{"id":15645,"date":"2024-04-25T08:00:21","date_gmt":"2024-04-25T12:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/food-health\/?p=15645"},"modified":"2024-05-01T10:26:40","modified_gmt":"2024-05-01T14:26:40","slug":"tips-for-freeze-drying-at-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/food-health\/2024\/04\/25\/tips-for-freeze-drying-at-home\/","title":{"rendered":"Tips for Freeze Drying at Home"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u2014 By Kate McCarty<\/a>, Food System Professional, University of Maine Cooperative Extension<\/em><\/p>\n

Freeze drying is becoming a popular method of home food preservation as freeze dryers designed for home use are becoming more widely available. Most foods can be freeze dried, from fruits and vegetables to proteins and complete meals. Freeze drying removes up to 98% of moisture from food and when stored properly lasts for a long time. Freeze dried foods can either be enjoyed as a crunchy snack or rehydrated to use in meals.<\/p>\n

We recently purchased a home freeze dryer from Harvest Right<\/a>, a company in Utah. We bought a medium-sized unit, as well as the required oil pump and food trays, and accessories like a vacuum sealer, mylar bags, oxygen absorbers, and silicone tray liners. The freeze dryer works by first freezing the food and then creating a vacuum inside the frozen chamber. This combination of cold temperatures and a vacuum rapidly pulls most of the moisture from the food, resulting in dehydrated foods that look relatively like they did when they were fresh.<\/p>\n

We have been experimenting with freeze drying different kinds of foods\u2014first with fruits like berries, citrus slices, pineapple chunks, and apple slices. It all came out great, but our personal favorite was the pineapple, with great flavor and a light, airy, crunchy texture. Then we tried vegetables\u2014celery, broccoli, cauliflower, sugar snap peas, and cherry tomatoes. Again, they were all a hit, both for eating raw or rehydrating in meals. We even tried a bit of leftover homemade macaroni and cheese, and it was so fun to see the results\u2014it looked relatively unchanged but was so dry and crunchy!<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
Freeze Dried Fruits<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"A<\/a>
Freeze Dried Vegetables<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Finally, we had to try and freeze dry candy. Freeze dried candy has appeared in my social media feeds, and I even saw a bag for sale at the grocery store. Skittles and gummy bears seem to be popular, so we dried a bag of each. This process uses the candy setting on the machine and dries at a higher temperature, which is different from fruits and vegetables that have higher moisture content. The Skittles puffed up and became crunchy, while the gummy bears bubbled and inflated into airy puffs. We enjoyed them in the office as a fun novelty treat.<\/p>\n

\"Freeze<\/a>
Freeze Dried Candy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Now that we\u2019ve tried a few rounds of different types of foods in our freeze dryer, here are some tips for freeze drying at home that we learned.<\/p>\n

Before Freeze Drying<\/h3>\n