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Thank you for sharing this video! Although I can not afford a freeze dryer at the moment I enjoy learning about it. I would like to share a channel that I believe you would enjoy. It is Retired at 40. Also Live.Life.Simple. They had a name change but both channels have a wealth of Recipes and information. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. ❤
Cassandra- Huge fan of you here! You think of things that I don’t and give me inspiration. I don’t know if you have thought of doing this or not, but I can’t speak highly enough about creating your own bone meal of all types by first (this is my method and takes only 3.5 hours to do so) using my Instant Pot on Soup/Broth setting. I put the broth in fridge overnight, skim off fat (you can save that if you want to cook with) then warm broth up and put in jars and water bath can them for 3 hours. I prefer that method over pressure canning like the Amish do. The broth is much lighter in color, less “burned”. Then I take the bones and pick off any remaining meat and put the bones in a ziplock bag and mash them. The InstantPot makes the bones so soft. Then I freeze the quart size bag. When I get enough of the bones in ziplock bags to make a tray full, I freeze dry the bones and I have instant Bone Meal for the garden. I hope this helps someone else as it’s a game changer.
Something I have not tried yet, is taking banana peels, cutting them and freezing them on a tray and then bagging them and placing back in the freezer until I have enough frozen banana peel until I can freeze dry them and then blending them up in a blender and putting them in a container to fertilize my garden with. I can’t wait to do that. The freeze dryer has so many uses, I love it. The only thing I don’t love about it, it’s very noisy and makes the room hot. I live in the south and heat is not something I need extra of in the summer, so I refrain from doing too much freeze drying in the summer because it will just end up running my AC more to try and cool the house down. That is a real bummer. Wish I had a basement like you have up north. That’s where I would store it if I had one.
Buyer beware. I don't know if they still do, but we bought 2 years ago, and it arrived not working. HR was NO HELP. My husband is thankfully VERY HANDY and was able to get it fully sealed, all HR offered was software updates, it wasn't the problem. Our unit had faulty seals. It took s lot of time, trial and error over 3 months to get it done. NO HELP FROM HR
I am not trying to be a jerk/Karen here, but I’m an experienced Freeze Dryer here and you’ve presented some great concerns, in this video. Since you are TEACHING, this is a safety concern, on my part. I am far from being an expert (on any topic lol), but I’ve spent hundreds of hours, at the education part and now, application. Between food costs, machine cost, energy cost and time invested…we all want TOTAL success. This is my heart intent, with my following comments. Please, take as such. FIRST: NEVER assume that when your machine finishes the cycle that it’s ACTUALLY done and completely dry. There is a weighing method that can and SHOULD be done to confirm complete dryness. There are loads that I have weighed and RETURNED to the freeze dryer 3-4 times. Each of these returned trips, to the FD, is two more hours, every time. I’ve had loads take 40 hours. (Fruit always is long) ANY moisture left in is going to end up with spoiled, uneatable and most likely dangerous food. Ending in your food being thrown away. SECOND: The sealing method, of Mylar, is critical. Whether sealing with a flatiron, clothing iron or a heat sealer…that finished edge MUST be smooth. ALL those wrinkles and puckers are little tunnels for oxygen to get back into your bag. ***ALSO, over filling the Mylar bag will guarantee puckers. Because this is so critical, I actually do two rows of heat seal, in an effort to protect my food IF one seal fails. (I also find that HR brand Mylar is the MOST difficult to get that clean, smooth, flat seal. Just saying) THIRD: Although not a hazard caution, (more of a tip) weighing each item before FD'ing, then reweigh, at completion is very helpful. This will tell you EXACTLY how much water to add back in, at rehydration time. FOURTH: Another tip…After bagging, weigh the whole bag and mark the gram weigh on the bag. Before opening, at rehydration time, weigh, again. IF the bag has GAINED weight, oxygen and moisture have gotten in. I don’t personally worry if it’s off a few grams, because my scale fluctuates a smidge. Please, take all my thoughts and concerns as concern vs mean criticism.
Cassandra, my mother is 87 years old and since my father died, she just doesn’t cook anymore. She picks up takeout or eats cereal. I started making meals-in-jars using my freeze dried foods. She loves them and one quart mason jar meal gives her multiple servings. It is peace of mind for me since I live 3 hours away.
Couple tips… been freeze drying for four plus years… 1. You can reconstitute with any ‘liquid’… be creative. Broth, more pasta sauce, beer etc 2. When eating FD foods not reconstituted make sure you drink LOTs of water so you don’t get backed up 💩 3. Herbs, herbs, and more herbs!! There just isn’t a better preservation method for herbs!
Great video ! Agreed a FD is a money saver in the long run. I just prepped 3 huge Rotisserie chickens for freeze drying yesterday.They were $5.00/ chicken .The scraps I used to can 10 pints of the best I’m sick chicken soup :-) and 18 pints of bone broth. I haven’t done raw meat yet but that’s my next goal.
We ended up selling ours. I just didn't care for the texture of the reconsitituted foods. We freeze dried a bunch of things and still have them in long-term storage. It was a pretty large expense, and a fair amount of work for mediocre food. I much prefer canning, dehydrating, and freezing. I wish i would have been able to try someone's home freeze dried foods before purchasing the freeze dryer.
I’ve read way too many negative reviews about freezer dryers to justify the huge cost of purchasing one. I too am sticking with canning, dehydrating and freezing. I know there are some people who love them and that’s great, but it’s just not in my budget - nor do I want the headaches involved with keeping them running and then having to deal with poor customer service (based on the reviews I’ve read and heard from people who have purchased one).
I love mine! I’ve had it for 14 months and use it regularly. I am a single FT working mom with 3 young adults and now a grand baby in the house. I do very little complete meals but usually components. It just generally saves me lots of time, better flavor than canning, and more vitamins etc. Freeze dried candy for kids, fruit for every one, herbs, onions, etc. preserve what I can grow or get at the local farm or on sale… no need to can lots of stock. FD it and it is ready on the shelf just add hot water. The uses are endless. So worth the investment. I’ve only ever had one issue and they emailed me an update I put on a flash drive and voila. No issues since.
We made the leap to a freeze dryer nearly 2 years ago and have not regretted it for a second. We did a lot of eggs intially, that we got on clearance and boy did that save us a ton of money. Now whatever we can find on clearance we freeze dry, allowing us to keep our canning jars available for the garden harvest. As well as for those things like jams, jellies, sauces,etc. We haven't done a lot of raw meat, instead we bulk cook, and then freeze dry complete meals. Or we do a lot of single ingredients. Like we got 8 grocery bags of peppers at $2.50 a bag. We chopped them and got them onto freeze dryer trays ASAP.
Hey Elizabeth! Exactly, my friend! You are a woman after my own heart. Food deals (in season, on sale, or what you've already cooked) are out there and when you have a means of preserving it you really see how a freeze dryer earns its price over time. I'll be getting plenty of use out of it this summer for sure!
Excellent presentation! I bought my FD 2 years ago and have never regretted it. Today, my weekly food budget is under $30.00 a week, and we are eating very well, seafood, pork, and beef. The deciding factor for me was the nutritional value of freeze drying compared to canning.
Hello friend! Whoa, you have impressive results and what you described is exactly how I know freeze drying would only continue to safeguard our food budget, even with the initial costs. And the ease of literally laying already cooked foods, or fresh or raw foods and have it come out fully preserved has been a time saver in ways I'm so thankful for. It'll allow me to stock my pantry faster for not only my home, but for items I like to share with my parents.
I've been contemplating getting one, watching all the vids, but I still have some reservations. It's just that in my experience, folks who buy something new and expensive tend to be too excited about it to entertain regrets or admit any shortcomings for a few years.
I learn a lot from this channel but one of the handiest things I learned from Cassandra is using a brake bleeder suction tool to vacuum seal canning jars like at the 10:12 mark. I have gone through several electric vacuum sealers and got tired of the expense to replace when they break down. Never in a million years would I be clever enough to figure out this cheap tool for kitchen use that I now use all the time. Thanks, Cassandra!
@@darkskinwoman It is amazingly cheap and effective. I use it to keep crackers in pint jars because I don’t eat an entire sleeve of saltine crackers each time I open one and they always go stale.
Hey lady! I'm so glad to pass this on (although, I learned this from Heidi from Rain County here on YT--if you haven't heard of her I think you'll love her channel too). I love that it stores easily and don't have to worry about it breaking down on me. I've had mine for years!
