You’ll have to decide whether the pros outweigh the cons. For me personally, non-e of the cons outweighed the pros. The high price tag is an investment in my ability to preserve food for long periods of time for me and my family without relying on others. The noise doesn’t bother any of us and it’s like white noise.
The ideal vacuum pressure and drying temperature is maintained for each material—preserves freshness and potency
Looking at the picture you can see the water drops on the insulation and where the water had flowed down the back of the front panel.
Adele Faubert Albert was very helpful in answering questions prior to place the order and then with following up on delivery. The unit arrived on the date scheduled even though the tracking notice was not updated once the unit arrived in Canada. The pre-arrival instructions were very helpful as we were prepared once the unit arrived.
A dehydrator dries food by using heat only, while a freeze dryer uses both cold and heat. Dehydrated food still has moisture in it and works for short term storage only.
I want my son to have great meals on Thanksgiving and Christmas, just as the rest of us do. And it’s not feasible for me to cook the entire meal for a huge crowd.
Freeze dried foods are delicious by themselves or powdered and used in smoothies or baked goods. I have found I can freeze dry apple slices, powder them, and add a little water to make applesauce. It’s a lot easier than making applesauce in a traditional way.
Once we got into the groove of freeze-drying food, we have been extremely pleased with the purchase. But know this going in if you’re thinking this is an “easy button.” It’s not. In fact, in many ways it has changed our lifestyle. For example, we now often cook for a family of 8 even though it’s just us and the two kids.
Drying things out played a roll as well more info as the added insulation. We had 3.5 weeks of constant rain here in central NC with humidity over 95% and temps near 95F in the beginning and tapering down to 80F by the end of the rain. The condensation on the front panel around the seal had water running down the front of the Freeze Dryer constantly during the entire cycle, not just the freeze cycle. I initially went into the FDer to simply stop the humdity from reaching the outer chamber shell and freezing.
12 Posted September 16, 2015 You've given me an idea. I have the parts at the shop to use an actual filter head and a spin on filter. I could have a bracket laser cut and powder-coated that would hold the filter/head assembly horizontal which would allow it to completely drain and the outside of the filter would stay clean.
As a bonus, freeze-dried products are lightweight making them desirable for outdoor activities, emergency kits, and even space missions. Food manufacturers looking to broaden their offerings find freeze-drying prepackaged food as an enticing option because of the increased safety of food and reduced waste.
Cooked eggs can be freeze dried, but they tend to be rubbery when reconstituted. If you want to freeze dry cooked eggs, I recommend slightly undercooking them and then rehydrating them with boiling water. It will finish cooking them without making them rubbery.
As I mentioned before, freeze dryers are an investment. They're an investment because of all the benefits they bring to you and your self-reliance.
I, too, have noticed a significant difference when I defrost mid-cycle. I do that routinely now. I carefully use a heat gun to "shock" the surface of the ice, moving back and forth across it fairly swiftly, which causes it to crack and separate somewhat from the cylinder.