Freeze Dryer
I received a lot of questions about our freeze dryer today so thought I’d give a little info.
Preserving home grown food for our family is a priority. But, freezer space is precious around here, and you can only water-bath-can so many things.
It took a year of saving and a lot of encouragement from friends to finally bite the bullet.
I hang herbs all over the house because I find them charming. But the truth is they taste like dust to me and I don’t enjoy cooking with them.
Dehydrating is an old process of using low heat and air to remove moisture from food. However, dehydrating removes up to half of the nutrients, and changes the color and texture of food.
The freeze dryer is a special machine that takes fresh food and freezes it down to -40F, then vacuum seals it, and removes all of the moisture. This preserves over 90% of the nutrients, color, & shape.
My kids like to eat many of these foods (mostly fruit & candy) in its freeze dried form. To cook with it, you simply add water and it rehydrates to its original form.
Here are some examples of foods I have or plan to grow/buy in bulk during peak seasons and freeze dry.
Herbs… all the herbs
Peaches, Pears, Apples
Berries, Grapes, all the fruits
Onions & Garlic for homemade seasonings
Mushrooms
Lemons, Limes, Grapefruit
Bell peppers
Avocados
Chives
Scrambled eggs
Cooked Beans
Pasta
