Go to the Article: This Is What Happens When You Freeze Dry Everything
This is Amazing. Just got a freeze dryer so the timing is impeccable! And the gummy worms are my favorite! Like sour fruity chicharrón's!! Amazing
You should try soy sauce and sweetened condensed milk (separately not together)
I've been interested in getting one, can you explain which one you chose and why?
Been freeze drying for years. Skittles are always a favorite. I also love honey dew, cantaloupe, and watermelon.
There's a link in the beginning of this post. Easy to miss though.
https://harvestright.com/product/home-freeze-dryer/
It'd be interesting to hear opinions on this unit. Only $2,695! What other freeze dryers are available for home use?
Among the opinions I'd love to understand the noise and heat levels freeze dryers generate - like would they be suitable to use inside, or are they noisy enough you'd want them tucked in the garage?
I am curious, for powderizing the lemons did you use only the flesh or the rind too, pitch and all? For the buttermilk, does.it have similar protein content to milk powder (could it be used it place of skin milk powder in an ice cream base to give a tangy flavour)?
the process seemed to reduce the bitterness from the pith, we powdered the entire lemon with it in and it was amazing. and yes I would think you could try to sub some in an ice cream base to add some nice tang
There are still so many mistakes and off-putting turns of phrase in ChefSteps posts (and “Grant”’s newsletters) since you started up in the fall. Is there no room in the budget for an editor or proofreader or failing that someone who seems to understand food, cooking or science to write the text? I’d think that would be the bare minimum for working for Chefsteps. My husband has spent a lot of money on this site and the quality has gone downhill in an odd way. The text used to be appealing and you felt like the person knew what they were doing. That hasn’t been true in many months.
Just from the steak section: The phrase “However, once the salivation starts, the steak hydrates in your mouth.” is enough to turn anyone’s stomach. Umami isn’t a flavor, it’s one of the basic tastes.
I’m not sure why Junior Mints were described as “a candy” and not chocolate. Many forms of chocolate are candies, the terms aren’t mutually exclusive. I think what you meant to say was that Junior Mints aren’t enrobed in pure chocolate but rather cocoa solids of some kind and therefore were able to be freeze-dried more successfully than candy made with pure chocolate.
The format of this was awkward. Why not have the successes together and the failures separate? It’s only logical and more reader friendly. At the very least, make the subheadings pop a little more. At first “fruits” just looked like the next list of failures.
Hi Helen, I hear you. Please take a look at the above — I think it's much improved:)
I asked on the forum, I guess I'm curious. Is Harvest Right the best consumer one on the market? I see Chef Steps loves it, Is Breville considering coming out with one too? I'd love a deeper run down of the equipment.
I don't think freeze dryers are suitable for home. I'm from Brazil, so 2k+ dollars it's even pricer than it is for Americans. Is it possible to achieve anything close to that using a standard freezer and a vacuum chamber?
A harvest right. Like the one they use. There is a harvest right warehouse about 40 minutes away from me. That was the main factor in the decision. That and other positive reviews. They offer the training and classes on use as well when you buy one.
Will you guys post the science and technique in the process of Rehydration of freeze dried food? Or possibly infusing other flavors in the process. (like when you rehydrate a steak or piece of chicken if you used a consomme or stock to rehydrate it to pack more flavor into it. would that work?)
An excellent step in the right direction!
Deep breath Helen. Some of us like "salivation", "hydrates", and "mouth". We even like misssteaks.
it won't be quite the same, but if you can get your product super solid and frozen to a temp around 0c 0f you can put it in your vacuum chamber, pull a full seal. then unplug it and let it sit under vacuum. you would have to do some pretty small batches since you would not be filtering out the moisture in the chamber.
Is freeze drying the same thing as freezer burn? From my understanding, they are both a result of water sublimation, though at slightly different rates and conditions.
If that's true, why do food that undergo freezer burn have a supposed undesirable change in taste and texture, but food that has been freeze-dried become tastier and more vibrant? Is it one of those cases of 'it depends on the food' and people fail to mention that freezer burn can be good for certain types of food?
Or is the rate of sublimation the key to either preserving flavor or destroying it?
