Is Your Oxygen Absorber Doing it's Job?
Вставка
- Опубліковано 20 лют 2024
- Checking to see if the oxygen absorber is doing its job.
Let's talk about it.
Want to support this channel? Buy me a coffee :-) www.buymeacoffee.com/DanZm
AFFILIATE LINKS & REFERRALS - I earn from qualifying purchases from the links provided
───────────────
As an Amazon Affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases from the links provided. By clicking on the links, you can explore the products and tools I use.
www.amazon.com/shop/schoolrep...
---------------------------------------------------
PackFreshUSA
We have been buying oxygen absorbers and 7 mil Mylar bags from PackFreshUSA since early 2018. During all that time (1000's of bag and oxygen absorbers, and about 6 year before before we added this affiliate link) we have been happy with the products and service we have received from them.
I earn from qualifying purchases from the links provided. - packfreshusa.com/?rfsn=787757...
---------------------------------------------------
Harvest Right - If you are thinking of buying a freeze dryer, please consider supporting us by purchasing through our link. It helps us and costs you nothing!
affiliates.harvestright.com/9...
───────────────
Before buying a freeze dryer, perhaps research to find out more about the downside of the machine; some people have problems with their machine and it's big and heavy and hard to return!
Want to support the channel? Buy me a coffee :-) www.buymeacoffee.com/DanZm
Before buying a freeze dryer perhaps research to find out more about the downside of the machine; like with any big machine, some people say they have had problems with their machine and it's big and heavy and hard to return!
Here is the list of Freeze dryers I've heard of: (If anyone knows of any others, please add to the list) (as of July 23rd 2023)
harvestright.com/ (The only one I've used. We been very happy with it - affiliate link in description) All the others might be great, I've just never tried them.
p4lfood.com/ "The Cube" Same machine as the 4Patriots one? (Facebook page only a few months old?)
4patriots.com/products/4patriots-home-freeze-drying-system - Maybe built by Prep4 Life?
stayfreshfreezedry.com/ - One person start-up import business? (Judging by the corporation papers listing a home as the Registered Address)
www.cuddonfreezedry.com/products/ - Big - Probably not really a home unit. At least 20 times bigger than medium HR
wmmachinery.com/products/freeze-dryer-for-home-use - Lower priced. Shipped direct from China?
www.labrotovap.com/portfolio-item/large-home-freeze-dryer-lyophilizer-for-sale/ - Knockoff? Even used some of Harvest Right web page photos.
www.usalab.com/freeze-dryers/ - Two models? Do they make or rebrand.
freezedryco.com/equipment/food-cannabis/ Freeze Dry Company - more commercial
www.hudsonvalleylyomac.com/stratus-mp3-series-floor-model.html Hudson Valley Lyomac - not really home size units
d-freeze.com/ D-Freeze - Not out yet, being built in Canada
www.freezedryfood.de/en/ FreezeDry German
bluealpinefreezedryers.com/ Blue Alpine Freeze Dryers - Idaho - Very new/Start-up - Looks promising
I'm poised to order my freeze dryer and I'm SO grateful I found your channel. I've been given a LOT of terrible advice. Had I not stumbled over you I would've had a horror show on my hands in about two years.
- I was directed to moisture absorbers instead of oxygen absorbers (with a link!)
- I was told to get a bag with a window so I could 'see' if my food went bad (they had a mold problem)
- I was told that I couldn't store fat (EVER), but still told that eggs did fine. I wasn't able to square that circle. That's what sent me digging for more information.
There's so much more that information I'm sure is wrong, but I haven't looked it all up yet so I don't know how much more I've got to undo. I'm pressing the pause button on my purchase. Yes, I'm absolutely still buying it, but I've got to toss out ALL of the old info and study up.
Thank you so much for being a trustworthy resource.
One thing that is bothering me are the unsanitary conditions that people are bagging under. I worked in restaurants for years and I don't understand how people can rub their bare fingers through the just-dried food, bag with animals underfoot, and not practice even the most basic food safety practices... and still think their food is sterile in the bag. Am I crazy, but couldn't anaerobic bacteria get at least a small foothold?
