Evan, I am very grateful for all of the time, materials, and research you donate to our community. I have already learned so much from you. I am on my second batch with our new freeze dryer. I am grateful to learn from those gone before. I had to check out your photography...blown away. Everyone needs to break and check out your extraordinary talent.
There are more unique insights in these two videos than any 10 or 20 FD videos you'll find anywhere else. Experimentation is the key. Somebody else's experimentation is a time saver if nothing else. Much appreciated.
About your cheese cake yogurt. Lebnah is a cream cheese made by straining the liquid out of yogurt. You can make cheese cake with it or use it in any way you would use cream cheese.
I like the info on your research. I like the tips you give. I like how you solved the dilemma of getting cheese reconstituted. Would have liked a close up on the things you put in the dish.
Thank you for this video, I've just started freeze drying. You are the only person to mention about drinking water as you enjoy this snacks. I love the water droplet pics, beautiful. God bless😍
Thank you so much for doing all the research & work so all we have to do is watch your videos! They are so informative & helpful. I’m fairly certain the reason those wrapped slices of American cheese won’t do well in a FD is because there are added ingredients in them that the block American cheese doesn’t have. Those extras give the slices that silky feel & shiny, non-stick texture, but do not really do them any other favors. Block American is a superior product (& I think Boar’s Head - though more costly - is the very best; I can tell the difference between 2 exact mac & cheese recipes, one made w/BH & one made w/another brand). Also - what brand of freeze-dried butter do you use? Thank you!
Hi Evan! I recently found your channel. I love your work. I am new to the FD world and have had my freeze dryer just love a month. Something I have noticed is it is much, much easier to use the metric system your all of this. You weigh your trays in grams. After FD weigh your trays in grams. Say your tray lost 100 grams of water. Easy-peasy you add 100 mililiters of water. 1 gram of (distilled) water = 1 mililiter = 1 cubic centimeter or cc. Much easier than weighing in ounces trying to convert to fluid ounces. FYI 30 mil = 1 fluid ounce. Give it a try. Thank you for a great video.
Hello J&B. I've been wrestling with that for a long time but being an "Old School American" the change is coming slow if it ever happens. Sometimes it's hard to teach an old dog new tricks, LOL :) Evan
Thank you for these tutorials on freeze drying cheese. I especially appreciate the information about almond and coconut milk from the store. Kind of scary, that we think we are consuming something healthier. I am concerned about Velveeta cheese though. I’m pretty sure it is highly processed and not real cheese. Have you looked into it?
I'm really enjoying your channel and thank you for your time and effort so folks like me can learn somthing new. I'm really looking forward to getting my freeze dryer.
Evan, this was great! Your critical thinking appeals to my intellect. Thank you for your thorough study of freeze drying, and reconstituting, all these cheeses-- then making us the beneficiaries of your efforts! (I'm encouraged by your success with yogurt-- as I want to master a freeze dried Tzatziki Sauce, that I can spoon up every time I make a couple gyros. I won't use vanilla yogurt, however : ) Nice work.
Yes, that is one way of doing it, however, in most cases it is still necessary for the cheese to be shredded and for the correct amount of water to be use. Thanks for the comment, Evan
So I’m so thankful for your channel. I’m attempting to do feta, Boursin , mascarpone, cheese crumbles. Do you have a chart or anything that I can print out with your different cheeses and reconstituted them. Thanks again have a wonderful day
Hello Even, good day to you! I came across your channel in regards to processing cheese. I just bought a dehydrator and am interested in drying and making cheese powder for storage. My sister has a freeze dryer, so I understand the difference between freeze drying and dehydrating. Are you familiar with dehydrating cheeses or foods? Can you grind to powder the cheeses you've freeze dried? Any information on dehydrating and grinding freeze dryed "cheeses" would be really appreciated! Love the way you explained the information and your research is remarkable!
I absolutely love your content! Thanks for being so detailed. Would you mind sharing the link for the small trays, please? I was thinking of pouring the milk into the mini trays and freezing those then plopping the mini frozen blocks of milk onto HR trays to freeze dry. How do you think that will turn out?
Hello Cindy. I would like to offer some written instruction but I have not the time. Freeze drying is just one endeavor I persue and writing takes a lot of effort and the subject matter changes frequently. Thanks for the inquiry, Evan.
Well, yes and no. Here is a comparable question, "Can you grate legos?" It is about the same. In a block Velveeta is extremely hard and is very difficult, if not impossible, to rehydrate. The way to do a very soft cheese like Velveeta is to cut it up into manageable pieces, partially freeze it, solid but not completely frozen and then run it through a grater, not a blender of food processor but a coarse grater and then freeze dry it. Thanks for the inquiry, Evan
Thanks so much for replying. I am just watching the part where you partially froze it, then grated it and then freeze dried it. Great info for this newbie:).
Hi Evan, great video. I’m such a cheese fan and yes, I like Velvetta as well! 😊. My question is, how much water did you use to reconstitute the shredded Velvetta? I played back both videos and neither mention the amount. I am assuming you treat it like the Colby Jack and others by using 5 T per cup?
