Rehydrating 6 1/2 Year Old Freeze Dried Chicken (and 1 1/2 Year Old) From Batch 9 & Batch 525
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- Опубліковано 1 лют 2024
- Rehydrating freeze dried chicken from two batches, batch #9 and batch #525. Batch 525 was 10 lbs of Costco rotisserie chicken - • Freeze Drying Your Fir... (Batch #9 was from before I started recording any of the freeze drying)
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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...
Use the discount code "SchoolReports5" to get 10% off your first purchase when using the link.
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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!
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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!
When trying to decide what to freeze dry you can start by asking why.
Start by asking yourself this question. Why are you freeze drying food? Knowing this should help you decide what you should freeze dry first.
I'm freeze drying because:
Just to freeze dry leftovers?
You want to make your own food for camping/backpacking?
For if/when the SHTF?
For a short term emergency?
You have your own garden and want to freeze dry the food?
You love Costco but don't have a family of 6?
You are good at finding the food sales but only have 1 freezer?
When you cook homemade chili just for yourself you make 10 gallons? Because you have 3 full freezers and are worried about power outages?
If I knew then what I know now, I would have freeze dried things in a different order. Or maybe not, because I started freeze drying because we had 3 full freezers, I was thinking of getting another one, and I decided I should buy a walk-in freezer instead. I started looking into walk-ins and realized they were expensive to buy (even used ones) AND expensive to own and operate. Then I found out Harvest Right was making home sized freeze dryers. One of my first thoughts was "I like Mountain House!" I have used their food for backpacking almost 45 years and we even kept some in our travel trailer, for just in case.
Freeze dried food will stay fresh for many years and be ready and waiting when you need it.
We do videos showing how we are using our Harvest Right Freeze Dryer to freeze dry food for long term storage. (We have the medium size machine that we got in August of 2017) We talk about how to load and unload the freeze dryer, how to know if the food is dry, is it better to freeze dry raw food or cooked food, and do a few taste tests. Freeze dried food is also great for prepping or just for camping and snacking!
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/schoolreports
---------------------------------------------------
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=7877576.a54e2a
Use the discount code "SchoolReports5" to get 10% off your first purchase when using the link.
---------------------------------------------------
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/995.html
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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!
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
Oh to be so ORGANIZED!!!
😁After we had about 10 bins worth of bags, and had started using some of them, we _had to_ get organized or loose track of everything! My IT person (wife) set up our spreadsheet and does the data entry for us.
Could you add second screen (sneak view) at the bottom (or at the end of video) of timelapse of power consumption throu whole process at different types of drying produces (one sort of dinner, fruit, veggie, candie, liquid?) I know I'm nagging little one 😅, but you're THE BEST informative guy on youtube...and you GIVE US YOUR PRECIOUS TIME to respond and make everything clear ❤
You're like a really cool uncle or grandpa to the viewers 😁
Thanks for the kind words!
I probably could, once or twice, but would it really be of any use to have a real-time power consumption reading? I'm all for data, but how could this data even be used. I already tell the total power use per batch. I'm not sure how it would be useful to know the minute-by-minute (or even hour-by-hour) power use, it's not like you can just stop 3/4 of the way through because the power use is up to some amount.
@@SchoolReports for people with high electric price it's vital, as you said some processes were just held on stand by because you didn't have time to get it out of the machine, also I'm surious about how much it consumes deppending on type of produce (does it eat up more for liquids? Or it's based only on weight), also you put long process for candiess (some say that 2h mark is enough for example skittless, but it's more for jelly type as for some it requires at least 6h, I'm curious about a lot of things, from different types of candies to herbs, one kind of veggie which I get from befriended veggie shop, raw eggs etc) 🤗.
I know it's better to leave it longer to be sure it's dry, but if it's dry for few hours after dry check, I would be eager to be on time (calculate the timer when the process is going to be completed), and make chart for different foods so I can addjust the drying time and weight of trays to not be needed by the machine 🤗
@@kuroimushi9421 I can understand why people would want to know, as close as possible, how long a batch is going to take. I'll see if I can record it some time, but I still don't think the details for one of my batches, in my machine, would be very useful for anyone else.
Total dry times can vary a great deal with _seemly_ identically loaded batches. There are so many variables to the dry times; type of food, water content, sugar content, temperature of the food when loading, ambient temperature of the room, how much food in a batch, more than one kind of food in a batch, food volume, how tightly it's packed, thickness on the tray, how well it contacts the tray, how porous the food is, how the food was sliced (this made a huge difference with citrus and pineapple), how clean the vacuum oil is (if it's an oil pump), the weather - temperature and humidity make a difference! Oh, and of course, which model, year, and firmware it is.
There are 2 main factors for the amount of power used for a batch: 1) The food water weight of the batch, and 2) How difficult it is to sublimate the ice out of the food. Another factor that makes a pretty big difference in dry time is how tall the food is stacked on the trays, which relates to both #1 and #2.
