement in the pics.

 

 

Hope this helps.

 

Mr. Mike

Edited September 27, 2014 by Mr. Mike (log)

[chefmd]

Kerry, may be you can make Momofuku Milk Bar Crack pie with freeze dried corn.

 

Here is the recipe in case you do not have the book.

 

I am a terrible baker and live vicariously through baking posts on this forum.

[dbinokc]

Tom,

I figure it costs me about $1 per pound of wet food processed. That based on about 10 cents/kwH where I am at and assuming about 10 amps current based on what Harvest Right has said.

Still if I compare that to the cost of buying the same items already freeze dried, I figure I am paying about 1/2 to 2/3 the cost of what could be bought in a #10 can. Freeze dried meats are even more absurdly priced.if purchased direct. I figure after a few hundred times, the machine will have paid for itself.

 

And  of course some things you just can not find for sale.at any price. You have to make it yourself.

[Kerry Beal]

 

Gave the pig skin another go, also some Thai peppers that were in the freezer and a little container of eggwhites I found.  

 

 

Sous vide chuck eye, the osmasome from it, apricot puree.

 

 

Blackcurrent puree - dry as a chip this time.  

 

 

Turkey and kimchi.  Much crispier kimchi than the Trader Joe version.  

[Mr. Mike]

If you want to have an ROI for the machine...here ya go.

 

Rational:

#10 cans

Beef                  47.00

White Chicken   40.00

Ham                   50.00

Sausage            36.00

 

Scrambled Eggs   30.00

Chedder Cheese  44.00

Ice Cream              26.00

 

From my experience, 4 trays of meat will make 1 to 1.5 # 10 cans.

Lets just say it makes "1" can at an average of 40.00/can of "whatever" product.

 

It'll take aprox. 100 cans at 40.00 ea  = ($4000.00 investment)  MAX to get your ROI to 0... we know it'll happen faster as you get more than "1" can of product in a run...I'm talking about "bulky" stuff.  Ok.. so you went all out and it cost 4300.00 with "xtras"... add 10 more cans to the ROI just to cover any loose ends.

 

SO... if it takes 1.5 days to process a "batch" it'll take 150 days to do 100 cans...if you were going full bore, flat out gett'n it.  Let's just say a few days off in between runs for what ever reason...  it'll pay back in about 6 mos if you want it to.  ok.. 8 months if you're not hitting it real hard.

 

6-8 months for a pay back...??? WOAH...  That's an incredible ROI....  And it "could be" a bidness write off.. capitalize it over 3-5 even 10 years... easy peasy.

 

Powdered eggs.. takes a LOT of eggs to fill a #10 can. easy 2-3 runs of liq. egg product to fill one.

 

I figured about 75-100 Runs max. to get my money back if I were to buy product.....  the example prices are from Honeyville site as a reference.

Figure at a maximum 3-5 buxs a day. for round numbers for 'letric.

 

I KNOW they are not doing Marinated-grilled chicken breasts like the pics below... or canadian bacon, Turkey pastrami, Pulled pork, ribs- Brisket, ham, Gyro meat, or grilled asparagas or spaghetti with sauce my way and meat balls or, or, or...

 

My homecooking for later consumption is well... PRICELESS...

 

Not being a "Dryer snob"...  I like my food my way and not the way someone wants to try to sell it to me their way...bland or with lots of salty 'bla tasting" sauce.

 

 

To me making the 1st purchase was a no brainer.. now I'm on my 3rd machine.

 

Mr Mike.

Edited September 28, 2014 by Mr. Mike (log)

[gfweb]

Other than survival or maybe backpacking, what does one do with freeze-dried meat?

[loosethreads]

Hi all,

I am new to this forum and freeze drying The nice guys at Harvest Right suggested this forum and i am thrilled to have read all of your posts and am amazed at the variety of foods you have freeze dried.

Kelly- I am drooling over your beautiful chocolates!!!

Mr. Mike - I agree 100% with your thinking on the purchase of this machine! Have had my machine for approx. 1 month and am loving it! I've done ice cream sandwiches, home raised eggs, lots of different kinds of fruits and vegetables. Because of the posts and pictures on this forum I am trying cheese and hamburger rice hot dish tonight. We raise our own beef also and want to try more of that too.

A few years ago we were without electricity for 6 days during a nasty blizzard. Luckily we had a generator with plenty of fuel. Many people I know didn't and lost freezers full of food.

Thanks so much for sharing all your info and pictures - I hope to be able to contribute in the future also!

[Smithy]

Welcome to eGullet, loosethreads. Kerry's really started something good here, hasn't she? It's nice to see other freeze-drying advocates joining in. We look forward to your contributions.

[Smithy]

Kerry, the blackcurrant puree has a beautiful color. I can imagine that in some lovely confections, and look forward to seeing what you do with it. I'm very curious to see what you have to say about the sous vide prime rib and the ozmasome. Do you have specific plans and tests for those yet? Try to reconstitute them as they are, or use the broken bits for flavor in something else? Will this mean less volume packed in the car for the next trip to Manitoulin Island, or just make room for more stuff to be thrown in? :-D

[Kerry Beal]

I'm just curious to see how much like the original the sous vide then freeze dried meat will be.  I plan to package up with the osmosome, add as much moisture as they have lost, then treat them like I would have if they had been removed already cooked from the freezer.