Hello Maggie, just like any other food, it all depends on the weight of the cheese before you FD it. Although most rehydration water amounts are very close no matter what the cheese is it is important to know how much the cheese weighed before you FD it so you can figure out how much to add when reconstituting it. 5 Tbsp per cup is a good starting point. With water one ounce in weight is also one ounce of liquid volume so 1 pound of water is 2 cups. Thanks for the inquiry, Evan
Hello Cheryl, There are two very important considerations. First, how the cheese was prepared for the FD'er and second, making sure the moisture comes in direct contact with the cheese, evaporation from a paper towel will not work well. Re-hydration is most often a slow process requiring sufficient time to allow the moisture levels to even out throughout the cheese. That is why knowing and using the proper amount of moisture is important. A moist paper towel will not supply enough direct contact moisture and submerging the cheese in too much water will turn the outside to mush after the inside draws in enough water. Properly preparing the cheese for the FD is critical. Shredding it allows the inside of the shards to rehydrate before the outside becomes too soft. Once equilibrium is achieved there should be no more liquid provided the proper amount of water was used. Too much water, even if the cheese is properly prepared, will still over hydrate the outside of the shard once the inside has reached max re-hydration. Thanks for reaching out, Evan
Hello Cheryl, There are two very important considerations. First, how the cheese was prepared for the FD'er and second, making sure the moisture comes in direct contact with the cheese, evaporation from a paper towel will not work well. Re-hydration is most often a slow process requiring sufficient time to allow the moisture levels to even out throughout the cheese. That is why knowing and using the proper amount of moisture is important. A moist paper towel will not supply enough direct contact moisture and submerging the cheese in too much water will turn the outside to mush after the inside draws in enough water. Properly preparing the cheese for the FD is critical. Shredding it allows the inside of the shards to rehydrate before the outside becomes too soft. Once equilibrium is achieved there should be no more liquid provided the proper amount of water was used. Too much water, even if the cheese is properly prepared, will still over hydrate the outside of the shard once the inside has reached max re-hydration. Thanks for reaching out, Evan
You provide a lot of good tips! I'm going to re-listen and take notes! The first time I did milk, it looled like it exploded inside of my freeze dryer and I had a mess to clean up. The same thing happened when I did raw eggs. I used 4 cups per tray. I'm guessing I put too much in each tray. I like your suggestion on only two trays of liquid per cycle.
Hello Elaine. I've never had a problem with milk or eggs and I have done 4 trays of milk in a single batch (although I don't do that any more). I don't know why they would rupture. I do pre-freeze milk and eggs, perhaps that makes a difference. I do 2 dozen eggs per tray and that is about 4 cups. That is the max per tray but it really should not make a difference. What king of milk do you FD and where are you from, the altitude may make a difference. Evan
@@evanrowell5266 Hi Evan, thank you for responding. I used skimmed milk in 2 trays and vanilla flavored almond milk in the other two trays. I did a second batch of unflavored almond milk. I put less milk in each tray and did not have a mess, but I did not have a large yield either. I don't have enough level space in my freezer to pre-freeze milk or eggs. I've had my freeze dryer for 3 months now and I'm still learning lots of new things. Thank you for all your information!
@@elainebeam5011 You should be able to put 4 cups (one quart) in each tray. Question: was the mess after the batch had finished? I do know that milk with certain additives like sugar can expand, you should try to to a batch of milk duds like I did, whoa, it took me three hours to clean up that mess! :) Also, where was the mess, on the bottom of the barrel or in the trays? Another question: Did you fill the trays outside the FD or while the trays were in the racks, It sounds like a silly question but I made a big mess out of milk trying to put the trays into the freeze dryer after I had already filled them, it turned out that the little bump I made pushing the tray in was enough to cause the milk to splash over the back edge without me noticing it, there was some clean up after the batch was finished. Evan
@@evanrowell5266 I put empty trays into the freeze dryer and pulled each one out a couple of inches and then filled them. I was careful not to bump anything when I pushed them back in. There was milk foam on the sides of the barrel and on the cover that insulates the dryer at the door opening.
@@elainebeam5011 This sounds very strange. You mention foam, was it a residue or FD thick? I'm at a loss, I will have to do some experimentation to see if I can reproduce what is happening. Evan
Hmm. Was waiting to find out how bleu cheese compared to the others, but you must not be a fan. Lol. Given the texture, do you think bleu cheese would FD and rehydrate more like brie?
I simply didn't think to do blue cheese although I am a fan of blue cheese dressing. I'm going to have to try it. I cant think why it would not work. I'll let you know. Thanks, Evan
Once you’ve shredded and FD your cheese, why not powder it (run through a nutribullet type grinder) for storage? Blends into recipes, and perhaps would rehydrate much quicker? I make vegetable powders, so why not cheese powders? I bet they’d be marvelous on popcorn, vegetables, chips, or even salads. Imagine the cheese biscuits!