@@BecomingaFarmGirl Hey farm girl! I'll check her channel out. Random question... do you plan to stay in the DMV area when you get your farm? I'm thinking of moving to VA.
Great info, just FYI I know everyone always talks about HR but there is a new home freeze dryer company called Blue Alpine right here in the US 🇺🇸. Two brothers out of ID who have done years of study and end result is the production of a absolutely great freeze dryer in which they stand behind. They offer different ways of purchasing as well. I just think you guys should check them out for yourselves to have choice of a home unit if thinking of purchasing,I was surprised. My husband wants me to first use this huge expensive dehydrator he got me that I wanted. So after I unbox and get some use Blue Alpine here I come, God willing 😇
Cassandra! A better way to rehydrate your pasta might be to add the water to it while it's still in the Mason jar, and tighten a lid on it. That keeps it all in one tight spot, and holds in the steam. Once it's rehydrated, THEN pour it out onto a plate. You can even taste test it first to make sure it's good.
When rehydrating meat use broth to give the freeze dried and vegetables better flavor! I have found fruit works the best in the freeze dryer and eating them that way is great. Cucumbers can be seasoned and freeze dried into chips! Awesome snack. Options are endless!
I’d had my freeze dryer for 1 year and love it. It ran every day during the garden season and for the first time I didn’t throw zucchini on the compost pile. I was able to take advantage of produce I love at the farmer’s market without running out of freezer space. I didn’t have to buy produce at the grocery store this winter. I still can and sometimes run the dehydrator when the garden harvest piles up end of summer.
We LOVE our Harvest Right. Having said that, it may not be the absolute best way to preserve every last thing. However, we are a suburban family in Southern California. Space is a premium here and we do not have room for a large stock of home canned foods. Freeze drying helps us preserve more in a smaller space without worrying about running an extra freezer or figuring out where to store more jars than would reasonably fit in our pantry. We love eating fruit as is for a crunchy snack instead of chips. We have a large stock of green onions which I ground into onion powder, a year of thyme, sage and also some basil from our garden. We ran a few batches of pureed beets and their greens to powder up for our smoothies. I was even able to share with all of our out-of-state family and friends last year at Christmas for a fraction of what it would cost to ship other homemade items. I just ordered the book, Discover Home Freeze Drying, with a teacher gift that I received this year. I am also really looking forward to the upcoming release of a book called Freeze Drying the Harvest by Carolyn Thomas. We have had to do a little routine maintenance, but it really has been a good experience overall.
This video was an answer to my prayer...literally! We have finally been able to save for the purchase of a freeze dryer(small) and I really got nervous about spending so much because I had so many questions and worries...you answered them perfectly and now Im confident in buying. I buy sale and bulk when I get a really good deal and we have everything in freezers and cannot fit anything else, yet we need to keep stocking up...JUST IN CASE. Thank you so much for making this video, God Bless.
We've had our medium HR (with the old standard pump) for over 5 years. It has never given us a moment's trouble. I mostly freeze dry complete meals. It's just the two of us but I cook family-sized meals and freeze dry the leftovers. I also freeze dry eggs when our chickens are producing more than we can eat. For long-term storage and possible future food insecurity, I don't think we will care about slight textural differences. This is really an investment in your family's future. Thanks for a great video.
I love how much space I save just from powdering FD tomato sauce, pumpkin puree, eggs, applesauce, broth etc. I just scoop out what I need and reconstitute it. You’re gonna have so much fun playing with it!
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! This presentation cemented my decision to purchase a Harvest Right freeze dryer. Your presentation covers ( efficiently) and with down to earth humor. every reason why I wanted a freeze dryer. I'm going to share your video to everyone who asks me why??? I want a freeze dryer.
My favorite thing to freeze dry is stock. We live in a 900 sq foot house and storage space is at a premium. I can fit 2 gallons of stock into a 1/2 gallon jar. It rehydrates beautifully and you don’t loose the nutrients that you do by canning it. I do recommend pre-freezing just for less mess and shorter time running the freeze dryer but you don’t have to.
I found a tip that someone on a TH-cam video was showing. You pour the beef stock, milk, gravy, or anything of liquid value into a Ziploc bag, quart size, where it is just as tall as the sides of the tray, and then you freeze it. You scissor off the bags, you can put 3-4 bags on a shelf. No mess!
So glad you are covering freeze drying! I love freeze dried scrapple! I do that if you aim for powdered scrapple the rehydration is easier. You just have to rehydrate, shape and pan fry. You can then get far more squished into the tray and storing it as a powder is far easier than pieces. This also allows you to calibrate your portion on the fly as and when you use it.
To maintain some texture I just crumble it on the sheet pan. There is no need to pulse it in the food processor otherwise it will be more like pate. The best part is you can send your mom more to a bag! On a separate note making it is so easy just with the food scraps you have!! And also you might enjoy Geotta if you like scrapple. It’s the Cincinnati poor man’s sausage and tastes amazing! A great crock pot project that goes a very long way!
I’ve had mine for 3 years now and love it. I get a lot of my recipes from the Freeze Dried Foodie channel . The meal in a jar recipes are great when I come home tired from work most are just add water and taste great. I also grow a large garden and it’s nice not having to do as much canning. I sell freeze dried candy at the farmers market during the summer the income from that more than paid for the cost of the unit.
We have had our freeze dryer for about 2 months. It’s been awesome and we love it, but it’s not for everyone. My favorite is apples! We also did 100 eggs which are perfect for baking with. Now we can make our favorite baked goods even when eggs are not available or super expensive! If anyone is worried about buying it and hating the food, try buying some freeze dried foods and eating them first. It is a huge expense if you don’t like the end product. Also candy is fairly quick and easy to freeze dry and if you sell that it can help offset your expenses.
I imagine the texture issues come with reconstituting the food. Freeze dried fruit is great eaten out of hand, so crispy and sweet, but what do things like reconstituted green beans or summer squash taste like texture wish after freeze drying then reconstituting in water or broth? That's what I want to try, to see if I like the texture.
FYI Delaware is the scrapple capital of the world and I never flip the scrapple correctly. Excellent video. I am interested in a freeze dryer and your video answered so many of my questions. Thank you.
I love my freeze dryer. It's been the best thing I ever purchased. I also still preserve food through canning, dehydrating, and freezing. It helps us utilize our garden and have some food security.
Did you say Scrapple!! I grew up on Scrapple living in East Orange, NJ. I saw a food show a long time ago and learned that Scrapple is a Northeast from Maine to Maryland delicacy. Btw, your video is most informative, professional and funny. Great work, Sis.
Your Scrapple is my Goetta. I'm from the Cincinnati, OH, area, and it is a well-known item that is impossible to find outside of that area. I lived in MA before moving to FL and never saw it anywhere in the NE under either name (Goetta or Scrapple).
I thought I was the only one who used a break bleeder for jars! Love! Now - to show this video to my husband - to prove that our soon to be delivered freeze dryer will do what I told him it would!
I'm so very glad you're working with Harvest Right you are giving your community so many valuable options in food preservation. I can't wait to see all the wonderful ideas you have for freeze drying. God Bless❤
Hi Friend! I am really enjoying how fast I can just put food on trays and let this machine do the work. Between canning, dehydrating and now freeze drying, I'll be able to continue to stockpile my pantry for home and my folks!
You really have some good tips, and I appreciate them as I move forward buying my freeze dryer. I really feel like I need to give a small tip back. Those meets are marked cheap for a reason. The fillers, the chemicals & other garbage that are put into most of the meets you just showed us are literally (yes LITERALLY) poison in doses. Also, look up pink slime. You save money now but you're going to spend it bad in health costs later. Stay healthy and stay safe.
Hello! Coming from the pressure canning, regular dehydration world I am blown away at how hands off the process it. I can literally take what I've already cooked or frozen, and now I have an option to store items that I can't can (milk, eggs, other dairy). Wow---I'll be able to stock and store so much more for my house and my folks. So glad you're having a great experience too!
Great job demonstrating texture and what you can freeze dry! I now realize that I was thinking too small about the usefulness of a freeze dryer. I can't wait for a freeze dryer to be in my budget. Thank you for an informative video that was so well done!
