Freeze Drying Your First 500 lbs of Food - Batch 25 - Chicken, Costco, Rotisserie
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- Опубліковано 2 жов 2024
- Freeze dryer batch (of this series) #25 - 10 lbs of Costco rotisserie chicken. Started freeze drying this batch June 10th.
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Cost of the Chicken $19.96 for 10 lbs
Total batch time: 34 hours 55 minutes
Weight before drying: 10 lbs, Weight after drying: 1387 grams (about 3 lb)
Power use: 26.02 kWh
Bagged into: 13 quart 7 mil Mylar bags with 300cc oxygen absorbers.
First 500 lbs data spreadsheet link: docs.google.co...
Batch worksheet link:
4 tray - 2 per sheet (Feel free to download a copy and use it anyway you want. You don't need to ask :) docs.google.co...
5 tray - 2 per sheet (Feel free to download a copy and use it anyway you want. You don't need to ask :) docs.google.co...
6 tray - 2 per sheet (Feel free to download a copy and use it anyway you want. You don't need to ask :) docs.google.co...
This list is about getting started on a 500 lb mixed pantry of freeze dried foods in 100 days.
(This may be a bit optimistic and perhaps it'll only be 400 lbs)
Goal of about 85 lbs per category. (100 lbs per category if we don't do the Meals/Dishes)
1) Meats:
2) Vegetables:
3) Fruits:
4) Dairy:
5) Grain / Starch:
6) Meals / Dishes:
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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?
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 the channel? Buy me a coffee :-) www.buymeacoffee.com/DanZm
First 500 lbs data spreadsheet link: docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ieekdk5aH_2OWLUealeOLurU9_zl03BfFEg_qhAgcaA/edit?usp=sharing
Batch worksheet link:
Freeze Drying batch worksheet - 4 tray - 2 per sheet (Feel free to download a copy and use it anyway you want. You don't need to ask :) docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/14_1KDR7-eEv_h9EdwJcHb2Dex5MuhnxlDV24qPR7H6c/edit?usp=sharing
Freeze Drying batch worksheet - 5 tray - 2 per sheet (Feel free to download a copy and use it anyway you want. You don't need to ask :) docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1tgNrGRD3BICKsokLxuClAbQAYvHfDTmbXu6XvA089nc/edit?usp=sharing
Freeze Drying batch worksheet - 6 tray - 2 per sheet (Feel free to download a copy and use it anyway you want. You don't need to ask :) docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1d3x-gaD3_5SYravfrmk-SxUsp875T0lZsRmi8MLrKPU/edit?usp=sharing
Can I ask what you are using for pan liners?
@@2coolartsmusicmom572 We use parchment that cut from rolls we get from Costco. They work out to about 2 to 3 cents per sheet.
Cutting Parchment Paper for our Freeze Dryer Trays ua-cam.com/video/1fKKvZ8gDtQ/v-deo.html
Cutting More Parchment Paper for our Freeze Dryer Trays ua-cam.com/video/td9lV6ftWhQ/v-deo.html
@Michael Gammon
a
You should cook the broth for a 'long' time, to turn it into bone broth. You might even add some cut onion, carrot and celery and some choice spice to preseason it. That way if you dehydrate it you've got ready made, extremely nutritious,very tasty, good for everything bullion powder that would be a cinch to use even in a grid down/survival situation.
Yum!
I cook the bones with the veggies. When cooked to death I cool them, blend the broth and veggies to a paste and pour in sheet pans on parchment paper and dry in the oven. Once dry, back into the blender to turn to a meat / vegetable powder to use as a soup starter. Saves space. Other times I'll just pressure can the stock.
@@eckankar7756 I love this idea.
@@fullhalf420 Sounds delicious!
Pressure cooker too
I'm not sure you realise just how informative this video is. You go into great detail that no one else has. Much appreciated, just a pity the machines are so expensive. Well done!!
Thanks!
True, they are expensive, but they are shareable, too. Splitting the cost 2 or 3 ways can make them much more affordable for more people.
Stupid. The electricity cost makes this more expensive than the food. The spoilage on fatty chicken might be 6 months.
The newest machines are less than the price I paid 2-3 years ago. I paid $2895 (plus tax) for a medium freeze drier. The new larger medium machine sells for $2695 and has a significantly larger tray that freezes more food each load. The best sale all year is always the Black Friday sale.