Yes what you say is very true and your point is well taken, however, the cheese can be ground at any time and I like the idea of having the option of using it shredded as is the case most of the time, I rarely rehydrate it and the texture is not that of a powder. I do make a powdered cheese and I have a video on the process, it is one of my most popular. Thanks for your comment, Evan
So when you rehydrate the hard cheeses like the chedder cheese do you just add the water into the Ziploc bag with the freeze dried cheese and let it sit overnight? I made a cheese sauce mainly with just milk and chedder and it reconstituted horribly, all lumpy and hard, but I'm going to try putting it in a Ziploc bag like you do
Time and the amount of water you add is key. Too much water and/or not enough time will get you the results you described. Be sure to weigh the cheese before and after you dehydrate it so you know exactly how much moisture you lost You can weigh the cheese pan and all, just make sure you weigh it the same way after it is FD. It does not have to be a zip lock bag, any container with a tight sealing lid will do but try not to use a container that is excessively large. If you do use a zip lock bag then squeeze out as much air as you can, knead it to distribute the water and then rotate the bag a couple times in the refrigerator to prevent the moisture from settling to one side of the bag. The ability to turn and knead the bag is why I like to use plastic bags. Rehydration of semi-hard cheese like cheddar will take 24 - 36 hours. Evan
Another worth while vid --- I got a great deal with pre cut slices of sharp cheddar cheese -- I am going to freeze it and then shred as it makes so much sense to avoid the clumping of the cheese on the blade of the food processor. When I did milk with 1 quart per tray, I did not experience the stall when you get too much ice in the chamber. When you did your small trays where you loaded them with milk, was it a quart divided into the two trays ---- Also, were you able to reuse the aluminum pans when you took the milk out to crumble. How did you crumble the milk or did it fall apart when you popped them out of the trays.
What if you put brie through an extruder of some kind? Do you think it would work then? Also, for some of these cheeses, when reconstituting them, could you add some melted butter along with the water? Do you think that would be ok? I'm thinking it might have more flavor that way.
Hello Terrie. I doubt if an extruder of some kind would be effective with Brie. I imagine if I wanted to freeze the Brie hard and then shred it in a machine designed for to shred hard frozen material it might work but I have no such machine, so I just don't know. As for melted butter you would have to emulsify it into the water before rehydrating otherwise it would separate out and you would get an uneven rehydration. In any case cheese does not really lose flavor because of the rehydration process in fact it actually intensifies it. Adding butter is something you would do after the cheese is already rehydrated and soft if that is what you want to do. Thanks for reaching out, Evan
Thank you for this. When you open a bottle of cheese do you put the rest in the freezer or do you put a new pac. and put it on the shelf? Also you you put the product and the water in a baggie and then in the refrigerator to hydrate?.. How long will these products last freeze dried?
When it comes time to open a bottle, we will use it fairly quickly so keeping it closed and on a shelf is sufficient, a closed bottle will keep it dry very well. As for the baggie, because the water to cheese ratio is important, I keep it in the bag to make sure no water evaporates off. Rehydration of powdered cheese is fairly fast but shredded cheese needs more time, sometimes up to 24 hours for proper balance to be achieved. Ideally, I use it dry directly into what I am cooking wherein it rehydrates swiftly.
Evan, your videos need more views! You should change the Video Title to be more specific about the content so people will be more likely to click and watch. You have SOOO much information in these videos people are looking for!! Help them find it! :) KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK!!!!!