Hey lady! I'll continue to show more ways I'm using my freeze dryer, but please don't rush into the purchase. In fact, I'm so glad that I managed a kitchen that utilized canning, dehydrating, and fermenting for years before we got the freeze dryer. What I can say is the simplicity and array of options you have to store foods that don't preserve with the other methods has tickled me the most. I'm so glad you found this video helpful!
I love my freeze dryer but need to use it more for sure. I have found that if I pre freeze food before putting it in it cuts the entire process time down by a lot, especially for liquids like eggs and coffee creamer or anything liquid, as well as just anything. Of course you should run batch with all pre frozen stuff then. I also do dry check weight for every batch, may take a little more time but totally worth it in my opinion. I also have seen folks say not to mix raw and cooked meats in same batch and be sure to mark anything raw as such, you may remember now but in 5 years you may not. I enjoy your videos, you have some awesome ideas and it's helping me expand my food storage ideas. Thanks for sharing!
I’m going to be purchasing one the fall to freeze dry herbs, meals and candy for my family. Thank you for showing us how you use it, as it’s been educational. I’m glad you could freeze dry the scrapple for your Mom…it was my Mom and Dad’s favorite when they were alive.
I have had my FIRST medium freeze dryer (Harvest Right) for 3 years and added a 2nd one 2 months ago. There is a learning curve and I still can’t but I love freeze drying and using the foods that I process. There is convenience and no nutrients are lost unlike in canning. Before I purchased my first one, I spent thousands on freeze dried foods for about 5 years. I could have saved thousands if I had that machine earlier but I like to research and watch before taking the big plunges. For those who are on the fence, make sure that when you do make that purchase, READ THE MANUEL. WATCH EVERY TH-cam VIDEO OUT THERE. Become familiar with your machine before you start and don’t rely on Facebook groups. They did their research and homework. You should do the same.
So glad you put this on this week! Just finished paying off our freeze drier this past week and it will be shipped soon. The more knowledge the better!!
My best friend now lives in Maryland and when she said she now lives scrapple for breakfast, I thought she said scrabble, the game! I couldn’t figure out why playing scrabble at breakfast was so great….😂😂😂 I went to visit and tried the scrapple. It is good! Your mom in Florida will definitely appreciate the taste from home.
I heard that you can pre-freeze anything you put into the freezer and it takes a lot less time. Also, I hope you washed your hands before you touched that scrapple, because, even though I don't know what scrapple is, all that raw meat juices should not be touching anything else before you wash very thoroughly
I have watched a lot of video's on freeze drying and never seen meats or lasagna or meals in general so thank you for this. I have wanted one for a long time. My sister down the road bought one at Christmas time. He might of used it maybe 2 dozen times she does candies mostly. I am going to try her freeze drying for things like this to see if I like the flavor and texture of rehydrated. I also never seen them rehydrate meals like this. So thanks for always showing it all. I have seen people down south make their scrapple. Was interesting watching her make it
I'm so glad to see you freeze drying now! We talked last year at the HOA about you needing to get a freeze dryer. Now you will never have any food waste and don't have to worry if you have enough freezer space. I love mine. Can't wait for you to do fresh herbs, oh my goodness - they are wonderful! Can't wait to see you at HOA this year! xoxo
Hey Kim! Girl, this has been a game changer already! I'm so glad you prodded me because what I've realized is that I now I can easily double what I can stock simply because the freeze dryer can run without me needing to be so hands on in the ways that canning and dehydrating require. Canning is and will always be my joy, but you cannot beat throwing raw (or cooked) meat, meals, fruits and veggies on a tray and walking away. And now I'll be able to preserve dairy items and eggs! I've been loving it so far! Are you coming to HOA this year too?
@@BecomingaFarmGirlI love my All American canner but I recently got an electric canner and it does all the work. It’s basically like using an Instant Pot and doesn’t require babysitting.
I get so much encouragement from you because my home is a similar size and I have always felt it’s just too difficult but now I have the proof in my own pantry that it is possible. Thank you for lending me the courage to just try.
I absolutely love our freeze dryer from Harvest Right. We have only had our freeze dryer for almost three months and it has already paid for it's self. Thank you for sharing this video with us. Have a blessed day.
I love this video! I have been freeze drying a lot of veggies, meals, and cooked meat. You inspired me to branch out to raw meats. I just finished 4 gallons of raw ground beef that I caught on sale. I eat delicious leftovers from a mason jar every day for lunch, rehydrated with hot water. Tastes just like fresh.
Finally you know that most homesteaders that are talking about freeze dryers are sponsored they didn’t even pay for it. Little back story my husband and I bought one they were having a big sale. It arrived plug it in realized it wasn’t working properly. Called the company they had a tech call me told me to few things nothing worked. My husband is a HVAC tech so he looks at the Vaccum pump and it was leaking. They told me they could send new one it would be charged. If that didn’t work they would further investigate it. Well we decided to call them get refund ship it back. Turns out you have 30 days from when it arrives to ship it back. They charged us 500 restock fee. I had to fight the company. I will never recommend the company. Also all repairs are on the customers they don’t have real techs. My husband and I were devastated we didn’t get to free dry anything we did so much research. Turns out they are getting sued a lot for defective machines.
Sadly, what we see in the TH-cam arena is nothing more than advertisement for these companies. It is rare to see a YT content creator do a follow up with real world results. Ethics are far and few.
You have to be very careful with Harvest Right. They want to troubleshoot with you, but if the troubleshooting goes past the 30 days and then doesn't work, they won't take it back...because it has been 30 days. It's a real nightmare.
I always add 24 hours to it, so it can keep it going when done. Then when I can, I go check it, if still cold, I rotate the trays, then put it back in for a few more hours and try again. Treat ALL raw food, as raw. Wash hands and trays before doing it again. Jars sealed always make the items last longer
Oh my goodness Cassandra you are on a roll. Everything looks really good. I need a neighbor who has a freeze dryer. I thought about you today at our Brookshire's Grocery. Must be a new policy if it doesn't sell it is off the shelf and sells for $1. Rao's 24oz Italian sausage & mushroom sauce exp 2027, Mezzetta Basil Pesto 6.25oz jar exp 2027, Amora Pesto paste exp 5/25 and Amora tomato paste 4.5oz from Italy exp 11/26. Organic brown sugar 1lb. Lots of baby food in squeeze pouches you name it. The bins were full. I only purchased 20 items. The Rao's is $14.79 each at Walmart. I almost choked. Right place, right time. I was only there to buy fresh corn 3/1$ and Duke's Mayo was on sale. Came out with 20 extra bargains. ha ha
Hey Donna! Always god to see you lady! Honey those are stellar prices and see---the sales are out there and as a preserver, you can take advantage of that. High five for you friend!!
Thanks for the close ups on the food. I know we won't be going for it right away but it is something we are eyeballing hoping the technology gets cheaper soon. For now its great to have an few ideas on how to even use it.
Haha! We love us some scrapple around here! And now my mom loves that I can mail it to her :) As the saying goes---preserve what you eat and eat what you preserve. I knew showing scrapple might draw a few stares, but for those who get it (like you) you get it!
My parents are midwesterners but I went to college in Virginia where scrapple was served in the cafeteria. I don’t remember sampling it because I never ate it at home and just wasn’t that adventurous. It didn’t make a big impression on me if I did try it.
I appreciate your videos. Apparently you can pre-freeze food in your regular freezer to save time in the Harvest Right. Been thinking about getting one of these, but so expensive. Main negative I hear is that they need to be repaired from time to time, requiring shipping back factory (heavy & expensive). If I buy, I'll use your affiliate link. LOVE your Brake Bleeder suggestion. Former Texan, now happily in the Pacific Northwest.
Thank you so much for this video! I've been wanting to do this, but purchasing is such a commitment. I was glad you even brought up things I did not think of, such as fat going rancid. I don't personally know anyone who does this so I knew there would be things I didn't even think to look into when freeze drying.
Love your idea of FDing scrapple. Will try that with my family's recipe using hot sausage. I FD Vidalia onions, (raw chopped), when @ their cheapest in spring and use the rest of the year. Preshredded cheddar and mozzarella are super easy and go into canning jars. Thanks for the FD ideas!
Notes on the scrapple: I wonder about powdering or finely chopping the cooked scrapple after freeze-drying, then adding the hot water before forming it in a covered pan overnight to reconsitute. It might make the final product have a texture that is closer to fresh. It should be more uniformly hydrated and be less likely to fall apart when pan-frying. Not as instant and convenient as a freeze-dried slice, but maybe a better eating experience.
