วีดีโอ

Thank you very much for your advice. I have never tried to make tallow before, but I have frequently wanted to try making some. Your recommendations on how to use it as well as how to make it helps to make me actually give it a try. Thank you for your suggestions on how to make the best use of the freeze-dried broth I already have as well since this advice should make my existing broth easier to use. Thanks again and have a great day.

I will just add it to soft drinks like I would a slice of Lime. I might also just eat it as a snack if it tastes good by itself. I will let you know if I end up just eating it.

I really like the lime slices because they are so easy to add to a glass of 7-Up or Sprite type of drink to add a bit of flavor. After the first glass I give each slice a squeeze to get even more fresh lime flavor added to any refills in my glass. Thanks for your comment and have a great day.

I used to use a paring knife on my pears as well, but these pears were so ripe I found that it was much easier to use the melon baller to remove the seeds. I definitely understand what it is like to process too many pieces of fruit. We used to have a full orchard with 24 fruit and nut trees until the vicious "Cutworms" got under the bark of all but two of our trees and destroyed our entire orchard. we now have only one apricot, and one apple tree left. I normally use a paring knife for pears as well, but when they are over ripe like mine were this year, it is much easier to use a melon baller. It easily removed the seeds without removing too much fruit and it was much easier than when I used the paring knife on the apples. Thank you for your comment and thank you for watching my video. I hope I am able to provide useful content, and if it is not helpful, I hope it is at least a little bit entertaining. Have a great day.

Sorry, I accidently entered a reply to a different user whose question was not a t all related to yours. I have removed my original comment and replaced it with this apology/ Your answer is in my other comment.

Yes, I believe they are required by law to put a label stating that it is intended for Personal Home Use to avoid possible lawsuits. Producing any food for commercial resale includes so many very strict food handling rules and each state or even cities in some cases, will have their own laws which need to be followed when producing commercial food for resale either to the public or as a wholesale distributer. In most states you must also do all of the food processing and handling in a kitchen which has been certified as a commercial kitchen. I am confident that Blue Alpine Freeze Dryers could probably meets most or all the requirements needed for it to be used in a commercial kitchen. I suspect that if you wanted to use it to make small amounts of freeze-dried fruit or candy to resell at your local town fair or similar event like that, I am sure it would be totally safe to use a Blue Alpine Freeze Dryer. That being said, totally Safe to use and being totally Legal are NOT the same thing. When I looked into Commercial Freeze Drying units, they were much larger and most of them had "Stainless Steel Outer Walls" or no outer wall at all, to make them easier to sanitize. They also sold for between $100-$500 Thousand Dollars for commercial freeze-drying units. BAFD are quite fast and efficient, I think if you wanted to place one or two in a commercial kitchen, you would probably get it approved for commercial use without making any modifications. If you are interested in starting Small Cottage Freeze -Drying Business of your own, I would recommend watching the TH-cam Channel called "The Freeze Dried Business:, th-cam.com/video/KVZbdzLWILc/w-d-xo.htmlsi=-bFzaS9gVofXuSfT This channel covers a lot of information concerning how to start your own freeze-drying business using home freeze drying machines. He is also from Idaho which is where the Blue Alpine factory is located, and I am pretty sure he did a video or two about Blue Alpine Freeze Dryers including a tour of the Blue Alpine Factory. I know that he uses Harvest Right Machines in his business, but they are also designed to be used as a personal home freeze-dryer units, which are not designed for Commercial Use either. I would recommend checking with your local Health Department if you want information about commercial food production that is specific to where you live. I have worked in the Commercial Food industry at different times during my life and in Utah they have several levels of Certifications which may be required depending on what you plan to do, food handlers permit for anyone who may touch or in some cases possibly even selling the food. I know that in Utah where I live, I can produce and package "Shelf Stable Foods" from my home kitchen as long as I have a food handlers permit, and I do not own any pets who have access to my home kitchen at any time, it can also only be sold in the state of Utah. If I want to sell it in a retail outlet, it must be properly labeled to show all of its ingredients and the fact that the food is "Home Produced" as well as a few other specific label items. I hope this information is helpful to you, and even more, I hope you are able to find the information you need even if I was not able to answer the questions you had.