Not as of yet but, due to the popularity of the subject, I may do another video using small quantities of each type of cheese with emphasis of rehydrating each one. Thanks for the suggestion, Evan
I really have enjoyed learning with you. I am planning, and saving for freeze dryer so , I guess you can say I'm going to school with you. I have one complaint, when your going through your demo on the cheeses, you don't always give the amount of water you added and how it took to rehydrate the product, So far your the only one, I feel I can trust. Thanks . GREAT JOB Kathy
Hello Frances. Thank you for your wonderful compliment. As for the amount of water I add it depends on the type and amount of cheese. The cheese must be weighed before it is freeze dried and then weighed again after. The difference in weight will determine how much water the cheese lost ergo how much to add when rehydrating. A good measure is to know that 1 Lb of water is 2 cups (close enough). There will be a little math involved because you have to figure out (simple division) how much water to add to a given amount of dried cheese based on how much water it lost. Most of the time 2 TBSP of water to one ounce of dried cheese is a good starting point. I hope this helps, Evan
Hello, i was wondering how you did your yogurt. How much did you put on a tray? Can you do all trays at once or will that overwhelm dryer like milk? Did you just pour a large tub and smear to the top. Or spoon dollops onto trays. I usually put the same food on all trays because i don't know drying times yet. Only second week with FD. Thanks for your videos. I feel like im in school. 🙂
Hello Trina, Yogurt is not as wet as milk so you can fill all the trays to the top of the pan but no higher. I thoroughly mix the yogurt, especially the “fruit in the bottom” brands and then level the yogurt by running the handle of a wooden spoon across the edges of the pan bringing the yogurt exactly to the top of the pan. I then take the end of the spoon and make small valleys across the yogurt about every 3 or 4 inches to increase surface area (they do not have to be 100% separated, just a visible line does the trick). Here’s a tip, if you are going to do thin liquids like milk, first put the empty trays in a freezer or in the FD. Pull the pan out about 2 inches, fill it and then gently push it back in thusly avoiding any sloshing and spilling. Although each tray will hold 5 cups of milk, thin soups and even broth it’s not recommended (too much water), I have had great results with 3 ½ to 4 cups in each tray. You can fill the trays up with yogurt, sour cream, cottage cheese, etc.... without a problem. Thanks for reaching out, Evan
Hi Mimi, the brand is not really important, I have had success with several brands (I use pre-mixed, not fruit in the bottom but I think that would also work if well mixed before freeze drying). I think the brand I was using here was "The Greek Gods" honey vanilla. To get that cheesecake texture simply use a little less water than needed to rehydrate (reduce water by about 1/4), it's really delicious! Remember to weigh it before and after freeze drying so you know exactly how much water it lost and then only add 3/4 of that weight when rehydrating. Thanks for the inquiry, Evan
Hello Shana, Different cheeses have different moisture content so it is important to know exactly how much water the cheese lost. Weigh the whole pan before and after Freeze Drying. The difference in weight will be the weight of moisture lost, one pound is roughly 2 cups of water. When you know how much you lost, with some elementary math, you can know how much water to add to a given amount of cheese you want to rehydrate. EX: If the whole pan lost one pound of water then it lost 2 cups. If you want to rehydrate 1/4 of the pan then you use 1/2 cup of water (2 divided by 4). It is important that you do not leave the dry cheese sitting in a pool of water even if it is the correct amount. Most cheeses do not wick very well so the container should be tight enough to force the water to cover the cheese and the cheese should be periodically kneaded to facilitate the mixing of the water with the cheese. Thanks for asking, Evan
I appreciate your videos and the extra effort you put in to get the facts prior to producing your videos. I will make one comment though.. Velveta is not actually cheese. It is imitation cheese so will not respond the same as real cheese. Thank you!
Hello Heart-centered, Yes you are correct, although Velveeta used to be made by blending different types of cheese, alas, it is not more, but it still tastes good on Nachos :) In any case, be that as it may you can still freeze dry it if done as I discussed here. Thanks for the comment, Evan
No, I use the almond meal frequently to make almond drink. I don't drink a lot of milk and no junk food drinks so I don't freeze dry it. Besides, almonds are a nut and they a prone to having a lot of oil in them so I get them in one pound packages and store them in an air tight container for the short term.
Great idea perhaps if you freeze dried almonds then ground them for the flour. I’m a Coeliac living in Middle East, so trying to find keto and gf products isn’t easy. I appreciate the work you put into your very informative videos, thanks.
Perhaps you're right, I don't know, I do try to avoid it as much as possible but for the purposes of storage, especially long term, I put such concerns on the back burner (so to speak). I feel that MSG is not something I need to worry about when food storage is my only source of survival. Thanks for the comment, Evan
Evan, I am very grateful for all of the time, materials, and research you donate to our community. I have already learned so much from you. I am on my second batch with our new freeze dryer. I am grateful to learn from those gone before. I had to check out your photography...blown away. Everyone needs to break and check out your extraordinary talent.
Thank You Diane! Evan
There are more unique insights in these two videos than any 10 or 20 FD videos you'll find anywhere else. Experimentation is the key. Somebody else's experimentation is a time saver if nothing else. Much appreciated.
About your cheese cake yogurt. Lebnah is a cream cheese made by straining the liquid out of yogurt. You can make cheese cake with it or use it in any way you would use cream cheese.
I like the info on your research. I like the tips you give. I like how you solved the dilemma of getting cheese reconstituted. Would have liked a close up on the things you put in the dish.
If your have a smoker or a BBQ that you can smoke with. Try smoking your cheese with apple or fruit wood blend and them FD it. AWESOME is the word.
Thank you for this video, I've just started freeze drying. You are the only person to mention about drinking water as you enjoy this snacks. I love the water droplet pics, beautiful. God bless😍
Very through explanation of your process and freeze drying cheese journey Evan
I enjoy all your videos Thank you
Very good presentation. Thank you so much for taking the time, and putting so much thought into this.
So much information; thank you for sharing it.
You really are a cheese wizard!! Thanks for your valuable time sir!
Wow! Thank you so much for all of your extremely informational videos! What a life saver. So appreciated. Best I've seen on TH-cam!! 😊
I have seen so many people do the freeze drying cheese and called it a fail for reconstitution. This is amazing!! Thank you for doing this!