I too am a native MD girl but have never had scrapple. 😅 I think my mom probably never ate it so that is why. I did recently purchase a pound package at a farmers market for my mother in law and she was thrilled! Hello from Ellicott City! 👋
I have been wanting to get a freeze drier for a couple years now. I do not trust the power grid around here when it comes to my freezer! But with having to deal with Breast cancer has put it out of reach for awhile. Hopefully things will turn around soon! Love your pen by the way... They are only ones I buy!!!
It’s a wonderful option for preserving food while keeping the nutritional value high. Thank you for sharing. I hope your mom loved getting the scrapple in the mail!
She was so tickled! Usually when she visits, she'll eat scrapple EVERY morning because she can't find it in the stores in Florida, but now, she has her own stash. She was beyond excited and now when she's up, she's going to freeze dry the food herself and pack it in her suitcase!
Love the video. My only concern about a freeze dryer is that there have been some problems with operation/breakdown/non-function, and what I have heard and read has kept me from purchasing.
I grew up in SE Pennsylvania. That scrapple brought back memories!! Looking forward to my freeze dryer arriving soon and being able to try these ideas :)
Jump in and try something simple like frozen veggies from the grocery store that are on sale, like corn, peas, green beans (smaller veg.) Start on a weekend off. I understand the nervousness, trust and believe, but once you get that first batch done and put away you'll be like....I got this!!!
Your video was suggested in the right-hand column, and I am so thankful! I feel like I have found a kindred spirit. THIS video is perfect for the information I was looking for. I just subscribed to your channel and will follow you dutifully. Many thanks for your contributions!!!
LOVE this video, and thanks for the inspo! I'm from Kansas, and one of my fondest childhood memories was visiting my German Gma who would occasionally treat us with slices of knip. It's very close to scrapple. I'd never thought about it until this video, but knip a/k/a scrapple, would be delicious thinly sliced and freeze dried - kind of like a dry beef jerky - yum! Great point about freeze-drying preserving vitamins and minerals!
You are just adorable. ❤️ I used to be subscribed to your channel & saw your video pop up & noticed I'm not subscribed anymore! I remedied that & look forward to more, great videos! Thank you & God bless! ~Bonnie ❤️
Not happy with ours. The mushrooms were great. But meatballs tasted like styrofoam. Don’t do milk. It’s far more convenient to buy already powdered freeze dried organic milk. Ours stopped working a week after the warranty expired. Fruit does well. Some veggies do well. Don’t do onions.
@@startingoverhomestead6503Some people have complained about the smell. I think most people place it in another area away from the main living area to avoid either the smells or the noise. That eliminates the issue. Freeze dry onions, garlic etc and blend for your own powders.
I looked up for a second, then heard brake bleeder hose, and thought I accidentally switched videos. This is easily in the top 10 best thought out kitchens in terms of approach and equipment
I love my FD. But after a few years.. well, I have a TON of long term food now. Running out of room to put more in. But I still keep stacking when its right.
I have two dryers a med and my mom’s small one. I have 33 hens, nuf said😂 yah I’m freeze drying eggs galore! I do a lot of vegetables and then powder them and fruits too. Meat is another one I love to do. If I’ve canned something that I don’t care mostly vegetables for I will powder it and put them in soup or casseroles.
I think that's a duck egg! The shell had a translucence to it and was larger than a chicken egg (at least it appeared that way). A guinea egg is small, very pointy on one side and speckled. Love your videos!
Being a military family as well this allows me to preserve as much food as I want without the added weight and fragility of canning. It's always a battle to get the movers to pack our home canned goods 😒 . I have not regretted the purchase of our large freeze drier. I almost feel guilty if I don't have it running.
Thank you so much for all the valuable information I have been on the fence about getting a freeze dryer for some time now I have a small farm in our thinking of utilizing it for prepping reasons
Freeze Drying is super interesting stuff. Also, the quality of the video image is really great. Thanks for the video! So, were you basically saying, that you wished someone had told you about the cool saving factor? or was there some other question that I missed... Also, to Anyone not sure about the "taste", you could just order 1 or 2 packets of freeze dried food online.
In the Midwest we have something that may be similar to scrappel it's called gritzwurst, I've only found it in butcher shops though, it could also go by a different name in other areas. I would say your best bet for finding those things is butcher shops.
I love this! And I love your food mindset! I have a large Harvest Right machine still in the box, as for the past few months, we have been unsure if we are transferring to a new state. I've been waiting to get started. I love the idea of buying sale meats. We may be moving to Alaska for work. Thus, I am envisioning hunted moose and caribou, copious amounts of salmon, gallons of wild blueberries, and U-pick farm veggies and fruits (actually a thing in Alaska!). I can't wait to have so much abundance near me that we can harvest for almost free. Alaska has earthquakes, so I have been worried about using my canning jars (unless I can figure out a really great way to keep them safe if a quake hits). Doing all this in mylar bags feels much safer, since food security is important to me.
Since you love scrapple it would be worth checking out goetta (pronounced get-Ah), it is similar and cooked the same way you cook/serve scrapple. Is from the Ohio/Cincinnati region. I actually enjoy it better, it's a bit heartier since scrapple sometimes can be a bit mushy from the cornmeal. Goetta is a bit grainer and uses beef and pork with pinhead oats, onion, garlic and seasoning. It's actually fun to make at home from scratch.
That was a duck egg, guinea eggs are usually smaller than a large chicken egg. For the most part, I loved your presentation, from watching bunches of different freeze-drier videos while waiting for my HR that's on lay-a-way, I've seen lots of tips and tricks, I watched one yesterday where this woman made potato salad with mayo, I hope nobody tries that, and you could kind of tell when she was bagging the salad out of the HR there was stuff stuck to the scraper, NOT a good sign, I didn't wait to the end of your video to post this but don't forget to tell people that Harvest Right has a lay-a-way plan, $250 down and then monthly payments till it's paid for, I pay $100 a month, I can't wait to get mine!
Learn more about Harvest Right Freeze Dryers HERE: affiliates.harvestright.com/2651.html
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Thank you for sharing this video! Although I can not afford a freeze dryer at the moment I enjoy learning about it. I would like to share a channel that I believe you would enjoy. It is Retired at 40. Also Live.Life.Simple. They had a name change but both channels have a wealth of Recipes and information. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. ❤
Cassandra- Huge fan of you here! You think of things that I don’t and give me inspiration. I don’t know if you have thought of doing this or not, but I can’t speak highly enough about creating your own bone meal of all types by first (this is my method and takes only 3.5 hours to do so) using my Instant Pot on Soup/Broth setting. I put the broth in fridge overnight, skim off fat (you can save that if you want to cook with) then warm broth up and put in jars and water bath can them for 3 hours. I prefer that method over pressure canning like the Amish do. The broth is much lighter in color, less “burned”. Then I take the bones and pick off any remaining meat and put the bones in a ziplock bag and mash them. The InstantPot makes the bones so soft. Then I freeze the quart size bag. When I get enough of the bones in ziplock bags to make a tray full, I freeze dry the bones and I have instant Bone Meal for the garden. I hope this helps someone else as it’s a game changer.
Something I have not tried yet, is taking banana peels, cutting them and freezing them on a tray and then bagging them and placing back in the freezer until I have enough frozen banana peel until I can freeze dry them and then blending them up in a blender and putting them in a container to fertilize my garden with. I can’t wait to do that. The freeze dryer has so many uses, I love it. The only thing I don’t love about it, it’s very noisy and makes the room hot. I live in the south and heat is not something I need extra of in the summer, so I refrain from doing too much freeze drying in the summer because it will just end up running my AC more to try and cool the house down. That is a real bummer. Wish I had a basement like you have up north. That’s where I would store it if I had one.
Buyer beware. I don't know if they still do, but we bought 2 years ago, and it arrived not working. HR was NO HELP. My husband is thankfully VERY HANDY and was able to get it fully sealed, all HR offered was software updates, it wasn't the problem. Our unit had faulty seals. It took s lot of time, trial and error over 3 months to get it done. NO HELP FROM HR
😢 3:22 Buyer Beware: I received a damaged Harvest right freeze dryer, damage due to a forklift (5 June 2024).
I am not trying to be a jerk/Karen here, but I’m an experienced Freeze Dryer here and you’ve presented some great concerns, in this video.
Since you are TEACHING, this is a safety concern, on my part.
