Marshmallows and Vacuum Pumps
a freeze drying adventure
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After months of agony…

25 Nov 2016

...the day has arrived. We finally fell off the fence and decided to purchase a Harvest Right freeze dryer.  The decision was not an easy one. I ran a lot of cost analysis, sought out opinions of freeze dryer owners on Facebook, I bought freeze dried foods from the grocery store to test, and spent many nights strategizing where exactly I could place the freeze dryer in my home.

There are a quite a few major considerations that could completely change your mind about buying a freeze dryer. That is why we decided to share our experience with others. We want to provide a resource that will ease others through the process of deciding to buy a freeze dryer and successfully getting it running with minimal extra cost and headaches.

Things you should prepare for before introducing a Freeze Dryer into your home:

​

  • Cost of the Freeze Dryer
  • Cost of the Freeze Dryer Accessories
  • Cost of adding a dedicated 20 amp circuit
  • Cost of moving an electrical outlet if it's more than 6 feet from the ideal location
  • Cost of electricity needed to operate the Freeze Dryer

What!? I bet you might be wondering why anyone would buy one with all these complications!

I could just dehydrate my food with a $300 dehydrator!

In home dehydrators can only remove about 70% of the water content from your food, which greatly increases the chances of spoiling and mold growth.  An in home freeze dryer can remove 98% of the water.

Dehydration causes a significant loss of nutritional value.  As much as 40% of the nutritional value can be lost.  Freeze dried foods contain typically 97% of the original nutritional value from when the food was fresh! 

Dehydrators still make great companions to freeze dryers, but they cannot replace them.

I could just can my food with a $200 pressure cooker!

Canning, by it's very nature, doesn't remove moisture at all.  If not done properly, canning can fail to eliminate the bacteria that cause botulism.  Freeze drying eliminates almost all moisture, which is required by bacteria to survive.  Also, my grandmother blew the top off her pressure canner.  I'd rather not have the risk of blowing up the kitchen.

...but you can't freeze dry jam and preserves.  Canning is also great for pickles and tomatoes. Canners can still be good companions to freeze dryers for the items that don't freeze dry as well.

Harvest Right Oxygen Absorbers 100 (10 x 10 packs)

Imagine throwing leftovers in the dehydrator or canning jar!

That's not going to end well.  Leftover food with minimal fat can be freeze dried as it is, and this one fact can save you a lot of money.  You can now buy food in bulk if it makes sense.  Catch some meat on a great sale and you can easily store it for later.  

I could just buy the freeze dried foods.  A lot of cans can be bought for the price of a freeze dryer.

Buying bulk freeze dried food can be a great way to get started.  I prefer to cycle the foods through in our normal diet instead of trusting what is inside the cans, and exactly what is inside the cans?  Some products have high amounts of preservatives or other things you didn't think you were buying.  With a home freeze dryer, you know exactly what is going into your food.  It's the same food that your family eats every day and is familiar with.  This makes it's easy to occasionally eat to save money or just to test the food.

Going somewhere?  Easily prepare food while traveling or working.

I've read stories about families re-hydrating great meals on the go using just hot water.  You can carry freeze dried fruit or fruit powder for making smoothies with ease, or pre-prepare your smoothie mix at home using freeze dried fruits and veggies in the blender.  Refrigerator space is no longer required at work, neither is the microwave.  All you need is hot water.

...and that's just getting started.  If I haven't put you back on the fence yet there's more to consider.

What if one of you're loved ones has a special diet.  You can now accommodate peanut free, vegan, and diabetic diets in your food storage.  If you're trying to meet weight loss goals then you can make foods that keep you heading towards these goals.  You can avoid preservatives that cause water retention.  The most important thing is that your path to long term storage is clear of many dietary issues that hold many of us back.  

This is how we got over the fence and started on this journey.  It is my hope that this site will help you make the decision that is right for you or your family.

Make Your Own Toilet Paper Vacuum Pump Oil Filter

7 Dec 2016

Follow our step by step guide to create your own vacuum pump oil filter out of toilet paper and a Brita water filter.  You may also be interested in our slide show video located here.