You should publish a book on freeze drying. I certainly would buy your recipe book. 😋
Thank you so much for doing all the research & work so all we have to do is watch your videos! They are so informative & helpful.
I’m fairly certain the reason those wrapped slices of American cheese won’t do well in a FD is because there are added ingredients in them that the block American cheese doesn’t have. Those extras give the slices that silky feel & shiny, non-stick texture, but do not really do them any other favors. Block American is a superior product (& I think Boar’s Head - though more costly - is the very best; I can tell the difference between 2 exact mac & cheese recipes, one made w/BH & one made w/another brand).
Also - what brand of freeze-dried butter do you use? Thank you!
Excellent video, thank you for all the info you share with us.
Thank you for the information on the almond milk I was given 4 lbs of almonds.
Hi Evan! I recently found your channel. I love your work. I am new to the FD world and have had my freeze dryer just love a month. Something I have noticed is it is much, much easier to use the metric system your all of this. You weigh your trays in grams. After FD weigh your trays in grams. Say your tray lost 100 grams of water. Easy-peasy you add 100 mililiters of water. 1 gram of (distilled) water = 1 mililiter = 1 cubic centimeter or cc. Much easier than weighing in ounces trying to convert to fluid ounces. FYI 30 mil = 1 fluid ounce. Give it a try. Thank you for a great video.
Hello J&B. I've been wrestling with that for a long time but being an "Old School American" the change is coming slow if it ever happens. Sometimes it's hard to teach an old dog new tricks, LOL :) Evan
Enjoyed this info so much. Thank you. -.
Thank you for this highly informative video on freeze drying cheese!
Thank you for these tutorials on freeze drying cheese. I especially appreciate the information about almond and coconut milk from the store. Kind of scary, that we think we are consuming something healthier. I am concerned about Velveeta cheese though. I’m pretty sure it is highly processed and not real cheese. Have you looked into it?
Your photography is incredible. Keep up the good work. Many of these would be fantastic printed on glass like the fracture me advertisement.
I'm really enjoying your channel and thank you for your time and effort so folks like me can learn somthing new. I'm really looking forward to getting my freeze dryer.
Fantastic information. Thank you.
You are wonderful!!
What a blessing. Can I ask what size FD you have.
I just bought an Alpine Blue and waiting for delivery. Their trays are 9×13.
Great work
I watch 1 and 2 love it I learned a lot thank you.
Evan, this was great! Your critical thinking appeals to my intellect. Thank you for your thorough study of freeze drying, and reconstituting, all these cheeses-- then making us the beneficiaries of your efforts! (I'm encouraged by your success with yogurt-- as I want to master a freeze dried Tzatziki Sauce, that I can spoon up every time I make a couple gyros. I won't use vanilla yogurt, however : ) Nice work.
Some people reconstitute shredded freeze dried cheese by putting in a plastic bag and misting with water. Allow to sit until the water is absorbed.
Yes, that is one way of doing it, however, in most cases it is still necessary for the cheese to be shredded and for the correct amount of water to be use. Thanks for the comment, Evan
So I’m so thankful for your channel. I’m attempting to do feta, Boursin , mascarpone, cheese crumbles. Do you have a chart or anything that I can print out with your different cheeses and reconstituted them. Thanks again have a wonderful day
Very informative, thank you. Your photography is amazing.
Thank You Jan! :) - Evan
Hello Even, good day to you!
I came across your channel in regards to processing cheese.
I just bought a dehydrator and am interested in drying and making cheese powder for storage.
My sister has a freeze dryer, so I understand the difference between freeze drying and dehydrating.
Are you familiar with dehydrating cheeses or foods?
Can you grind to powder the cheeses you've freeze dried?
Any information on dehydrating and grinding freeze dryed "cheeses" would be really appreciated!
Love the way you explained the information and your research is remarkable!
Given the fat content of cheese, what are your expectations for long term storage?
I absolutely love your content! Thanks for being so detailed. Would you mind sharing the link for the small trays, please? I was thinking of pouring the milk into the mini trays and freezing those then plopping the mini frozen blocks of milk onto HR trays to freeze dry. How do you think that will turn out?
That would work very well. As for the small trays I got them at Wal-Mart :) Evan
Thank you so much for all this hard work and presentations. One question, can I store in Mylar bags? Or Jar is best? Thanks again!
Yes, I store almost all my cheese in 7 mil Mylar bags. Be sure to put in an O2 absorber even if you vacuum pack, it helps preserve freshness. Evan
Love your content! Do you offer a book/info chart on your findings and reconstituted recommendations?
Hello Cindy. I would like to offer some written instruction but I have not the time. Freeze drying is just one endeavor I persue and writing takes a lot of effort and the subject matter changes frequently. Thanks for the inquiry, Evan.
How would you use the freeze dried cheese in a recipe? Such as a casserole? Reconstitute first or add dried cheese and liquid as ingredients?
Love your videos! Can you grate the blocks of Velveeta after freeze dried?