Just want to show my appreciation for how well you lay everything out,and how meticulous,methodical,and scientific you are to make certain the product you freeze dry will last for many years and take little if no guesswork to reconstitute.Theres only one other ,who’s knowledge I’ve adopted and utilized in my own efforts to build a fully functional,very organized preppers pantry.The rest make obvious mistakes I don’t care to waste my time watching.Keep the videos rolling..your shirts crack me up😂
Thanks so much for watching and for commenting!
(So many shirts!)
Favorite tip: weighing finished bags and documenting it on the bag to know if it gained moisture (went bad)
Thanks! 👍 And hopefully we never need it!
But we did once get a bad bunch of bags and had to re-work hundreds of bags. (Almost all before it was too late) The Freeze Dry Video I Never Wanted to Make - ua-cam.com/video/B0KUfoHuCk4/v-deo.htmlsi=zmNF_VmMpmrR9yBa
And the use of the fans! 😉 His plexiglass cover! Will be watching all his videos for more tips. Made me subscribe. I don't own a freeze dryer yet, but when next Black Friday sale comes around,,,,,,,
Can you explain in a bit more detail, why weigh the trays before freeze drying, w/ the weight of the Tray and not doing a Tare-Weight on the Tray? That part didn't make sense to me. I thought you'd only weigh the Chicken itself ?
I'm proud of my own emergency supply, but I really envy yours... Costco chicken!? Well done, that's premium survival food.
I love Costco rotisserie chicken. I used to inspect at the plant who produces this delicious product. The smell when they inject those birds is delightful.
I've always assumed they're injected with unicorn tears and magical seasonings! So Good.
If this is how you freeze dry chicken I can’t even imagine what it would be like to do any engineering project with you.
😇 🤣 The engineers I've worked with (as far as I knew) always liked working with me. I already really knew what I wanted, had worked out the components of the project and I had realistic expectations. I just needed help with the materials load calculations and and how to describe the specs to the fabricator.
Lol
@@SchoolReports you're a doll.
Excellent video, excellent work, excellent message and excellent exicusion. I know how tough it is to do this as a one man band, from the cameras and microphones, and having to ask other for help while shooting. Bravo Sir!!!, Well done 🤩
Thanks. I recently added a mic that turns on and starts recording when I open the case. I'm hoping for less times of missing audio. 🤣 It's already saved the audio at least once.
This is the first of your videos I have watched; it is the most exhaustive treatment of freeze drying I have yet seen. The process is more complicated than others make it seem, but now I know what it will take to lay in a long term supply of freeze dried food. Thankyou.
Thanks for watching! Part of my goal for this series was to share the how and why of how I do freeze drying, in as much detail as possible. (With extra data gathering, because viewers asked)
I feel it's important to point out that we have an older firmware machine (2017) and that I like to add things to the process that are not required to get the job done, like adding thermometers in the food or parchment on the trays.
First freeze dryer video I
Have watched. Why do you have to freeze the chicken first, then put in freeze dryer?
@@joankirch8635 just like priming a pump, you pre-chill the food and tray, you pre-chill the machine , everything works faster & more efficiently.
@@joankirch8635do you not pre-heat an oven before baking ?
Electric mixer makes shredding easy.
New drinking game have a drink everytime you hear this “I can’t get this chicken for this price anywhere else “
I just finished 10 lbs of upper thigh and drumb sticks- I cook them all in big roaster with water covering then- salt pepoer and garlic powder- I cook it pretty high to start and then to 400- then turn off 😢and let sit 20 more min- so full time is 80 min- - makes good broth- I lick all meat off bones and freeze small amounts in small bags And use 2 gts filled half full of meat and then U get broth boiling and fill the 2 gts and any broth left I can in pint jars- for soup or just with spaghetti or gravy-Nov- 2nd bought for 59cents a lb in 10 lb bag- I clean the scrap bons off and eat for my next meal- And I like skin-my age 87- store was piggly wiggly
My broth always taste great
Just found a channel I love it I can't wait to binge-watch everything
Thanks!
But, be warned, I have heard from some "authorities" (commenters on UA-cam🤣) that Costco Rotisserie Chicken is one of the worst foods there is!
I appreciate all your attention to detail.... I think. I am glad that I didn't see this video first or I'd probably have just skipped past any thought of buying a freeze dryer because I'm not buying it because I love so much more work. My HR medium is being shipped this week so we'll see how it goes.
Thanks for watching and for commenting!
The freeze drying process really is a lot simpler and quicker than the prepping and cooking most meals! I do show steps that are not "required" for the freeze drying process because people have asked to see them. But on the other hand I want to be realistic about the process. Some people doing freeze drying pretend that the machines can "know" when the drying is complete - they can not. The _Dry Check_ process is the only really important step in the process.