 

I'm sure that this means MORE stuff will go to Manitoulin!  Will have to take a bunch of stuff along to play with of course.

[Mr. Mike]

Freeze Dry FAIL

 

Tried some maraschino cherries... total fail as far as not drying.

 

The cherrires dried-shriveled up during the process.  Probably becuase of the low moisture-high sugar content.

 

The burgers on the other hand... dried like a champ.

 

I thought this was going to be a no-brainer   .....aaank

 

Dried a little... more like a chewy texture.. still good tasting.

 

Mr. Mike

 

 

[Chocolot]

Today was play with ganache day. I had some ganache that was FD. It has habanero in it. Dry, it was tasty with some heat--about the same as when it was fresh. I pulverized in the TMX and added a little water and stirred. The color is much lighter than when fresh. Wonder if I put too much air into it? The reconstituted ganache is much hotter than when fresh! I know that freezing can increase spice, but it is strange the the dry ganache didn't seem to have too much heat. I think the texture will be ok. There is just a small amount, so I will keep an eye on it and see what happens. 

[Harvest Right]

Mr Mike, I wondered how those maraschino cherries would turn out with all the added sugar in them. I bet Kerry or Chocolot could do something fun with them . On another note, fresh cherries are one of my favorite fruits freeze dried. 

[Kerry Beal]

What came out this evening - 

 

 

The second run on the chuck eye, along with the batch of scotch broth that was in the freezer.  

 

 

Mashed potatoes - took some of these, added some boiling water - tasted just as good as fresh!

 

 

Out of focus red pepper pieces.  

 

 

Coffee, cream and sugar - mixed with a bit of maltodextrin - think next time I'll figure out which gum would be the best to thicken this up before freezing.  

[Kerry Beal]

Freeze Dry FAIL

 

Tried some maraschino cherries... total fail as far as not drying.

 

The cherrires dried-shriveled up during the process.  Probably becuase of the low moisture-high sugar content.

 

The burgers on the other hand... dried like a champ.

 

I thought this was going to be a no-brainer   .....aaank

 

Dried a little... more like a chewy texture.. still good tasting.

 

Mr. Mike

 

IMG_1593.JPGIMG_1597.JPGIMG_1596.JPG

Mike - can you describe the texture of these?

[rotuts]

"""   Mashed potatoes - took some of these, added some boiling water - tasted just as good as fresh! ""

 

now you are your are taking to me !

 

perhaps a bit of warm milk ? some butter ?

[Kerry Beal]

"""   Mashed potatoes - took some of these, added some boiling water - tasted just as good as fresh! ""

 

now you are your are taking to me !

 

perhaps a bit of warm milk ? some butter ?

Already in there!  Made them my usual way with milk and lots of butter before FDing them.  

[rotuts]

try a bit more after the FD's

 

water is one thing

 

but More Butter and Milk

 

just give it a go.

[gfweb]

Has any of the FD meat been tasted? What's it like?

 

I picture it missing all of the aromatic notes.

[Mr. Mike]

The cherries were a "soft hard" texture..a tad bit chewey-gummy bear like, but not as gummy.. (if that is a description) lol . 

 

Not something that I would store for a long time.. short term -dipped-drizzled in chocolate...holiday treat.... might be a new take for its use..

 

I was envisioning a hard, crunchy marshmallow like texture..  I was going to call them cherry bombs... have a semi sweet shell in the outside using the stem to hold onto for dipping and eating.

 

Prolly could still do it and the shell would cover up the "wrinkled" look.  Still may try it.. I bought a gallon ea of w/ stems and no stems...

 

My FAIL rating was what I was wanting and it not hapening.. it still could be used for my intended purpose... I was wanting hard-drunchy.. not a gummy type.

 

My alternate use for them to make "Cherry limeade Margaritas".. the are KILLER good when I made them last time...going to make more for the wifee's party with her daugher, daughter in laws  and friends this weekend...

 

I have named the party.... "Estrogen Fest"..of which I won't be hangin' round too long.

 

Re-hydrating meat:

 

The thicker it is... the longer it takes... did some pork butt... 3/8" thick... 10-12 min i boiling water still had a bit of "hardness" in the center... not a crunch..but a "Dense" bite.

 

1/8 cuts... take about 7-9 min.

 

Taste. just like before.. may want to heat, "fry" to drive off the excess water.... if eating it like a regular piece of meat.. in a soup. just dumper' in.

 

M

Edited October 1, 2014 by Mr. Mike (log)

[Kerry Beal]

I ran a piece of turkey under the tap and ate it several minutes later - tasted just like it had before I'd FD'ed (to be fair it was not fabulous before).

 

I'm thinking that the rehydration of the chuck eye I might do in a vacuum box that you use to speed marinate things.

[Beth Wilson]

I foresee your freezer emptying out and calls for a system on how to organize all the freeze dried packages and vacuumed packed mason jars in some sort of a dry storage unit

 

Will the red peppers reconstitute to a nice consistency to be added to salads or strictly for cooking in another dish. 

 

I can certainly see the benefits of one of these machines if you have a decent size garden.