Well, yes and no. Here is a comparable question, "Can you grate legos?" It is about the same. In a block Velveeta is extremely hard and is very difficult, if not impossible, to rehydrate. The way to do a very soft cheese like Velveeta is to cut it up into manageable pieces, partially freeze it, solid but not completely frozen and then run it through a grater, not a blender of food processor but a coarse grater and then freeze dry it. Thanks for the inquiry, Evan
Thanks so much for replying. I am just watching the part where you partially froze it, then grated it and then freeze dried it. Great info for this newbie:).
Hi Evan, great video. I’m such a cheese fan and yes, I like Velvetta as well! 😊. My question is, how much water did you use to reconstitute the shredded Velvetta? I played back both videos and neither mention the amount. I am assuming you treat it like the Colby Jack and others by using 5 T per cup?
Hello Maggie, just like any other food, it all depends on the weight of the cheese before you FD it. Although most rehydration water amounts are very close no matter what the cheese is it is important to know how much the cheese weighed before you FD it so you can figure out how much to add when reconstituting it. 5 Tbsp per cup is a good starting point. With water one ounce in weight is also one ounce of liquid volume so 1 pound of water is 2 cups. Thanks for the inquiry, Evan
Excellent detailed information!
Thank you for all your hard work!
What if the sliced cheese is put between damp paper towels in a baggie in frig til rehydated just a thought
Hello Cheryl, There are two very important considerations. First, how the cheese was prepared for the FD'er and second, making sure the moisture comes in direct contact with the cheese, evaporation from a paper towel will not work well. Re-hydration is most often a slow process requiring sufficient time to allow the moisture levels to even out throughout the cheese. That is why knowing and using the proper amount of moisture is important. A moist paper towel will not supply enough direct contact moisture and submerging the cheese in too much water will turn the outside to mush after the inside draws in enough water. Properly preparing the cheese for the FD is critical. Shredding it allows the inside of the shards to rehydrate before the outside becomes too soft. Once equilibrium is achieved there should be no more liquid provided the proper amount of water was used. Too much water, even if the cheese is properly prepared, will still over hydrate the outside of the shard once the inside has reached max re-hydration. Thanks for reaching out, Evan
Hello Cheryl, There are two very important considerations. First, how the cheese was prepared for the FD'er and second, making sure the moisture comes in direct contact with the cheese, evaporation from a paper towel will not work well. Re-hydration is most often a slow process requiring sufficient time to allow the moisture levels to even out throughout the cheese. That is why knowing and using the proper amount of moisture is important. A moist paper towel will not supply enough direct contact moisture and submerging the cheese in too much water will turn the outside to mush after the inside draws in enough water. Properly preparing the cheese for the FD is critical. Shredding it allows the inside of the shards to rehydrate before the outside becomes too soft. Once equilibrium is achieved there should be no more liquid provided the proper amount of water was used. Too much water, even if the cheese is properly prepared, will still over hydrate the outside of the shard once the inside has reached max re-hydration. Thanks for reaching out, Evan
You provide a lot of good tips! I'm going to re-listen and take notes! The first time I did milk, it looled like it exploded inside of my freeze dryer and I had a mess to clean up. The same thing happened when I did raw eggs. I used 4 cups per tray. I'm guessing I put too much in each tray. I like your suggestion on only two trays of liquid per cycle.
Hello Elaine. I've never had a problem with milk or eggs and I have done 4 trays of milk in a single batch (although I don't do that any more). I don't know why they would rupture. I do pre-freeze milk and eggs, perhaps that makes a difference. I do 2 dozen eggs per tray and that is about 4 cups. That is the max per tray but it really should not make a difference. What king of milk do you FD and where are you from, the altitude may make a difference. Evan
@@evanrowell5266 Hi Evan, thank you for responding. I used skimmed milk in 2 trays and vanilla flavored almond milk in the other two trays. I did a second batch of unflavored almond milk. I put less milk in each tray and did not have a mess, but I did not have a large yield either. I don't have enough level space in my freezer to pre-freeze milk or eggs. I've had my freeze dryer for 3 months now and I'm still learning lots of new things. Thank you for all your information!
@@elainebeam5011 You should be able to put 4 cups (one quart) in each tray. Question: was the mess after the batch had finished? I do know that milk with certain additives like sugar can expand, you should try to to a batch of milk duds like I did, whoa, it took me three hours to clean up that mess! :) Also, where was the mess, on the bottom of the barrel or in the trays? Another question: Did you fill the trays outside the FD or while the trays were in the racks, It sounds like a silly question but I made a big mess out of milk trying to put the trays into the freeze dryer after I had already filled them, it turned out that the little bump I made pushing the tray in was enough to cause the milk to splash over the back edge without me noticing it, there was some clean up after the batch was finished. Evan
@@evanrowell5266 I put empty trays into the freeze dryer and pulled each one out a couple of inches and then filled them. I was careful not to bump anything when I pushed them back in. There was milk foam on the sides of the barrel and on the cover that insulates the dryer at the door opening.
