Have you ever tossed out spoiled produce or leftovers? How about those cans of food that are nearing their expiration date sitting on the shelf at the back of your food storage?

With that said, I’m married to a woman who puts me to shame with her mechanical maintenance abilities, so after a couple of struggles with changing the oil she now has it down to an art.

I cut up a thin flexible cutting board to make the shields and secured them with clear high grade packing tape. The cutting board is stiff but it will fold and hold a 90 degree crease. The shields are not going anywhere, but are easy to remove if necessary.

I routed the exhaust from the catch can to a home made catch can that consisted of a jar with two ports with steel wool inside. I wanted to see just how much oil would escape the newly install catch can and collect in the jar.

Now that you understand the conditions, you can better understand what happened when we finally turned off our FDer after an extended use in these conditions.

Allows for up to 10 thermal treatment steps and 12 drying steps, so you can adjust your process for each material with precision. You can control the rate of freezing, the final freeze temperature, and the duration of the freeze cycle.

I think a community-built troubleshooting manual is a great idea. These machines are simple in some ways, and more complex in others, and having a lot of eyes on the problem is always good.

Taking the time to be sure accurate air flow, drainage angle, and positioning of accessories such as drip pan can avoid mishaps, preserving you the two time and expense In the long term. A properly-executed set up is the initial step toward productive freeze drying adventures.

We love to get together with family during the holidays. Our family is massive and my son is the only one who is gluten-free. Although our family members are sympathetic and want to be accommodating, they don’t always realize that gluten is in found in more than just bread.

Furthermore, the modern freeze dryer systems have vacuum pumps and refrigerators which enhances the drying cycles and saves energy. 

And therein lies the cons to buying a freeze dryer. It takes time to make them cost effective. Depending on humidity in your area, a single run can take up to two days to complete.

You can freeze dry soy and almond milk as well as most non-dairy yogurt, sour cream, and cream cheese substitutes. This has been especially helpful in avoiding food waste, as my son is the only one who uses the non-dairy substitutes, and he rarely is able to finish them before they go bad. I just throw them in the freeze dryer for him to eat later.

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.

No longer Know More do I have to ask what every ingredient is in each dish. And I don’t have to ask for the sour cream to Know More be left out of the mashed potatoes. I can take a meal of turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, and yams that I freeze dried throughout the year.