It tastes as good as fresh made. It is also a bit faster than fresh made because all I have to do is add the water and blend it all together while the butter is melting in the pan in the oven. It was so good I plan to make a lot more just to use the extra eggs I have. Thanks for your comment, have a great day.

I have two sets of trays and silicone mats. I also know of people who use parchment paper in their freeze drier to make it easier to remove the freeze-dried food from the trays. I definitely prefer silicone to parchment. I guess parchment would work better than placing the food directly on the trays. Thank you for your comment, please let me know if there is a specific food you would like to see me freeze-dry on my channel, and I will do what I can to accommodate your request.

Thanks for following and commenting on my channel.

Thanks

Thank you for your comment, I hadn't even considered how the sugar levels in the pineapple could be related to its extended freeze-drying time. this does make sense, and I will do some additional research on how the sugar level of a food could affect the length of time it takes to freeze dry those high sugar foods.

I found it on Amazon, there are several available for between $12 and $20. Below I have included a link to one of them. Just search for "French Fry Scoop" and you should find several of them. I also purchased a metal one several years ago at a local restaurant supply store, but I prefer using the plastic one with my freeze dryer. I find it very handy when trying to load freeze dried food which is easily crushed into powder or fine crumbs, or which freeze dries into small pieces like fruit and berries, which are easy to drop through the scoop and directly into mylar bags www.amazon.com/s?k=french+fy+scoop+plastic&crid=2JJJ9H4UAQFFO&sprefix=french+fy+scoop+plastic%2Caps%2C151&ref=nb_sb_noss_2

Did you actually freeze dry the potatoes, chilis and hamburger for your dogs as a way to store their food? Or do your dogs occasionally join you for dinner, eating what scraps you are willing to share under the table? Either way, I am glad you got your Blue Alpine freeze dryer. I hope you enjoy using it as much as I enjoy using mine.

Sorry, I am trying to figure out how to record my videos without the background noise of the freeze dryer. On my most recent video, before I started bagging the food, I removed all of the trays and started the "Defrost" setting runs silently. I am trying to make better videos as I learn what works and what doesn't. I hope this change will reduce the background noise of future video. Thank you for your input, I will try to be more aware of all background noises while filming future videos.

@@BoydsBAFD it's really not a problem for me, I am sure that will put off others that might watch.

Yes, it does seem to be quite powerful at lease when it comes to some food which is freeze dries very quickly.

Thank you

Thanks for your comment, even if it is just an emoji, I appreciate your effort to provide the input.

I do too, it definitely has a stronger & sweeter taste than store bought tomatoes. I still prefer fresh off the vine "Cherry Tomatoes".

Sounds fun. I hope all goes well with your freeze dryer.

The pie filling came out great. We used 2” x 3”silicone cake moulds to make it into blocks. Turned out to be 12 blocks per pie. All bagged and sealed up. Awesome

I hope everything worked with your pre-frozen pears. I would recommend at least running the Freeze Dryer "Freeze" setting for at least 15-30 minutes even if you have pre-frozen the pears in another freezer. I was told by one of the owners of Blue Alpine that even if I pre-freeze my food I should run the freeze setting for at least 15-30 minutes, just to avoid any possible errors from moisture in the food which could melt a bit when placing it into the Freeze Dryer from the other freezer. It also ensures that the freeze dryer is cold enough that the frozen food won't defrost in the first few minutes it is placed in the dryer. Thanks for your comment, have a great day.

Sounds wonderful. Thanks for your comment, have a great day.

Sounds great!

@@halroemer6044 I'm having a special room for my blue alpine freeze dryer with windows on 3 sides to get cross ventilation.

Welcome aboard! Let me know if you have anything specific you would like me to freeze dry before you try it.

My wife needs to drink celery chopped up and blended, we have tried freeze drying it to make it easier to add to her morning drink and it seems to have worked really well. I am also finding that rehydrating freeze-dried foods is a really fast and easy way to make a quick meal.