Please tell me if I'm wrong about that. If it's a non-issue, let me know. I'm so ignorant that it burns. lol! (At least now I know I'm ignorant, thank heavens.)
@@vociferonheraldofthewinter2284 Wow! There is a lot here. I probably won't get it all the first time, please keep asking if I don't fully answer any question you have, and I'll try again.
My first career was in the food industry (20+ years - for a gourmet fruit & bakery company) which is probably why I believe in doing testing on every batch, like doing the _Dry Check_ process, It's just not that difficult to do the process of testing on every batch, every time, even if we never find a problem. Even if we never found anything out of spec after testing a thousand batches of cakes, we didn't stop doing the test.
- unsanitary conditions -
I am going to tell you that you're wrong (kind of) but mostly that you're very, very right. It's certainly not a non-issue! 😁 (Hows that for wishy-washy?) Assuming that the food is properly dry, meaning the water activity (aw) is very low, then bacteria _growth_ of any kind is not possible, anaerobic or otherwise. But, and it's a really big but, if people have unsanitary conditions, they could easily transfer in bacteria that could remain dormant until they open the bag and rehydrate it, then it might be able to grow just fine.
I'm a big proponent of often hand washing while working on our freeze drying, not overly fondling the food, and never having pets in the entire freeze drying area. But I'm not a big glove wearer except for things like raw meats or sticky items.
My sister was telling me about a freeze drying video she saw were the person had a number of bags of freeze dried meat he was checking, all dumped out onto plates, hands going from one to another. The problem is that at least one of them was _raw_ meat! Touched them all extensively, and then re-bagged and sealed them! (I'm so glad I stopped watching others' freeze drying videos)
- moisture absorbers instead of oxygen absorbers -
I just don't understand that. Just no! Not remotely the same job! How about corn flakes in your car instead of gas.
- I was told to get a bag with a window so I could 'see' if my food went bad
Process it correctly, it doesn't go bad. The window bags have a higher Oxygen Transmission Rate. I only use them for very short term
candy items. Plus, clear bags let in light, and light is bad for the food.
- I was told that I couldn't store fat (EVER)
Have you seen this video of mine yet? 🤣🤣Putting Lots Of Fat In The Freeze Dryer. A LOT! -- Responding to Anti Fat Comments - ua-cam.com/video/43ieIl3EB8k/v-deo.htmlsi=Hqk1n2UC42tfLvZK
I've been told I couldn't do a number of things *in the comments of videos showing me doing the thing!*
@@SchoolReports So the mold my friend had MUST have been a moisture issue?
And oh, yes. I saw your fat video. That's what earned my sub and kicked off my addiction. lol!
@@vociferonheraldofthewinter2284 The short answer is - Yes.
Unfortunately a lot of people are still just trusting their machines to "know" when the food is dry. The machine CAN NOT know if it's dry. The current ones just don't work that way.
If the _Water Activity (aw)_ level is low enough nothing can grow.
I know that with my method of testing, I'm not directly testing the water activity level, but that is part of why I'm continuing the freeze drying process until all water loss has stopped. - I'm trying to make sure to remove the bound water during the secondary drying. (The final drying or "extra" drying process)
#1 rule of freeze drying - Never trust the freeze dryer or a spot check moisture meter to tell you if the food is dry! It can't know! I'm paranoid about having water in my freeze dried bags of food.
I highly recommend these videos as a starting point to learn about water activity levels, if you're interested.
Water activity 101: Master the basics of water activity in food safety - ua-cam.com/video/9gN4z1nMI3I/v-deo.htmlsi=HEz33MXuAIMF4N-b
Water Activity 102: Microbial Growth - ua-cam.com/video/PDPOh89evNs/v-deo.htmlsi=rVeROfSU0h1J4y7I
Watching you freeze dry garden vegetables
I also have watched you for a long time
I’m going to keep a ledger
I hope to order my freeze dryer by mid spring
Hopefully I will be in my new house by then
God bless you and your family 🙏♥️🙏🌽🍏🍎🥩🫘🍌
Are you going to have a garden at the new place? Garden fresh green beans are so good! We haven't been able to have a garden at our current house and I miss it.
