- Anything with too high a fat content may give some problems because the oils or fat will not evaporate, only the water will.

Sugars are simple carbohydrates that provide an excellent source of calories for energy. Sugars also add the sweet taste to many of our most delicious foods. Sugar can be stored in dry form (crystals) or in a liquid form (syrup –including maple syrup).

The current and emerging food crisis in the United States has millions of Americans very concerned about the future. From supply chain shenanigans to food processing plants “inexplicably” being compromised to bird flu decimating the poultry industry, it’s no wonder there has been a sharp rise in the “prepper” food industry.

Building a commercial kitchen can feel like a challenging job. It’s very important you understand the kind of commercial appliances available for purchase beforehand.

Hrmm... maybe not freeze drying sorbet but I imagine using freeze dried fruits IN sorbet would give a much more intense flavour. Especially for things like watermelon which I've had great trouble sorbeting successfully.

On that point, I was first introduced to home freeze dryers while overseeing the guard force at the Embassy in Baghdad.

Easy preparation. Food is prepared for freeze-drying the same way food is prepared for regular freezing. After rinsing and removing blemishes, blanch most vegetables; pretreat fruits if necessary to prevent browning; meats can be freeze-dried cooked or raw; casseroles are typically assembled from already cooked foods.

Used freeze-dryers can be purchased from previous owners, or sometimes the manufacturer will have returned units refurbished for sale.

The evaporator coils that touch the surface of the stainless steel vacuum chamber reach about -42 F. With food in the chamber and because the location of the thermister is on the middle shelf of the four shelves, the temperature it records is going to range from -25 to -30 F in the nove hour default freeze time. This temperature is very adequate for freeze drying the food.

Freezing a given number of meals means that you’ll only need to pop them in the microwave to defrost, once you’re ready to eat them. On top of that, they won’t go bad for months on end.

We’ve bought six so far with two more on the way. But families and individuals considering getting their own can and should as long as they go in with their eyes open.

Plus, if you have a garden and want to preserve your harvest or take advantage of sales on produce when it’s in season and affordable, this is a smart investment to make for the future of your family. Many of our customers Buy Now say their freeze dryer paid for itself in less than a year.

Obviously things like ice cream and marshmallows you would want to let the freeze cycle run longer. When I'm ready to start the drying cycle, I open the door, remove the insulator, and check the temperature of the food on the trays with an infrared thermometer. As long as it's below -10F I start the dry cycle. A side note for TonyC, have you ever thought about attaching a mirror to each side of the tray rack to reflect the radiant heat back in to the trays? I've looked at some mirror finish stainless on ebay, and it looks like you could do it for about $quarenta. Not sure if it's worth a try or not. I would think it would let you get more water out in a cycle because the radiant heat wouldn't be warming the ice on the chamber walls. Just a thought.... Edited December 16, 2015 by Pipsqueak duplicate post (log)

Forgive me for the extremely long post but I thought other southerners may also face this problem and could use this information.