I am far from being an expert (on any topic lol), but I’ve spent hundreds of hours, at the education part and now, application.
Between food costs, machine cost, energy cost and time invested…we all want TOTAL success. This is my heart intent, with my following comments. Please, take as such.
FIRST: NEVER assume that when your machine finishes the cycle that it’s ACTUALLY done and completely dry. There is a weighing method that can and SHOULD be done to confirm complete dryness. There are loads that I have weighed and RETURNED to the freeze dryer 3-4 times. Each of these returned trips, to the FD, is two more hours, every time. I’ve had loads take 40 hours. (Fruit always is long)
ANY moisture left in is going to end up with spoiled, uneatable and most likely dangerous food. Ending in your food being thrown away.
SECOND: The sealing method, of Mylar, is critical. Whether sealing with a flatiron, clothing iron or a heat sealer…that finished edge MUST be smooth. ALL those wrinkles and puckers are little tunnels for oxygen to get back into your bag. ***ALSO, over filling the Mylar bag will guarantee puckers.
Because this is so critical, I actually do two rows of heat seal, in an effort to protect my food IF one seal fails. (I also find that HR brand Mylar is the MOST difficult to get that clean, smooth, flat seal. Just saying)
THIRD: Although not a hazard caution, (more of a tip) weighing each item before FD'ing, then reweigh, at completion is very helpful. This will tell you EXACTLY how much water to add back in, at rehydration time.
FOURTH: Another tip…After bagging, weigh the whole bag and mark the gram weigh on the bag. Before opening, at rehydration time, weigh, again. IF the bag has GAINED weight, oxygen and moisture have gotten in. I don’t personally worry if it’s off a few grams, because my scale fluctuates a smidge.
Please, take all my thoughts and concerns as concern vs mean criticism.
Thank you for these tips. I hope most of these are described in the manual.
I love my freeze dryer.....I have 2 of them
School Reports is the definitive TH-cam channel for freeze drying. He is an expert.
Thank you for this extremely helpful information. I am a brand new FD owner and want to do this right.
Thank you for this! I'm looking into getting one and want to go in informed :)
Cassandra, my mother is 87 years old and since my father died, she just doesn’t cook anymore. She picks up takeout or eats cereal. I started making meals-in-jars using my freeze dried foods. She loves them and one quart mason jar meal gives her multiple servings. It is peace of mind for me since I live 3 hours away.
That’s a great idea for my mom.
That is a GREAT idea and I bet she really appreciates it!
What an outstanding idea! I’m gonna try this with my granddaughter who goes to school 6 hours away.
You’re such a good daughter!
@@Leynnalle 🩷
Couple tips… been freeze drying for four plus years…
1. You can reconstitute with any ‘liquid’… be creative. Broth, more pasta sauce, beer etc
2. When eating FD foods not reconstituted make sure you drink LOTs of water so you don’t get backed up 💩
3. Herbs, herbs, and more herbs!! There just isn’t a better preservation method for herbs!
Great video ! Agreed a FD is a money saver in the long run.
I just prepped 3 huge Rotisserie chickens for freeze drying yesterday.They were $5.00/ chicken .The scraps I used to can 10 pints of the best I’m sick chicken soup :-) and 18 pints of bone broth. I haven’t done raw meat yet but that’s my next goal.
I just found your channel and I really appreciate your articulation, communication and humor. Thank you.
We ended up selling ours. I just didn't care for the texture of the reconsitituted foods. We freeze dried a bunch of things and still have them in long-term storage. It was a pretty large expense, and a fair amount of work for mediocre food. I much prefer canning, dehydrating, and freezing. I wish i would have been able to try someone's home freeze dried foods before purchasing the freeze dryer.
I’ve read way too many negative reviews about freezer dryers to justify the huge cost of purchasing one. I too am sticking with canning, dehydrating and freezing. I know there are some people who love them and that’s great, but it’s just not in my budget - nor do I want the headaches involved with keeping them running and then having to deal with poor customer service (based on the reviews I’ve read and heard from people who have purchased one).
Exactly the comment I wanted to read. Phew. Thanks so much!!!
And I’ve had WAY too many technical difficulties in the few years I’ve had mine. Right now, it’s a $3000 paperweight!
@@tinkertailorgardenermagpie Really? What model?
I love mine! I’ve had it for 14 months and use it regularly. I am a single FT working mom with 3 young adults and now a grand baby in the house. I do very little complete meals but usually components. It just generally saves me lots of time, better flavor than canning, and more vitamins etc. Freeze dried candy for kids, fruit for every one, herbs, onions, etc. preserve what I can grow or get at the local farm or on sale… no need to can lots of stock. FD it and it is ready on the shelf just add hot water. The uses are endless. So worth the investment. I’ve only ever had one issue and they emailed me an update I put on a flash drive and voila. No issues since.
We made the leap to a freeze dryer nearly 2 years ago and have not regretted it for a second. We did a lot of eggs intially, that we got on clearance and boy did that save us a ton of money. Now whatever we can find on clearance we freeze dry, allowing us to keep our canning jars available for the garden harvest. As well as for those things like jams, jellies, sauces,etc. We haven't done a lot of raw meat, instead we bulk cook, and then freeze dry complete meals. Or we do a lot of single ingredients. Like we got 8 grocery bags of peppers at $2.50 a bag. We chopped them and got them onto freeze dryer trays ASAP.
Hey Elizabeth! Exactly, my friend! You are a woman after my own heart. Food deals (in season, on sale, or what you've already cooked) are out there and when you have a means of preserving it you really see how a freeze dryer earns its price over time. I'll be getting plenty of use out of it this summer for sure!
Excellent presentation! I bought my FD 2 years ago and have never regretted it. Today, my weekly food budget is under $30.00 a week, and we are eating very well, seafood, pork, and beef. The deciding factor for me was the nutritional value of freeze drying compared to canning.
Hello friend! Whoa, you have impressive results and what you described is exactly how I know freeze drying would only continue to safeguard our food budget, even with the initial costs. And the ease of literally laying already cooked foods, or fresh or raw foods and have it come out fully preserved has been a time saver in ways I'm so thankful for. It'll allow me to stock my pantry faster for not only my home, but for items I like to share with my parents.
@@BecomingaFarmGirl yes! me too :)
but im widowed so ill have the food right there in case i cant get out for anyperiod of time.
I've been contemplating getting one, watching all the vids, but I still have some reservations. It's just that in my experience, folks who buy something new and expensive tend to be too excited about it to entertain regrets or admit any shortcomings for a few years.
I learn a lot from this channel but one of the handiest things I learned from Cassandra is using a brake bleeder suction tool to vacuum seal canning jars like at the 10:12 mark. I have gone through several electric vacuum sealers and got tired of the expense to replace when they break down. Never in a million years would I be clever enough to figure out this cheap tool for kitchen use that I now use all the time. Thanks, Cassandra!
I literally paused the video to reflect on the genius brake bleeder hack.
@@darkskinwoman It is amazingly cheap and effective. I use it to keep crackers in pint jars because I don’t eat an entire sleeve of saltine crackers each time I open one and they always go stale.
Hey lady! I'm so glad to pass this on (although, I learned this from Heidi from Rain County here on YT--if you haven't heard of her I think you'll love her channel too). I love that it stores easily and don't have to worry about it breaking down on me. I've had mine for years!
@@BecomingaFarmGirl Hey farm girl! I'll check her channel out. Random question... do you plan to stay in the DMV area when you get your farm? I'm thinking of moving to VA.
@@BecomingaFarmGirl, do you have a link to the suction tool you used?
I've had my harvest right almost 5 years. Love it! I was taught raw food use cold water or cold broth. Cooked foods hot water or broth.
Hey lady! Oh, I'm so happy to hear this. This will certainly be a game changer! Oh, I"ll have to try cool water next time. Thanks for sharing!
@@BecomingaFarmGirl love your videos!!!🥰
Great info, just FYI I know everyone always talks about HR but there is a new home freeze dryer company called Blue Alpine right here in the US 🇺🇸. Two brothers out of ID who have done years of study and end result is the production of a absolutely great freeze dryer in which they stand behind. They offer different ways of purchasing as well. I just think you guys should check them out for yourselves to have choice of a home unit if thinking of purchasing,I was surprised. My husband wants me to first use this huge expensive dehydrator he got me that I wanted. So after I unbox and get some use Blue Alpine here I come, God willing 😇
Cassandra! A better way to rehydrate your pasta might be to add the water to it while it's still in the Mason jar, and tighten a lid on it. That keeps it all in one tight spot, and holds in the steam. Once it's rehydrated, THEN pour it out onto a plate. You can even taste test it first to make sure it's good.
