OT: freeze drying food

rrman61 · Sep 22, 2016

Been seeing commercials on tv about freeze drying different foods.thoughts on the subject?taste the same as fresh?shelf life,etc.?

Charlie M · Sep 22, 2016

I've never had any that tasted the same as fresh but I've some that was pretty good.The trick to shelf life is to remove enough moisture and properly protect it from light,air, rodents, etc. If done right would probably keep a long time.

Bob Harvey · Sep 22, 2016

We've got one of those vacuum package machines (then into the freezer), and use it every year. If done right the stuff will last a year. We date every package and use accordingly. I just got the benefit of my fisher friends attitude - he gave me about 25# of last years frozen Sockeye fillets - he was actually going to throw them out ! They were fine, 2 hunks had a smidgen of 'freezer burn' - big whoop. I smoked all but 4 pieces, and had 1 for dinner last nite. It was just fine.

Rkh · Sep 22, 2016

I have frozen deer dogs (vacuum sealed)that lasted 2 yrs with no freezer burnt.

PDRuff · Sep 22, 2016

My nephew has built his own freeze dryer from surplus lab equipment, he is very happy with it, (was an eagle scout and liked it for camping but $$$) he is now a resident at hospital in michigan and keeps improving/ using it everytime he goes home, he does lots of fruits and ice-cream. easy for him with his work scedule. he has a "industrial" one sitting in my machine shed, needs some work, I think if you can get the product to put in them they are the cats meow for storage....

PDRuff · Sep 22, 2016

forgot to add, most of the fruits and sweet items are like candy if you eat them dry, rehydrated still very good. keep it sealed. I had some 3 year old sweetcorn that after I opened it I ate it like popcorn. very good.

johndeere720GA · Sep 22, 2016

I vacuum seal myself and have had great luck keeping frozen vacuum packaged foods for years.
That said, what the OP was talking about is worlds away from vacuum packaging and freezing.
What freeze drying is a process where the moisture is sublimated under a vacuum and starting at very deep freeze of around -40* F.
How it works is the food is frozen to -40 then a vacuum is applied to the container. Then while the vacuum is maintained the food is slowly heated to room temp or slightly above.
as the temp rises the moisture in the food sublimates (goes directly from solid to gas) (like dry ice does).
The other difference is the storage bags: the bags are light impervious and the contents usually need an oxygen absorber added (to prevent oxidation spoilage) to the bag prior to sealing (vacuum sealing is not needed unless space is an issue.)
The wonders of freeze drying are the weight of the packaged food and the shelf life (25 years or so) with no refrigeration required.

These machines are not cheap at around 4 grand
Link to Harvestright.com

rrman61 · Sep 22, 2016

Thanks that answers a lot of questions

SweetFeet · Sep 23, 2016

My nephew has some kind of flash-freezing device. I guess the food is supposed to stay viable for over twenty years. My sister says the food is good... I have not tasted any of the food they've preserved.

Have had a freeze-dried ice cream sandwich, purchased in the camping section of Runnings. It was light, crunchy... and oddly delicious.

OT: freeze drying food

rrman61

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Charlie M

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Bob Harvey

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Rkh

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PDRuff

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PDRuff

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johndeere720GA

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rrman61

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SweetFeet

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