(Candies are a bit different. Most candy has very little water, it will puff up quickly and look done, and not everyone cares if the candy is really "dry" because it's sugar and really "spoil" and most isn't going to be stored)
I don't know if you've already seen this: Data from 50 batches, including power usage - First 500 lbs data spreadsheet link: docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ieekdk5aH_2OWLUealeOLurU9_zl03BfFEg_qhAgcaA/edit?usp=sharing
The data from the machine could be used to calculate the power usage minute-by-minute. It could also be used to find out the exact amount of time the machine has been waiting.
Harvest Right data download - ua-cam.com/video/1-9vI1rLRwA/v-deo.htmlsi=OZQUdhKtZZ5rOrJc
How To Graph Your Harvest Right Data - ua-cam.com/video/dFHKZmbDIG8/v-deo.htmlsi=2pI_vEdGFCmFhXYz
Power usage:
Refrigeration only = about 275w - So, when it sitting and waiting, this is what it's using.
Refrigeration and vacuum pump = about 550w
Refrigeration, vacuum pump and tray heaters = about 1250w
SUPER EXCELLENT REHYDRATE VIDEO - THANK YOU!
Impressive pantry :)
Thanks. 😊 I am going to be showing a few more of the 6 year old items to see how they've been holding up.
@@SchoolReports Ive just used a few items from 2018 and still really good
@@kerry1963qld I just did a quick count on the spreadsheet and I think we only have 52 bags (11 different things) left from 2017.
Have you done a short video (not a "short" but just a 10 minute video) specifically explaining fully how and WHY to do the weight loss checks? You should!! explain grams vs ounces and when you can trust that food is dry. I often refer facebook group members to your videos (especially the FAT one) and it would be helpful if you would do a how/why of weight loss theory. I know you demonstrate it in almost every video but one specifically discussing weight loss would be awesome.
Thanks so much for asking. I am trying to work on this now.
😁Watch out, I've heard from a couple of viewers that said they were kicked out of freeze dryer groups for saying that some commercial freeze dried foods have fat, or that maybe they should check to make sure it's dry before bagging. Heresy! 🤣
and how did it taste like? Could you tell it was freeze dried or it taste the exact same?
It taste the same. In the side-by-side blind taste tests we've done (granted we only had 6 tasters and none of us are pros), no one could tell the difference with this chicken.
Have you found that adding warm liquid to cooked food rehydrates better than cold? Or no noticeable difference?
Short answer is - it depends.😁
In general, the hotter the water, the faster the rehydrating.
However, we use cold water or even ice water to rehydrate some things if we don't want to get it hot, like pickles.
For raw hamburger patties I use cold water if I want them to rehydrate them for grilling, but hot water if I'm cooking it for hamburger helper.
If I've planned ahead and have lots of time, I'd rehydrate in the fridge and start with cold water.
Check out this older video comparing rehydrating with cold vs hot water:
Freeze Drying 8 lbs of Asparagus and Rehydrating a Sample - ua-cam.com/video/ER71w7jur9s/v-deo.htmlsi=X5mKO0YP1P-Hjdwo&t=332
Have you been using the same freeze dryer for 7 years? 2017 to 2024
About 6 years 7 months. We got our freeze dryer (the red one in the videos) in August of 2017 and have done 653 (or 654) batches with it. I've only done a few batches this year because I've been busy with other projects and I'm kind of out of freeze dried storage space. My sister got her machine (the white one in the videos) in late 2022 and she has finished over 120 batches in it.
👍👍👍👍👍
What is the tester to check oxygen absorber?
I should have put "Tester" in air quotes! 😁(But it does do the job and is almost free) I'm finishing a new video about this right now.
Here's the older one:
Testing a Used Oxygen Absorber - ua-cam.com/video/JkBdeXT-Dv8/v-deo.htmlsi=JgBwqlWDSkpeab33
I can't thank you enough for your videos.
Sone of your bags, i.e, the Costco chicken look like the bag has been vacuum packed, where as the cooked chicken breast slices does not look vacuum baked. I know with an oxygen absorber it is not necessary to vacuum pack. Can you explain one vs the other?
It is sucked down and the oxygen absorber did it's job. The bags only get 21% smaller when using an oxygen absorber, and with that big size bag that's not crammed full, it might not be as easy to see. If it hadn't sucked down, the bag would still be smooth and puffy. You can see it best in the thumbnail photo.
Even with vacuum packing, oxygen absorbers are needed for long term storage.
@@SchoolReports So to clarify you do use something to draw out the excess air in the package before sealing it? I understood that the oxygen absorber will remove oxygen but the remaining inert gas, hydrogen is still in the bag and that not seeing the bag sucked in was still ok? I try do draw some air out but don't want to crush the contents in the process. And yes the oxygen absorbers are a must for long term for sure.
@@PlanB-Idaho Great questions!