When rehydrating meat use broth to give the freeze dried and vegetables better flavor! I have found fruit works the best in the freeze dryer and eating them that way is great. Cucumbers can be seasoned and freeze dried into chips! Awesome snack. Options are endless!
I’d had my freeze dryer for 1 year and love it. It ran every day during the garden season and for the first time I didn’t throw zucchini on the compost pile. I was able to take advantage of produce I love at the farmer’s market without running out of freezer space. I didn’t have to buy produce at the grocery store this winter. I still can and sometimes run the dehydrator when the garden harvest piles up end of summer.
We LOVE our Harvest Right. Having said that, it may not be the absolute best way to preserve every last thing. However, we are a suburban family in Southern California. Space is a premium here and we do not have room for a large stock of home canned foods. Freeze drying helps us preserve more in a smaller space without worrying about running an extra freezer or figuring out where to store more jars than would reasonably fit in our pantry. We love eating fruit as is for a crunchy snack instead of chips. We have a large stock of green onions which I ground into onion powder, a year of thyme, sage and also some basil from our garden. We ran a few batches of pureed beets and their greens to powder up for our smoothies. I was even able to share with all of our out-of-state family and friends last year at Christmas for a fraction of what it would cost to ship other homemade items. I just ordered the book, Discover Home Freeze Drying, with a teacher gift that I received this year. I am also really looking forward to the upcoming release of a book called Freeze Drying the Harvest by Carolyn Thomas. We have had to do a little routine maintenance, but it really has been a good experience overall.
This video was an answer to my prayer...literally! We have finally been able to save for the purchase of a freeze dryer(small) and I really got nervous about spending so much because I had so many questions and worries...you answered them perfectly and now Im confident in buying. I buy sale and bulk when I get a really good deal and we have everything in freezers and cannot fit anything else, yet we need to keep stocking up...JUST IN CASE. Thank you so much for making this video, God Bless.
Mine will be 5 years in 3 weeks. Loved your video, but raw foods cold water. Cooked foods hot water!!! Tks for your videos love watching them
We've had our medium HR (with the old standard pump) for over 5 years. It has never given us a moment's trouble. I mostly freeze dry complete meals. It's just the two of us but I cook family-sized meals and freeze dry the leftovers. I also freeze dry eggs when our chickens are producing more than we can eat. For long-term storage and possible future food insecurity, I don't think we will care about slight textural differences. This is really an investment in your family's future. Thanks for a great video.
I love how much space I save just from powdering FD tomato sauce, pumpkin puree, eggs, applesauce, broth etc. I just scoop out what I need and reconstitute it. You’re gonna have so much fun playing with it!
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
This presentation cemented my decision to purchase a Harvest Right freeze dryer. Your presentation covers ( efficiently) and with down to earth humor.
every reason why I wanted a freeze dryer. I'm going to share your video to everyone who asks me why??? I want a freeze dryer.
My favorite thing to freeze dry is stock. We live in a 900 sq foot house and storage space is at a premium. I can fit 2 gallons of stock into a 1/2 gallon jar. It rehydrates beautifully and you don’t loose the nutrients that you do by canning it. I do recommend pre-freezing just for less mess and shorter time running the freeze dryer but you don’t have to.
I found a tip that someone on a TH-cam video was showing. You pour the beef stock, milk, gravy, or anything of liquid value into a Ziploc bag, quart size, where it is just as tall as the sides of the tray, and then you freeze it. You scissor off the bags, you can put 3-4 bags on a shelf. No mess!
My first video of yours! We are getting our 1st freeze dryer within the month so thank you for the information. You do a great job explaining.
So glad you are covering freeze drying! I love freeze dried scrapple! I do that if you aim for powdered scrapple the rehydration is easier. You just have to rehydrate, shape and pan fry. You can then get far more squished into the tray and storing it as a powder is far easier than pieces. This also allows you to calibrate your portion on the fly as and when you use it.
Wait, what? Powder it? Oh that tip is gold! I'm going to try that. Thank you for sharing sweet friend!
To maintain some texture I just crumble it on the sheet pan. There is no need to pulse it in the food processor otherwise it will be more like pate. The best part is you can send your mom more to a bag! On a separate note making it is so easy just with the food scraps you have!! And also you might enjoy Geotta if you like scrapple. It’s the Cincinnati poor man’s sausage and tastes amazing! A great crock pot project that goes a very long way!
I’ve had mine for 3 years now and love it. I get a lot of my recipes from the Freeze Dried Foodie channel . The meal in a jar recipes are great when I come home tired from work most are just add water and taste great. I also grow a large garden and it’s nice not having to do as much canning. I sell freeze dried candy at the farmers market during the summer the income from that more than paid for the cost of the unit.
You gotta weigh the food while it's wet before freezing to calculate the amount of water needing to be added
We have had our freeze dryer for about 2 months. It’s been awesome and we love it, but it’s not for everyone.
My favorite is apples! We also did 100 eggs which are perfect for baking with. Now we can make our favorite baked goods even when eggs are not available or super expensive!
If anyone is worried about buying it and hating the food, try buying some freeze dried foods and eating them first. It is a huge expense if you don’t like the end product.
Also candy is fairly quick and easy to freeze dry and if you sell that it can help offset your expenses.
I imagine the texture issues come with reconstituting the food. Freeze dried fruit is great eaten out of hand, so crispy and sweet, but what do things like reconstituted green beans or summer squash taste like texture wish after freeze drying then reconstituting in water or broth? That's what I want to try, to see if I like the texture.
FYI Delaware is the scrapple capital of the world and I never flip the scrapple correctly. Excellent video. I am interested in a freeze dryer and your video answered so many of my questions.
Thank you.
This is hands down THE BEST ever freeze dryer video I’ve ever seen. You just sold one. Thank you so much. 😊
I love my freeze dryer. It's been the best thing I ever purchased. I also still preserve food through canning, dehydrating, and freezing. It helps us utilize our garden and have some food security.
Did you say Scrapple!! I grew up on Scrapple living in East Orange, NJ. I saw a food show a long time ago and learned that Scrapple is a Northeast from Maine to Maryland delicacy. Btw, your video is most informative, professional and funny. Great work, Sis.
Your Scrapple is my Goetta. I'm from the Cincinnati, OH, area, and it is a well-known item that is impossible to find outside of that area. I lived in MA before moving to FL and never saw it anywhere in the NE under either name (Goetta or Scrapple).
Great video, visual, accurate, and a nice macroeconomic twist. I think a freeze dryer may be in our future.
Glad to see you are back at making videos, because I love them 😊
My mom said take a mini step weigh before and after then you know how much water to add. Thanks for posting!
I thought I was the only one who used a break bleeder for jars! Love! Now - to show this video to my husband - to prove that our soon to be delivered freeze dryer will do what I told him it would!
Im glad to finally find someone that is not just complaining about not really knowing what they are doing.
I'm so very glad you're working with Harvest Right you are giving your community so many valuable options in food preservation. I can't wait to see all the wonderful ideas you have for freeze drying. God Bless❤
Hi Friend! I am really enjoying how fast I can just put food on trays and let this machine do the work. Between canning, dehydrating and now freeze drying, I'll be able to continue to stockpile my pantry for home and my folks!
You really have some good tips, and I appreciate them as I move forward buying my freeze dryer. I really feel like I need to give a small tip back. Those meets are marked cheap for a reason. The fillers, the chemicals & other garbage that are put into most of the meets you just showed us are literally (yes LITERALLY) poison in doses. Also, look up pink slime. You save money now but you're going to spend it bad in health costs later. Stay healthy and stay safe.
Seriously one of the most useful youtubers on here. ❤
love ours! we pre freeze everything as it makes the process faster...I havent done raw meat - may have to try that! happy freeze drying!
Hello! Coming from the pressure canning, regular dehydration world I am blown away at how hands off the process it. I can literally take what I've already cooked or frozen, and now I have an option to store items that I can't can (milk, eggs, other dairy). Wow---I'll be able to stock and store so much more for my house and my folks. So glad you're having a great experience too!