The total needed hands-on time is actually very short and easy if you're not trying to document it on video. Like most new things, it seems a bit complicated the first time, but it's not.
This series of videos has been the best thing I've come across. Having goals like this is an awesome way to go, especially since I'm a relatively new freeze dryer. Thanks so much for the great idea!
Yes! I don’t know why he isn’t getting more views. 🙂
I really wish I'd had goals when I started. What a difference it has made. I'm terrible at getting things done unless I have a deadline; I keep meaning to join The Procrastinators Club, but I keep putting it off!
@@SchoolReports I finally joined but they keep putting off the first meeting.
Thanks for sharing , who would have thought the opening wasn't perfectly round , Ill have to wait till i can find my perspex rounds to see if it fits and I have to agree with comments below this really is the best freeze dey channel for information :)
:) Very detailed like a School Teacher. I enjoyed watching.
This is by far one of the best video's I've ever seen for a Freeze Dry video. You are methodical and professional in your video. I'd be curious about what you do for a living. My guess would be something in STEM.
Thanks so much for watching and commenting!
I was never technically employed in the STEM field, but it was part of my everyday job, and I did teach classes for a couple years at a company I worked for. (Process improvement, quality assurance, lot tracing, etc)
My first career was in the food industry (20+ years - for a "premium food and gift producer" company), then photographer, next homeschool dad where I homeschooled our kids in conjunction with charter schools. That morphed into teaching elective classes at a couple local charter schools geared towards home-school families (3D Design and Printing for 3+ years for 6th - 8th grades), and now just another idiot on UA-cam! 🤣
I think I learned more while homeschooling our kids, and teaching, than I ever did while going to school. I highly recommend teaching as a way to learn. If anyone asks, after shop/elective classes, science class is #1, math is a close second tied with history. English class doesn't make the top 10!
Hihi just finished freeze drying my first batch of Costco Chicken. I got 6.5 lbs of deboned skinned meat from 3 chickens and about 3/4 of a gallon of broth to be cooked down before freeze drying it. The chicken bits are bagged and took about 37 hrs. Thanks so much for the instructional guidance.
How much did the 6.5 lbs of chicken weigh after it was freeze dried? Just curious, because 17 oz of freeze dried chicken cost $69.99 on sale. I wanted to see how much more valuable a $4.99 chicken could become after it was freeze dried. Thanks.
@@DangerClose13E2lbs
Fascinating. Don’t have a freeze drier… don’t even have Costco in the part of my world😂 but hey, one can dream.
No freeze dryer? - I can understand. (They are shareable, too. Splitting the cost 2 or 3 (or more) ways can make them much more affordable)
No Costco? - Not sure I could live that way! When looking at possible places to move to, I start by looking at the Costco locations map and draw a circle with a radius of about 10 miles and try to stay inside that.🤣
@@SchoolReports wish I could do the same. Southeast Asia. I dunno if Costco will ever come here but we make do until then.
@@sudoym3484 That would make the shopping trip a little harder:)
Here's someone a bit closer. 😁 PH Expat Prepper www.youtube.com/@PHExpatPrepper/videos
@@SchoolReports oh wow, thank you. I’ll go check his channel.
200 pans of freeze dried chicken! wowza
Gallon plastic baggy. Smush it around. Bones separate from skin and chicken. Less than 1 min.
Thanks! A couple of people have mentioned doing it that way. I hope I remember to try it that way the next time I want to do this, it sounds great - so much faster.
Do you do it while it's still warm? If so, how warm?
This is by far the most informative freeze drying video I've seen yet. You have presented details I've not seen elsewhere. ❤
Thanks so much for watching and commenting!
On this other video I try to show every _tedious_ detail! 😁 Freeze Drying - The Next 50 Batches - Batch 585, Mixed Vegetables - Every Little Detail ua-cam.com/video/lpa3db5al20/v-deo.html
@@SchoolReports I subscribed and I will be watching.
We do the bone broth by adding a 1/4 cup of vinegar, carrots, celery, garlic and let it simmer in a slow cooker over night. Skim off the fat, save the bone broth to simmer down and FD... Then we take all the rest of the skin and bones and by now the bones are very soft. We package it up and freeze it to make dog food out of it... zero waste and I guarantee it is far and away better than any canned dog food. We pick through it and take out any bone pieces that are not soft (most of the bones are very soft and crush between your fingers) We put a small quantity on their dry dog food each day.