I don't usually worry about removing the extra air unless there is a lot of extra space. (meaning I've used too big of a bag and I don't want to switch) In fact, for some fragile items, I've even blown the bags up like a balloon to protect the food from breakage when the are sucked down. Batch 609 Freeze Drying Tomato Slices - ua-cam.com/video/F2351166JZM/v-deo.htmlsi=ziok7Pjhz7NBAnyS&t=1814
Assuming the oxygen absorber is working as it should, the bags should always get smaller. Calculating how much smaller would be hard (at least for me), you'd have to know how much air is in the bag versus how much space the food takes up, and how much air is inside the food. Only the air volume is going to shrink, and it's going to shrink by about 21%. Example: If you had a bag filled with one liter of air (1000 cc), it's going to shrink by about 210 cc. If that same bag was filled with 50% solids, still filled to 1000 cc (Most freeze dried foods are more than 50% air by volume.), that would leave only 500cc of air and therefore it would only shrink down by about 105 cc. (I suppose we could be doing a simple before and after displacement test. I'll have to see if I can set that up) Bottom line is that I believe you should always be able to tell that the bags have shrunk down when using an oxygen absorber, but sometimes it may be subtle.
I don't think hydrogen would ever be any issue. Hydrogen makes up such a tiny fraction of the air (around 0.5 ppm), and the atom/molecule size is so small it would go through Mylar bags like they were screen doors.
But how did it taste ?
Fair question! Thanks for asking.
It tastes the same as before freeze drying, like almost all freeze dried foods.
Top tip: did you know you can freeze dry your oxygen absorbers to reset them and reuse the spent ones? Never throw them away! Not unless ripped. :). Any water in the absorber can be dried off and put them straight from the freeze dryer into a sealed bag to use again when needed :)
NO! No. No. No!
That's not a thing with oxygen absorbers. That can work for _moisture_ absorbers, but _NOT_ oxygen absorbers. This type of oxygen absorbers convert the iron and oxygen into iron-oxide. It can not be reversed by "drying them."
@@SchoolReports Ah, I just use the little silica gel absorbers. I didn't notice the terminology distinction. Apologies I just went for the cheapest ones I could get lol. I assumed they were all just silica gel or other desiccants. 'Oxygen absorbers' seem to be way more expensive! Are they significantly better?
@@ashmash1934
Desiccants and oxygen absorbers are two completely different things, used for different purposes.
The oxygen absorbers remove (forms iron oxide) the oxygen from the bags/containers to prevent oxidation of the food. (The ones I've been using cost about 10 cent each) The food won't stay in good condition long term if there is oxygen in the container.
Oxidation causes:
Oils and fats to become rancid
Darkening and browning
Loss of nutrients like vitamin C
Stale flavors in bakery goods
Modification of protein molecules
In addition to directly causing damage, the presence of oxygen permits all sorts of organisms to infest food, sometimes causing great harm.
Desiccants (moisture absorbers), aren’t made to absorb excess moisture from food that wasn’t fully 100% dry. They don’t have enough absorbing power to do this and moreover they’re not made for this purpose. They’re not needed if you make sure that your food is fully dry. They should never be used as a fail safe for under dried food. If it's not dry your food will likely fail and be inedible when you need it most.
If properly dried, a desiccant pack should never be needed in a freeze dried food bag, it certainly shouldn't hurt, but it shouldn't do anything either. And, if the food wasn't completely, properly dried, it probably won't help either.
I don't think that putting desiccant packs in with the oxygen absorber would do any harm because they do completely different things and (probably?) won't interfere with each other. (Though, I don't think Silica Gel will do what people think they will do, because it stores the water, it doesn't convert it. It's still there.) I could be totally wrong, I don't know enough of the science of Silica Gel.
I never have used them in my bags and I haven't seen any science/commercial papers saying that I should be adding desiccant packs. I've never seen desiccant packs in commercially made freeze dried food packs.They would have them if they were needed.
I found this in the Q & A area at PackFreshUSA: The desiccant absorbs moisture. If you have an Oxygen Absorber system with a good seal, there is not really a need for one . . . . You wouldn’t be the first to use one and it certainly wont hurt... it just is likely not necessary.
They sell desiccant packs, but it doesn't sound like they are trying very hard to sell them to us. (Us, meaning people doing home freeze drying.)
The main mechanisms for the fats to go rancid involve water and/or oxygen and can be triggered by light and accelerated by higher temperatures, including cooking. During freeze drying, packaging and storage, we are removing the water, oxygen, and light.
There are plenty of scientific and industry papers out there about food rancidity, and I've found them to be very interesting and informative; here's one - Chemists define roughly two ways a product can turn rancid: (Super simplified ) 1. Oxidative rancidity: Reaction involves oxygen 2. Hydrolytic rancidity: Reaction involves water Rancidity of Food: Introduction, Types, Factors and Prevention of Rancidity | Food Chemistry | Biotechnology www.biotechnologynotes.com/food-biotechnology/food-chemistry/rancidity-of-food-introduction-types-factors-and-prevention-of-rancidity-food-chemistry-biotechnology/14100
Remember, I'm just another idiot on the internet. I look at what commercial companies are doing. If they can do it, we probably can too. (with method adjustments)
"If you read it on the Internet, it's absolutely true!" - Abraham Lincoln