@@SchoolReports I will probably buy at the Amish and the produce company where I used to sell produce
I want to have raised beds due to my disability in my back
I’m 67 and haven’t raised a garden since I was little
I do want to support my local farmers market
I am gonna write your steps and process it
I could have a garden here I have 38 1/2 acres but I am going to deed it to my son and buy a place near him
God bless you my friend and your family
I will learn and grow as you teach us in your videos 🙏♥️🙏
@@paulettagyurik2644 👍 We are similar age and in similar condition. 🙂
I did have gardens most of my life and miss it. At our farmers markets around here the prices are so sky high that it's just out of reach for most people. For apples We go to a very nice little U-pick orchard; the apples are only 50 cents per pound.
What will the empact on the environment from discarded oxygen absorbers and moisture absorbers.
Also for short term storage, a year or so, will vacuum packed and a cool dark place be good enough..
Using an insulated zipper top closure reusable grocery bags be ok for the above-mentioned storage?
I believe your the best resource for trustworthy information,
Good questions.
I would think that pretty much any environmental impact issue will be the actual packet material and not the contents.
The oxygen absorbers most of us use contain iron powder (along with activated carbon and salt) which becomes iron oxide as it reacts to absorb the oxygen, so that part should not be a concern. The moisture absorbers usually contain silica gel, bentonite clay, or diatomaceous earth, none of which should cause any issue. Also, while it shouldn't hurt anything (except the pocketbook) desiccants should never be needed in freeze dried food.
Personally, I wouldn't try to store anything for more than a few weeks (maybe a few months) without an oxygen absorber. I suppose it might depend a great deal on which food, what container, and how well it is vacuumed. The best I've been able to vacuum a quart jar still left about 4.4cc's of oxygen in the jar. But still, after spending the time and money to get the food, prep it, freeze dry it, bag it, (or jars?) vacuum and seal/lid it, I'm not sure under what conditions I would not add the 4 cent oxygen absorber. (I would use the 100cc size if I were vacuuming the bags/jars) I assume you're talking about clear jars and therefore the need for the insulated (light resistant) bag. That would probably be a good choice for storage. 👍
All that being said, I would guess that there could be foods that could do fine under those conditions for a year or more. But I don't know which ones or for how long because I haven't done any testing. I haven't purposely tested foods stored without oxygen absorbers, but with all the other conditions being the same as I usually do, to find out how much they degrade over time. The only samples I've had that were bagged without oxygen absorbers were for planned testing within a few days. I have had a sample or two of those absorber-free bags end up sitting on the counter for a few weeks and they have almost always degraded enough to see the difference. But those were not controlled experiments, so I can't say if the changes were due to oxygen in the bag, light exposure (I often use clear bags to make it better for video when I "know" I'm going to do the testing the next day), or a combination of factors. ua-cam.com/video/-wX0hml0J6U/v-deo.htmlsi=oTKiUvj96je03Adr
A tiny bit of oxygen goes a long ways when it comes to rancidity. I would avoid foods that has any fats in it for testing storing without oxygen absorbers, even if it's just planned for a few months.
Aww 4 am stream (for me) 😅, love the info like always 😊
I was either way too late or way too early.🤔
@@SchoolReportsas long it stays on the channel it's not of a big problem 😊
@@kuroimushi9421 It does stay there, but you might have to look for it in the "Live" tab. Also, after it (YT) finishes processing the video, all the chats/comments/questions from during the stream should be visible.
Great information thankyou :)
Thanks! Boy, that guy does go on and on! 🤣
@@SchoolReports 🤣😂 Yes but i missed some of the conversation because i couldn't see the hands talking 😅
@@kerry1963qld Exactly! 🤣
The only xa I have gotten to work for me is the 500. It always works for me. I’ve used different brands but the lower ones do nothing
Interesting. I've tested our 100s, 300s and 500s. All of ours worked and "absorbed" at least 180% of their rated amounts. And this is why I think testing is important - to make sure what you're using is actually working.