Great job demonstrating texture and what you can freeze dry! I now realize that I was thinking too small about the usefulness of a freeze dryer. I can't wait for a freeze dryer to be in my budget. Thank you for an informative video that was so well done!
Hey lady! I'll continue to show more ways I'm using my freeze dryer, but please don't rush into the purchase. In fact, I'm so glad that I managed a kitchen that utilized canning, dehydrating, and fermenting for years before we got the freeze dryer. What I can say is the simplicity and array of options you have to store foods that don't preserve with the other methods has tickled me the most. I'm so glad you found this video helpful!
They recently had some at Costco. Just a few.
I love my freeze dryer but need to use it more for sure. I have found that if I pre freeze food before putting it in it cuts the entire process time down by a lot, especially for liquids like eggs and coffee creamer or anything liquid, as well as just anything. Of course you should run batch with all pre frozen stuff then. I also do dry check weight for every batch, may take a little more time but totally worth it in my opinion. I also have seen folks say not to mix raw and cooked meats in same batch and be sure to mark anything raw as such, you may remember now but in 5 years you may not. I enjoy your videos, you have some awesome ideas and it's helping me expand my food storage ideas. Thanks for sharing!
I’m going to be purchasing one the fall to freeze dry herbs, meals and candy for my family. Thank you for showing us how you use it, as it’s been educational. I’m glad you could freeze dry the scrapple for your Mom…it was my Mom and Dad’s favorite when they were alive.
Thank you for the work you put into this video!
I have had my FIRST medium freeze dryer (Harvest Right) for 3 years and added a 2nd one 2 months ago. There is a learning curve and I still can’t but I love freeze drying and using the foods that I process. There is convenience and no nutrients are lost unlike in canning. Before I purchased my first one, I spent thousands on freeze dried foods for about 5 years. I could have saved thousands if I had that machine earlier but I like to research and watch before taking the big plunges. For those who are on the fence, make sure that when you do make that purchase, READ THE MANUEL. WATCH EVERY TH-cam VIDEO OUT THERE. Become familiar with your machine before you start and don’t rely on Facebook groups. They did their research and homework. You should do the same.
So glad you put this on this week! Just finished paying off our freeze drier this past week and it will be shipped soon. The more knowledge the better!!
My best friend now lives in Maryland and when she said she now lives scrapple for breakfast, I thought she said scrabble, the game! I couldn’t figure out why playing scrabble at breakfast was so great….😂😂😂 I went to visit and tried the scrapple. It is good! Your mom in Florida will definitely appreciate the taste from home.
All the explanations given is the very reason why I purchased my Freese Dryer a few years ago. 😍
I heard that you can pre-freeze anything you put into the freezer and it takes a lot less time. Also, I hope you washed your hands before you touched that scrapple, because, even though I don't know what scrapple is, all that raw meat juices should not be touching anything else before you wash very thoroughly
I have watched a lot of video's on freeze drying and never seen meats or lasagna or meals in general so thank you for this. I have wanted one for a long time. My sister down the road bought one at Christmas time. He might of used it maybe 2 dozen times she does candies mostly. I am going to try her freeze drying for things like this to see if I like the flavor and texture of rehydrated. I also never seen them rehydrate meals like this. So thanks for always showing it all. I have seen people down south make their scrapple. Was interesting watching her make it
I'm so glad to see you freeze drying now! We talked last year at the HOA about you needing to get a freeze dryer. Now you will never have any food waste and don't have to worry if you have enough freezer space. I love mine. Can't wait for you to do fresh herbs, oh my goodness - they are wonderful! Can't wait to see you at HOA this year! xoxo
Hey Kim! Girl, this has been a game changer already! I'm so glad you prodded me because what I've realized is that I now I can easily double what I can stock simply because the freeze dryer can run without me needing to be so hands on in the ways that canning and dehydrating require. Canning is and will always be my joy, but you cannot beat throwing raw (or cooked) meat, meals, fruits and veggies on a tray and walking away. And now I'll be able to preserve dairy items and eggs! I've been loving it so far! Are you coming to HOA this year too?
@@BecomingaFarmGirlI love my All American canner but I recently got an electric canner and it does all the work. It’s basically like using an Instant Pot and doesn’t require babysitting.
I get so much encouragement from you because my home is a similar size and I have always felt it’s just too difficult but now I have the proof in my own pantry that it is possible. Thank you for lending me the courage to just try.
I absolutely love our freeze dryer from Harvest Right. We have only had our freeze dryer for almost three months and it has already paid for it's self. Thank you for sharing this video with us. Have a blessed day.
I love this video! I have been freeze drying a lot of veggies, meals, and cooked meat. You inspired me to branch out to raw meats. I just finished 4 gallons of raw ground beef that I caught on sale.
I eat delicious leftovers from a mason jar every day for lunch, rehydrated with hot water. Tastes just like fresh.
Excellent presentation - these are the type of demos/reviews people really need to inform a decision. Well conceived, written and executed. Thank you
Finally you know that most homesteaders that are talking about freeze dryers are sponsored they didn’t even pay for it. Little back story my husband and I bought one they were having a big sale. It arrived plug it in realized it wasn’t working properly. Called the company they had a tech call me told me to few things nothing worked. My husband is a HVAC tech so he looks at the Vaccum pump and it was leaking. They told me they could send new one it would be charged. If that didn’t work they would further investigate it. Well we decided to call them get refund ship it back. Turns out you have 30 days from when it arrives to ship it back. They charged us 500 restock fee. I had to fight the company. I will never recommend the company. Also all repairs are on the customers they don’t have real techs. My husband and I were devastated we didn’t get to free dry anything we did so much research. Turns out they are getting sued a lot for defective machines.
What company? I’m about to buy one.
@@unnamed2737 harvest Right
Sadly, what we see in the TH-cam arena is nothing more than advertisement for these companies. It is rare to see a YT content creator do a follow up with real world results. Ethics are far and few.
You have to be very careful with Harvest Right. They want to troubleshoot with you, but if the troubleshooting goes past the 30 days and then doesn't work, they won't take it back...because it has been 30 days. It's a real nightmare.
I bought a Blue Alpine for this reason
I always add 24 hours to it, so it can keep it going when done. Then when I can, I go check it, if still cold, I rotate the trays, then put it back in for a few more hours and try again.
Treat ALL raw food, as raw. Wash hands and trays before doing it again.
Jars sealed always make the items last longer
Oh my goodness Cassandra you are on a roll. Everything looks really good. I need a neighbor who has a freeze dryer.
I thought about you today at our Brookshire's Grocery. Must be a new policy if it doesn't sell it is off the shelf and sells for $1. Rao's 24oz Italian sausage & mushroom sauce exp 2027, Mezzetta Basil Pesto 6.25oz jar exp 2027, Amora Pesto paste exp 5/25 and Amora tomato paste 4.5oz from Italy exp 11/26. Organic brown sugar 1lb. Lots of baby food in squeeze pouches you name it. The bins were full. I only purchased 20 items. The Rao's is $14.79 each at Walmart. I almost choked. Right place, right time. I was only there to buy fresh corn 3/1$ and Duke's Mayo was on sale. Came out with 20 extra bargains. ha ha
Hey Donna! Always god to see you lady! Honey those are stellar prices and see---the sales are out there and as a preserver, you can take advantage of that. High five for you friend!!
It is also a great way to keep eggs, especially if you have your own hens. Makes it easy to have very fresh eggs
Thanks for the close ups on the food. I know we won't be going for it right away but it is something we are eyeballing hoping the technology gets cheaper soon. For now its great to have an few ideas on how to even use it.
Thanks! Very helpful video. I especially liked the detail you went into on what the freeze dried product looked like, the re-hydrating outcome, etc.!
What I really did not expect was to see someone freeze drying RAPA scrapple! I feel seen Sis! Love it.
Haha! We love us some scrapple around here! And now my mom loves that I can mail it to her :) As the saying goes---preserve what you eat and eat what you preserve. I knew showing scrapple might draw a few stares, but for those who get it (like you) you get it!
My parents are midwesterners but I went to college in Virginia where scrapple was served in the cafeteria. I don’t remember sampling it because I never ate it at home and just wasn’t that adventurous. It didn’t make a big impression on me if I did try it.