@@elainebeam5011 This sounds very strange. You mention foam, was it a residue or FD thick? I'm at a loss, I will have to do some experimentation to see if I can reproduce what is happening. Evan
Hmm. Was waiting to find out how bleu cheese compared to the others, but you must not be a fan. Lol. Given the texture, do you think bleu cheese would FD and rehydrate more like brie?
I simply didn't think to do blue cheese although I am a fan of blue cheese dressing. I'm going to have to try it. I cant think why it would not work. I'll let you know. Thanks, Evan
Once you’ve shredded and FD your cheese, why not powder it (run through a nutribullet type grinder) for storage? Blends into recipes, and perhaps would rehydrate much quicker? I make vegetable powders, so why not cheese powders? I bet they’d be marvelous on popcorn, vegetables, chips, or even salads. Imagine the cheese biscuits!
Yes what you say is very true and your point is well taken, however, the cheese can be ground at any time and I like the idea of having the option of using it shredded as is the case most of the time, I rarely rehydrate it and the texture is not that of a powder. I do make a powdered cheese and I have a video on the process, it is one of my most popular. Thanks for your comment, Evan
So when you rehydrate the hard cheeses like the chedder cheese do you just add the water into the Ziploc bag with the freeze dried cheese and let it sit overnight? I made a cheese sauce mainly with just milk and chedder and it reconstituted horribly, all lumpy and hard, but I'm going to try putting it in a Ziploc bag like you do
Time and the amount of water you add is key. Too much water and/or not enough time will get you the results you described. Be sure to weigh the cheese before and after you dehydrate it so you know exactly how much moisture you lost You can weigh the cheese pan and all, just make sure you weigh it the same way after it is FD. It does not have to be a zip lock bag, any container with a tight sealing lid will do but try not to use a container that is excessively large. If you do use a zip lock bag then squeeze out as much air as you can, knead it to distribute the water and then rotate the bag a couple times in the refrigerator to prevent the moisture from settling to one side of the bag. The ability to turn and knead the bag is why I like to use plastic bags. Rehydration of semi-hard cheese like cheddar will take 24 - 36 hours. Evan
Another worth while vid --- I got a great deal with pre cut slices of sharp cheddar cheese -- I am going to freeze it and then shred as it makes so much sense to avoid the clumping of the cheese on the blade of the food processor. When I did milk with 1 quart per tray, I did not experience the stall when you get too much ice in the chamber. When you did your small trays where you loaded them with milk, was it a quart divided into the two trays ---- Also, were you able to reuse the aluminum pans when you took the milk out to crumble. How did you crumble the milk or did it fall apart when you popped them out of the trays.
What if you put brie through an extruder of some kind? Do you think it would work then? Also, for some of these cheeses, when reconstituting them, could you add some melted butter along with the water? Do you think that would be ok? I'm thinking it might have more flavor that way.
Hello Terrie. I doubt if an extruder of some kind would be effective with Brie. I imagine if I wanted to freeze the Brie hard and then shred it in a machine designed for to shred hard frozen material it might work but I have no such machine, so I just don't know. As for melted butter you would have to emulsify it into the water before rehydrating otherwise it would separate out and you would get an uneven rehydration. In any case cheese does not really lose flavor because of the rehydration process in fact it actually intensifies it. Adding butter is something you would do after the cheese is already rehydrated and soft if that is what you want to do. Thanks for reaching out, Evan
How do you Hydrate cheese from a dehydrator
Thank you for this. When you open a bottle of cheese do you put the rest in the freezer or do you put a new pac. and put it on the shelf? Also you you put the product and the water in a baggie and then in the refrigerator to hydrate?.. How long will these products last freeze dried?
When it comes time to open a bottle, we will use it fairly quickly so keeping it closed and on a shelf is sufficient, a closed bottle will keep it dry very well. As for the baggie, because the water to cheese ratio is important, I keep it in the bag to make sure no water evaporates off. Rehydration of powdered cheese is fairly fast but shredded cheese needs more time, sometimes up to 24 hours for proper balance to be achieved. Ideally, I use it dry directly into what I am cooking wherein it rehydrates swiftly.
Evan, your videos need more views! You should change the Video Title to be more specific about the content so people will be more likely to click and watch. You have SOOO much information in these videos people are looking for!! Help them find it! :) KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK!!!!!
Agreed! I found this channel linked in a Facebook comment, otherwise might have never found this incredible source of information!
I wonder if they will melt as they would fresh.
Do you provide a list or chart showing how much water to use to rehydrate.