I appreciate your comment, I will always do my best to tell the full truth especially about the Blue Alpine Freeze Dryer and its quality or problems. I will always be fair and honest about any problems I may run into with my freeze dryer. I am not getting paid by Blue Alpine, in fact when I picked my Freeze Dryer up, they mentioned to me that in order to compete with the other freeze dryer company prices, they are operating with a very low profit margin which at the time was less than 18%. This is very low compared to similar products and because of this, they have not yet created any type of affiliate program to compensate people who help make sales which is exactly what I hope to do. I love their product and their US based company; I hope they are able to succeed and hopefully I can help people who are looking for a new freeze dryer to become aware of what good quality products and company they have created in this short time. Thanks again for your comment and I hope my videos will be of value to you in the future. Please let me know if there is a specific food you would like me to freeze dry and I will do what I can to make a video of your requested food.

I hope you find your freeze dryer both enjoyable and productive to use. I am finding that between our freeze dryer and videos I am making for my TH-cam channel that I am very busy with it, it has become quite a fun new hobby for me. I honestly thought our freeze dryer would be a tool that my wife would use since she has always enjoyed food dehydrating and canning, but I am enjoying it so much that I now use it whenever I know I will be home long enough to finish drying whatever food I want to freeze dry. Thanks again for your comment, and please let me know if you have any specific foods you would like to see freeze-dried. I will do what I can to make a video about your requested food item.

Thank you, for your suggestion, I think next time I will just use blueberry "Bits" which I have pre-frozen and then run briefly through a food processor. I realize I would not have full blue berries, but I doubt I would ever need full berries when I use freeze dried berries anyway.

I am glad my video has helped you. I found that it is easier to just use the diagnostics tool for refrigeration not only for that reason, but also because I don't need to worry about messing with a timer. The only potential problem is that it will continue to run until you turn it off, so you don't want to use it when you might need to leave the freeze dryer to do something else.

I hope my videos will be helpful to you. If you have any specific questions about the freeze dryer or if you would like to see me freeze dry a specific food, please let me know what you would like to see freeze dried and I will do what I can to accommodate your requests.

@@BoydsBAFD thank you

I hope everything goes well, if you have any questions, please feel free to reach out with questions in one of my video comments.

Thank you for the suggestion I now use parchment paper between trays when I freeze them to keep them from freezing together but that idea could also work for some foods. I am not sure about having parchment paper pressing up directly against the heating elements, I might try it for a food which I know expands a lot like some of the candy does. Thanks for the suggestion.

I normally empty my water bucket before each use, there should never be any water in the bucket while I am actually running a batch of freeze-dried food. I also now keep my bucket on the floor and the end of my vacuum hose is normally 4-6 inches above any water line. If I ever left in my bucket full of water after defrosting the freeze dryer, your suggestion would definitely be helpful to remember. If I left my bucket where I kept it on my first few batches, it might have become an issue, if I forgot to empty the bucket before starting a new batch. Thanks again for your comment.

Thank you, I know I have told my children that too. I do have some old and bad habits like this, I should know better by now especially since I have needed to repair or replace several power cord plugs because they were separating from the plug. I am sure the damaged plugs were the result of this lazy and probably dangerous habit. I will try to be more conscious of what I am holding onto when unplugging power cords in the future. Thank you for pointing this out to me, I did not even realize I had done it, which proves it is a bigger problem for me than I thought it was. Thanks again for your comment and suggestion.

I used a pair of kitchen scissors. I did need to wash the scissor blades after about every 40-50 pieces but when they were clean, they cut through the taffy very easily.

Wonderful Idea, I might try some in a future video. Thanks for the suggestion.

Did he mention if he sold Pickle Spears, or Slices, or Full Size Pickles? I think a bag of Pickle Chips could be really good and fairly easy to make.

I will definitely do it again, making more broth from the powdered broth was very easy and it is much easier to store than a boxed or canned broth which is heavier and bulkier than the powdered broth.

Thank you for your comment. I hope my videos can give you some insight on what not to do with your own freeze dryer. I am sure I will make mistakes when freeze drying things for the first time, and my goal is to provide information that will help others avoid the mistakes that I know I will make.

Yes you do according to this and others videos. 20 amp

I don't think so, a Blue Alpine medium freeze-dryer draws 9 amps so running it on a 15 amp circuit should be fine. If you are NOT also running something like a toaster or refrigerator on the same circuit. I would probably run as few other things on the same circuit as possible, but a few LLED lights and maybe a phone charger or small radio should be fine. You can try to figure out how many amps each item draws and then try not to exceed more than 80% of the circuit rating. For a 15 amp circuit try not to run more than 12 amps through the circuit especially for a continuous basis. for a short time, you should be fine running slightly more, but if you exceed 15 amps the circuit switch will start to trip or "blow a fuse" and you will need to reset the circuit switch frequently. This would be an indication that you are running too many items on that circuit.