This is the method that we use to remove particulates that could cause the oil to degrade.  This allows us to re-use the oil for many loads before it finally breaks down.  ​

Get your supplies

10 cup Brita Filter - Click here to get the one we used

Toiler Paper

Coffee Filter

Knife - preferably a serrated knife

1

CUT AWAY SOME TOILET PAPER

Use the knife to cut off about 1 centimeter to a 1/2 an inch of toilet paper.  The fresher the roll, the less deep you need to cut.

2

ROLL SOME TOILET PAPER

Roll up about a quarter inch think layer of toilet paper.

3

KEEP ROLLING

Continue rolling more layers of toilet paper into the roll until the diameter is about a quarter inch bigger than the filter hole in the pitcher.

3

ADD THE COFFEE FILTER

Wrap a coffee filter around one end of the roll.

4

INSERT THE FILTER ROLL

Push the toilet paper filter roll into the hole in the water filter pitcher.  The coffee filter end should enter the hole first.  

5

KEEP PUSHING

Push the filter into the hole and until the roll is almost all the way in.  Make sure the fit is snug so that oil cannot bypass the filter.

6

CHECK THE OTHER SIDE

Verify from the bottom of the filter hole that the filter is snug on that end as well.  An open bottom like the one shown will make it easy to push a dirty filter back out.

7

ADD YOUR DIRTY OIL

Pour the dirty vacuum pump oil into the pitcher.  It will take a while for the toilet paper to absorb the oil.  

8

WAIT SOME MORE

It will take anywhere from 8 to 48 hours to filter, depending on your pitcher and toilet paper.  The filter shown does the job in about 8 hours.

9

ADMIRE YOUR CLEAR OIL

The toilet paper will clean up the oil for many loads.  We've filtered many loads already without having to change the toilet paper.  You will lose roughly 13 oz of oil to new toilet paper when you replace the roll.

See our slide show and recommended filter here

Save Money By Buying In Peak Season

29 Nov 2016

There are two awesome ways to save a lot of money on fruits and veggies when storing food for the long term.

1

Buy veggies while they are in peak season

Fruits and veggies can be found with almost 50% lower prices while in peak season.

Focus on freeze drying your in season fruits and vegetables to save money.  You may also consider using some of your stored out of season foods each year to avoid buying at peak prices.

2

Buy frozen fruits and veggies

Frozen produce can be 1/2 the price of fresh produce. Check the freezer isles at Costco, Sam's Club, or your local bulk food store for frozen fruits and veggies. These bags can often be loaded right into a Harvest Right Freeze Dryer Tray, and be careful to spread the contents out evenly so that the tray is 1/2 inch full throughout.

It is recommended that you pre-freeze your freeze dryer when you load pre-frozen foods into the trays.  Pre-freezing food in a 0°F freezer gets the freezing cycle off to a great start.

We've put together these two simple charts to show which fruits and veggies are generally in season.  This charts are only useful inside the U.S.  There may be differences depending on your geographical location.

Peak Seasons for Vegetables

Peak Seasons for Fruit

Prefer the PDF? Click here to download!

 

You can lay it away

28 Nov 2016

Had I not read the reviews and comments of other users, I wouldn't have known the real advantage of the layaway program.  You can't miss the notice that sticks out at the top of the STORE page.

If that isn't awesome enough then read this

Once you have consistently paid for most of the total amount, they are willing to ship the Freeze Dryer. After that you will make monthly payments, interest free, until it is paid off.

Harvest Right Customer 

That's pretty flexible, but it could just be the experience of one customer. If you are considering buying a Harvest Right Freeze Dryer then you should certainly give them a call at 1-800-700-5508 and see if they can work something out.

Harvest Right Mylar Starter Kit
10” X 14” Mylar Bag (50 Pack) 7.0 Mil
8”X 12” Mylar Bag (50 Pack) 7.0 Mil

 

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Recent Posts

  • After months of agony…
  • Make Your Own Toilet Paper Vacuum Pump Oil Filter
  • Save Money By Buying In Peak Season
  • You can lay it away

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