Not as of yet but, due to the popularity of the subject, I may do another video using small quantities of each type of cheese with emphasis of rehydrating each one. Thanks for the suggestion, Evan
I really have enjoyed learning with you. I am planning, and saving for freeze dryer so , I guess you can say I'm going to school with you. I have one complaint, when your going through your demo on the cheeses, you don't always give the amount of water you added and how it took to rehydrate the product, So far your the only one, I feel I can trust. Thanks . GREAT JOB Kathy
Hello Frances. Thank you for your wonderful compliment. As for the amount of water I add it depends on the type and amount of cheese. The cheese must be weighed before it is freeze dried and then weighed again after. The difference in weight will determine how much water the cheese lost ergo how much to add when rehydrating. A good measure is to know that 1 Lb of water is 2 cups (close enough). There will be a little math involved because you have to figure out (simple division) how much water to add to a given amount of dried cheese based on how much water it lost. Most of the time 2 TBSP of water to one ounce of dried cheese is a good starting point. I hope this helps, Evan
Hello, i was wondering how you did your yogurt. How much did you put on a tray? Can you do all trays at once or will that overwhelm dryer like milk? Did you just pour a large tub and smear to the top. Or spoon dollops onto trays.
I usually put the same food on all trays because i don't know drying times yet. Only second week with FD. Thanks for your videos. I feel like im in school. 🙂
Hello Trina, Yogurt is not as wet as milk so you can fill all the trays to the top of the pan but no higher. I thoroughly mix the yogurt, especially the “fruit in the bottom” brands and then level the yogurt by running the handle of a wooden spoon across the edges of the pan bringing the yogurt exactly to the top of the pan. I then take the end of the spoon and make small valleys across the yogurt about every 3 or 4 inches to increase surface area (they do not have to be 100% separated, just a visible line does the trick). Here’s a tip, if you are going to do thin liquids like milk, first put the empty trays in a freezer or in the FD. Pull the pan out about 2 inches, fill it and then gently push it back in thusly avoiding any sloshing and spilling. Although each tray will hold 5 cups of milk, thin soups and even broth it’s not recommended (too much water), I have had great results with 3 ½ to 4 cups in each tray. You can fill the trays up with yogurt, sour cream, cottage cheese, etc.... without a problem. Thanks for reaching out, Evan
@@evanrowell5266 wow, what a wealth of information! Thank you so much!! 🙂
You forgot blue cheese!!?.. :) I've got some in my fd right now.
What brand of yogurt did you freeze dry that tasted like cheesecake? I want to try it.
Hi Mimi, the brand is not really important, I have had success with several brands (I use pre-mixed, not fruit in the bottom but I think that would also work if well mixed before freeze drying). I think the brand I was using here was "The Greek Gods" honey vanilla. To get that cheesecake texture simply use a little less water than needed to rehydrate (reduce water by about 1/4), it's really delicious! Remember to weigh it before and after freeze drying so you know exactly how much water it lost and then only add 3/4 of that weight when rehydrating. Thanks for the inquiry, Evan
How much water did you use on the mozzarella cheese to reconstitute?
Hello Shana, Different cheeses have different moisture content so it is important to know exactly how much water the cheese lost. Weigh the whole pan before and after Freeze Drying. The difference in weight will be the weight of moisture lost, one pound is roughly 2 cups of water. When you know how much you lost, with some elementary math, you can know how much water to add to a given amount of cheese you want to rehydrate. EX: If the whole pan lost one pound of water then it lost 2 cups. If you want to rehydrate 1/4 of the pan then you use 1/2 cup of water (2 divided by 4). It is important that you do not leave the dry cheese sitting in a pool of water even if it is the correct amount. Most cheeses do not wick very well so the container should be tight enough to force the water to cover the cheese and the cheese should be periodically kneaded to facilitate the mixing of the water with the cheese. Thanks for asking, Evan
I appreciate your videos and the extra effort you put in to get the facts prior to producing your videos. I will make one comment though.. Velveta is not actually cheese. It is imitation cheese so will not respond the same as real cheese. Thank you!
Hello Heart-centered, Yes you are correct, although Velveeta used to be made by blending different types of cheese, alas, it is not more, but it still tastes good on Nachos :) In any case, be that as it may you can still freeze dry it if done as I discussed here. Thanks for the comment, Evan
I guess you freeze dried your almond meal for almond flour?
No, I use the almond meal frequently to make almond drink. I don't drink a lot of milk and no junk food drinks so I don't freeze dry it. Besides, almonds are a nut and they a prone to having a lot of oil in them so I get them in one pound packages and store them in an air tight container for the short term.
@@evanrowell5266 was thinking I might try drying it to make Ketogenic recipes with Almond “flour” instead of wheat flour.
@@RhodeToPrepping Interesting thought, worth looking into, Thanks
Great idea perhaps if you freeze dried almonds then ground them for the flour. I’m a Coeliac living in Middle East, so trying to find keto and gf products isn’t easy. I appreciate the work you put into your very informative videos, thanks.
Maybe the salty taste is MSG. Very bad for health
Perhaps you're right, I don't know, I do try to avoid it as much as possible but for the purposes of storage, especially long term, I put such concerns on the back burner (so to speak). I feel that MSG is not something I need to worry about when food storage is my only source of survival. Thanks for the comment, Evan
Almond juice is not milk
Oat juice is not milk
Coconut water is just exactly that, water.
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