I talked to one of the brothers in person and he said it would be preferable to have a dedicated 20 amp service for the medium but i suspect @boydsBAFD is correct in that it would probably work with a 15 is you don't use anything else while the unit is running.. but for warranty purposes id just use a 20 amp dedicated if possible

Sorry it took me so long to reply, I think this is a wonderful suggestion and I will make an effort to show a close-up shot of each finished product in all my videos going forward from now on. I just posted a Chili video which did not include the close-up video but from now on, I will try to include close-up video of each item.

I don't think that is possible to let me know you are watching since I am not posting the videos live. Unless I am running a live event which I don't plan on doing at this time there is no way to let me know you are watching a video. Maybe in the future I could run a live even where I answer questions and

Thanks for the emoji.

Thanks for taking the time to watch my videos.

I understand, my freeze dryer sat in my basement for over two weeks before I finally got around to setting it up and then it sat for another few weeks before I actually freeze-dried food other than candy in my machine. I am sure you will be happy with your Blue Alpine freeze dryer. Thank you for your comment and for following my channel. I hope my videos will get better and that you can learn something from watching my videos or at least that you will be entertained by my videos. Please let me know if you have anything specific you would like me to freeze dry to demonstrate for you.

Joan, thank you for your comment. I really appreciate all positive comments and remarks. I am not sure I have the best personality for a good TH-cam channel either, but I felt that there was a definite need for a channel which shows how to use the BAFD (Blue Alpine Freeze Dryer), especially since it runs differently from the other brands. When my sister purchased her Harvest Right FD about 2 years ago, she frequently told me how much she relied on TH-cam videos to teach her how to use her freeze dryer. She is one of my main motivations for creating this channel. For now, I don't use my FD very often, but I hope I can create videos for almost every batch of food which I do freeze dry. I doubt I will make videos for all of the frequent candy (Skittle runs) which I am sure I will be running every couple of weeks just to keep treats available for my grandchildren when they come to visit. Thanks again for following me and commenting, please let me know if you have a specific question or if there is a specific food you would like to see me freeze dry.

Awesome! Thank you!

I will be posting videos when I start drying more foods, I have several hundred eggs which need to be dried, they are mostly water, so I will show how much water attaches to the drum and if the trays are afffected by the ice volume.

I just did a batch of 23 lbs of scrambled eggs which are about 75% water. The ice buildup did not appear to be a problem at all.

Hopefully, my videos can help you make a decision that works for you. I spent over 3 years wanting a freeze dryer and doing my own research. I was just about ready to order a different brand when I stumbled across a Blue Alpine video. After contacting them and doing some more research, I ended up ordering the large one before they had even gone into production. I suspect that I may have a few minor issues, which I think should be expected with a newly developed machine, but I also expect Blue Alpine's customer support to be very reaponsive and helpful as possible. I have had nothing but positive experiences and quick replies when dealing with employees and the owners of Blue Alpine and I hope this will continue and suspect that it will.

Thanks again. when I originally responded to this message, I was using my personal account, so this message continues to show up as not replied to. I am just thanking you again now so my channel will recognize that I have replied.

I'm glad it was helpful, my plan is to make videos specifically for owners of Blue Alpine freeze dryers because I believe they are great machines. Unfortunately, this is such a new company there are not many other videos showing Blue Alpine specific freeze drying. I hope to provide a resource for other BAFD owners in hopes that they can learn from my mistakes and successes. Thanks for your comment.

I ordered a Large one before they even started manufacturing them. I took a tour of their factory and I hope my freeze dryer is as well built as I expected it to be. I have found one possible problem when I tried to run my first batch, the door did not seal on top or bottom. I sent an email and video to Cory at Blue Alpine and I hope he contacts me within the next couple of days to help me fix this minor issue, for now I just have to watch the machine until the pump turns on and then I push against the door until the vacuum starts to make a seal all around the door. I am confident that they will offer a reasonable fix and I will be posting an update video once I hear back from Blue Alpine.

It really was surprisingly simple to set up.