Haha! Yes! I’m all the way out west now and my supermarket has scrapple! I get a taste of childhood Saturday mornings 😊
I appreciate your videos. Apparently you can pre-freeze food in your regular freezer to save time in the Harvest Right. Been thinking about getting one of these, but so expensive. Main negative I hear is that they need to be repaired from time to time, requiring shipping back factory (heavy & expensive). If I buy, I'll use your affiliate link. LOVE your Brake Bleeder suggestion. Former Texan, now happily in the Pacific Northwest.
Thank you so much for this video! I've been wanting to do this, but purchasing is such a commitment. I was glad you even brought up things I did not think of, such as fat going rancid. I don't personally know anyone who does this so I knew there would be things I didn't even think to look into when freeze drying.
Love your idea of FDing scrapple. Will try that with my family's recipe using hot sausage.
I FD Vidalia onions, (raw chopped), when @ their cheapest in spring and use the rest of the year.
Preshredded cheddar and mozzarella are super easy and go into canning jars.
Thanks for the FD ideas!
I love my 2 freeze dryers. They are game changers! Some textures may change but you will have a meal in your tummy
Notes on the scrapple:
I wonder about powdering or finely chopping the cooked scrapple after freeze-drying, then adding the hot water before forming it in a covered pan overnight to reconsitute. It might make the final product have a texture that is closer to fresh. It should be more uniformly hydrated and be less likely to fall apart when pan-frying. Not as instant and convenient as a freeze-dried slice, but maybe a better eating experience.
I too am a native MD girl but have never had scrapple. 😅 I think my mom probably never ate it so that is why. I did recently purchase a pound package at a farmers market for my mother in law and she was thrilled! Hello from Ellicott City! 👋
I have been wanting to get a freeze drier for a couple years now. I do not trust the power grid around here when it comes to my freezer! But with having to deal with Breast cancer has put it out of reach for awhile. Hopefully things will turn around soon!
Love your pen by the way... They are only ones I buy!!!
It’s a wonderful option for preserving food while keeping the nutritional value high. Thank you for sharing. I hope your mom loved getting the scrapple in the mail!
She was so tickled! Usually when she visits, she'll eat scrapple EVERY morning because she can't find it in the stores in Florida, but now, she has her own stash. She was beyond excited and now when she's up, she's going to freeze dry the food herself and pack it in her suitcase!
@@BecomingaFarmGirl Love it!
I'm glad you have your freeze dryer. Mine is on the list of desired appliances
Same
Love the video. My only concern about a freeze dryer is that there have been some problems with operation/breakdown/non-function, and what I have heard and read has kept me from purchasing.
I grew up in SE Pennsylvania. That scrapple brought back memories!! Looking forward to my freeze dryer arriving soon and being able to try these ideas :)
Isn't scrapple the BEST?!!!!
I love this video. I've had my freeze dryer for months but never used it. I recently started setting it up. fears. this video is inspiring. thank you
Jump in and try something simple like frozen veggies from the grocery store that are on sale, like corn, peas, green beans (smaller veg.) Start on a weekend off. I understand the nervousness, trust and believe, but once you get that first batch done and put away you'll be like....I got this!!!
Your video was suggested in the right-hand column, and I am so thankful! I feel like I have found a kindred spirit. THIS video is perfect for the information I was looking for. I just subscribed to your channel and will follow you dutifully. Many thanks for your contributions!!!
Thank you for sharing your knowledge. I'm going to put one on layaway. I have wanted one so bad for like 2 year's now.
LOVE this video, and thanks for the inspo! I'm from Kansas, and one of my fondest childhood memories was visiting my German Gma who would occasionally treat us with slices of knip. It's very close to scrapple. I'd never thought about it until this video, but knip a/k/a scrapple, would be delicious thinly sliced and freeze dried - kind of like a dry beef jerky - yum! Great point about freeze-drying preserving vitamins and minerals!
Thank you for the video! Received mine a few days ago but haven't had time to put it together until this week end. I'm loving these videos.
You are just adorable. ❤️ I used to be subscribed to your channel & saw your video pop up & noticed I'm not subscribed anymore! I remedied that & look forward to more, great videos! Thank you & God bless!
~Bonnie ❤️
In this case, I would love having buyer's remorse, it'd mean I was able to buy myself one.
Same!
Not happy with ours. The mushrooms were great. But meatballs tasted like styrofoam. Don’t do milk. It’s far more convenient to buy already powdered freeze dried organic milk. Ours stopped working a week after the warranty expired. Fruit does well. Some veggies do well. Don’t do onions.
Why not do onions?
How long is the warranty?
Which brand did you buy?
Ditto to the three above questions
@@startingoverhomestead6503Some people have complained about the smell. I think most people place it in another area away from the main living area to avoid either the smells or the noise. That eliminates the issue. Freeze dry onions, garlic etc and blend for your own powders.
I looked up for a second, then heard brake bleeder hose, and thought I accidentally switched videos. This is easily in the top 10 best thought out kitchens in terms of approach and equipment
I love my FD. But after a few years.. well, I have a TON of long term food now. Running out of room to put more in. But I still keep stacking when its right.
I have two dryers a med and my mom’s small one. I have 33 hens, nuf said😂 yah I’m freeze drying eggs galore! I do a lot of vegetables and then powder them and fruits too. Meat is another one I love to do. If I’ve canned something that I don’t care mostly vegetables for I will powder it and put them in soup or casseroles.
I think that's a duck egg! The shell had a translucence to it and was larger than a chicken egg (at least it appeared that way). A guinea egg is small, very pointy on one side and speckled. Love your videos!
Very cool device. I'm in Canada and this is the first time I have heard of scrapple. Thanks for sharing.
Being a military family as well this allows me to preserve as much food as I want without the added weight and fragility of canning. It's always a battle to get the movers to pack our home canned goods 😒 . I have not regretted the purchase of our large freeze drier. I almost feel guilty if I don't have it running.
Thank you for this. I think this might be one of the best demos I’ve seen.
Thank you so much for all the valuable information I have been on the fence about getting a freeze dryer for some time now I have a small farm in our thinking of utilizing it for prepping reasons
Great idea to freeze-dry scrapple! I never would have thunk it!
Freeze Drying is super interesting stuff. Also, the quality of the video image is really great. Thanks for the video!
So, were you basically saying, that you wished someone had told you about the cool saving factor? or was there some other question that I missed...
Also, to Anyone not sure about the "taste", you could just order 1 or 2 packets of freeze dried food online.
In the Midwest we have something that may be similar to scrappel it's called gritzwurst, I've only found it in butcher shops though, it could also go by a different name in other areas. I would say your best bet for finding those things is butcher shops.
I love this! And I love your food mindset! I have a large Harvest Right machine still in the box, as for the past few months, we have been unsure if we are transferring to a new state. I've been waiting to get started. I love the idea of buying sale meats. We may be moving to Alaska for work. Thus, I am envisioning hunted moose and caribou, copious amounts of salmon, gallons of wild blueberries, and U-pick farm veggies and fruits (actually a thing in Alaska!). I can't wait to have so much abundance near me that we can harvest for almost free. Alaska has earthquakes, so I have been worried about using my canning jars (unless I can figure out a really great way to keep them safe if a quake hits). Doing all this in mylar bags feels much safer, since food security is important to me.
thank you so much! would love to learn more about the break bleeder thing. never heard of it.
I love scrapple. My daddy made it and I don’t make it enough! Thanks for the reminder!!
Since you love scrapple it would be worth checking out goetta (pronounced get-Ah), it is similar and cooked the same way you cook/serve scrapple. Is from the Ohio/Cincinnati region. I actually enjoy it better, it's a bit heartier since scrapple sometimes can be a bit mushy from the cornmeal. Goetta is a bit grainer and uses beef and pork with pinhead oats, onion, garlic and seasoning. It's actually fun to make at home from scratch.
You have scrapple and in SW Ohio/N. KY, we have Goetta
good stuff, I have done over 100 batches and still love mine. thanks for sharing
That was a duck egg, guinea eggs are usually smaller than a large chicken egg. For the most part, I loved your presentation, from watching bunches of different freeze-drier videos while waiting for my HR that's on lay-a-way, I've seen lots of tips and tricks, I watched one yesterday where this woman made potato salad with mayo, I hope nobody tries that, and you could kind of tell when she was bagging the salad out of the HR there was stuff stuck to the scraper, NOT a good sign, I didn't wait to the end of your video to post this but don't forget to tell people that Harvest Right has a lay-a-way plan, $250 down and then monthly payments till it's paid for, I pay $100 a month, I can't wait to get mine!