Once again, thanks. I had never even thought of using our slow cooker for this. It seems so obvious after you say it!
Thank you for an excellent informative video! Just came across your channel today and subscribed.
Thanks!
I made costco chicken broth the other day, it came out fabulous. Recommended.
Very interesting video! My husband and I are really interested in a freeze dryer! This is Great Information! Thank you ❤️😊
Wow. The attention to detail here is *chef's kiss* 😚
Thank you! 🤗
I’m not sure about the advantages of freeze dried beans vs canned.
One advantage is that freeze dried food is lighter. Most people are just looking for additional ways to keep/use food. I love canned foods, but I'm not a fan of carrying cans of food on a hike.😁 Nutrition tends to be better with freeze dried over canned.
Also, personally, I'd trust freeze dried food over canned food after 20 years. (I know that the science may not agree - canned can last a very long time)
This is fascinating...just what I need another food addiction. I'm a good cook and rarely eat out but when I have an opportunity to get a Costco Chicken I get it, they are delicious. They add saline water to the chickens, so you are pulling that back out. If I were there with you doing this you'd only have 3 chickens to freeze dry, I'd have eaten the other.
I've been home canning for 50 years. I've got loads of so much stored away safely. Nice thing is it's easier, quicker and already hydrated when I open a jar. When catastrophe hits we may not have available water. Roast beef on sale, I bought 24 of them and canning them the next few days. Freeze drying looks like fun. Who knows, maybe I'll do it too. Great video.
Thanks so much for watching and commenting.
🤣 We had to buy 6 chickens to still have the 4 for this batch! 😁 I'm pretty sure they're injected with unicorn tears and magical seasonings!
I helped home can 50 years ago, but haven't canned anything other than jam in the last 30, and not even that in the last 10 or 15.
I will wait to go home and cook me something before I buy fast food or food.
Just remember you aren’t pulling the “saline” or the salt out just the water.
Do you think 5 year shelf life is achievable before it starts breaking down a bit? I know clean white rice etc. you can get 10 years or so, might be worth cycling it at 4 years.
Those chickens certainly have a lot of water weight in them.
I think that 20 or 30 years is achievable with chicken, and 30 years for freeze dried rice should be no problem. This is freeze dried, not dehydrated food.
I only have 6 years of personal experience with OUR freeze dried items, so I only KNOW it's good for about 5+ years. But, some foods may have a shorter shelf life; Mountain House only gives their ice cream bars a 3 year life span, and by way of comparison, has freeze dried ground beef that's good for 30 years. mountainhouse.com/collections/freeze-dried-meats/products/ground-beef-10-can
I think a lot of people forget about rotating stock (I'm a big advocate) when doing freeze drying. I want things to be as fresh as possible, plus as our methods improve, we should want to keep the newest, best things we've done!
@@SchoolReports Nice. Thanks! Yep rotating is smart, just in case there are any issues your food is very likely to still be fresh and good to go.
Would you make the Vector file available for the door cover? Id love to cut it on my laser, or cnc.. Also, do you feel its a necessary item? I see the argument both ways. Great video.. thanks
Nope! I cut it freehand! 😅 (If I had a file I would share it)
Here is how I made it. Making an Acrylic Disc Front for a Harvest Right Freeze Dryer ua-cam.com/video/erH1VDqNi80/v-deo.html If your freeze dryer is like ours, (2017) the opening is not quite round. For my first test piece I cut a very accurate circle out of a piece of foamcore and it had gaps of 1/8"+ (3mm +) around the edge.
My sister's new (late 2022) machine has a chamber that is very round. We will be making a disc for her machine and I think the fact that it's round will make it easier. I think hers is just a simple 11 7/8" diameter actual circle!
I just realized that I forgot to answer the question about the need for the disc. You don't NEED it. However, for us it's a useful addition because of two related things: condensation and heat transfer. First, while it's cooling, but before the vacuum pump starts, it helps with heat transfer. Second, because I often (very often!) don't get to the machine right away when it finishes, it just sit there chilling. Sometimes it waits 12 hours or more. Very chill, -40 chill. By the time I get around to it, without the front disc and seal insulation, the entire door and seal would be covered with condensation, both liquid and frozen. And then it melts and makes a mess.
For people that stay right on top the the process, ready to take it out and check it the minute it beeps, all this is totally unneeded.
After figuring in the cost of equipment and electricity to run the freeze dryer, but negating the labor, are you really saving money?
Great question.
The total cost of this batch of 10 lbs of chicken was $26.59 - including 4 chickens, electricity, bags, oxygen absorbers. A lot cheaper than commercially produced freeze dried food. Of course the hands on time is only a tiny fraction of the freeze drying time. (Especially when not videoing)
Number 10 cans of Mountain House diced chicken on Amazon are just under $60 and is 482 grams. This batch ended up as 1387 grams which works out to about 1387 / 482 = about 2.88 x $60 = $172.80 - $26.59 = about $146 savings on that batch - assuming buying #19 cans. When comparing to the smaller packs, like Mylar bags, the savings is higher. If I worked efficiently it could even labor costs, and more importantly to a lot of people, they can have the recipes they want instead of the commercially made freeze dried recipes.
In the recap video I did about the "50 Batch" series, I go over the payback time compared to buying bags of freeze dried food. The payback was less then 50 batches of misc. food. (With just batches of chicken the payback would be about 25 batches) Freeze Drying Your First 500 lbs of Food - Recapping the First 50 Batches ua-cam.com/video/IRkac5wrCzI/v-deo.html
Thank you! (PS - give me a hand was hilarious!)
Thanks! The hand sure cracked me up, too! (I wondered how long he'd been waiting to do that to me.)
I have never found a tutorial video SO FULL of real information, as yours. TYVM for all this DETAILED INFORMATION!!! Love your videos... please keep doing them!
Thanks so much for watching and commenting! Perfect timing.
I did chuckle a bit when I saw your comment in my new comment list this morning. 🤣
Not because of your comment, it's because the one I read just before yours was this one on yesterdays new video:
_Sad you just over analyze everything you do including your FD Videos to the point you lose your Freeze Drying audience & you apparently don't care what your viewers like myself are asking you for going forward which is simplicity!!! Good luck with everything as I am un-subscribing Now!_
Thank you for this channel and for taking the time to be meticulous about the process cause it helps me to comprehend the what and why and ins and outs of the process and you've also taken out the trial and error stage, very much appreciated indeed. This is the most complete tutorial on Freeze Drying I have seen. I am a nubile also so I appreciate all of the excellent and particular points that you make, I've learned a lot and P.s. I love your inventions, extra acrylic door, acrylic viewing panel flap, the fact that you measured the electrical usage; some very smart and handy tools.
Thank you so much! 🤣 Especially the 'meticulous' part, instead of words some people use.
proteins/ lipids/ carbs /vegetables / fruits/ super foods/ snacks/ cant go wrong with eggs sweet potatoes and beef jerky.
I would highly reccomend figuring out a recipie that reconstitutes properly before putting all the batching work in, the food will work in a pinch even if undesireable but food is a huge morale booster which would be desperately needed and pay large dividends in a disaster scenario.
Does anyone know if the water that is removed, have any flavour? Or is it pure distilled water?
Great question! It's not at all like distilled water.
I've never tried using it for anything. Mine usually has an odor that reminds me of REALLY old, melted, stale ice from the freezer that has picked up flavors and odors from whatever has been in the freezer. Perhaps with a hint of whatever was just been freeze dried. 😁 I haven't sent samples of the melt water to a water testing lab to have it tested. (or any other testing of any kind)
@@SchoolReports That's so interesting. thank you for your reply. I would assume that that water does not have any substance or salts attached to it, as you could easily tell by evaporating some down to nothing. Another thing you might try is distilling it very gently with a thermometer to see if the vapour temperature holds steady for a time before rising again. Known as a 'Fraction' in 'Fractional Distillation' That would indicate that there are compounds of different atomic weights present. Which are likely part of the nutritional value that would not be present if you were to reconstitute the foodstuffs with plain water. I wonder if a universal rehydration fluid could be distilled and used, or if a specific one for the particular dried food could be bottled and stored for later use. And if it made a difference to the eating experience vs plain water.
wait~ so the process takes the food from frozen to high heat? This is the best video I've watched which explains everything, but somehow I am missing the temperature process. Can anyone help me understand????
Thanks, great question.
The freezer unit of the freeze dryer freezes the chamber to -40º Then the vacuum pump lowers the pressure in the chamber until the "boiling" point of the ice is well below freezing.
Heated shelves in the chamber "gently" heat (around 120ºf) the food and "boil" off the water WHILE still frozen. (sublimation) It has to do with the triple point of water.
Freeze Drying Water - Short Version - ua-cam.com/video/BZRnR-AvbnY/v-deo.htmlsi=VwygX7ztg4Z4i9xI
In the same way that water boils at a lower temperature at high mountain elevations, in the freeze dryer vacuum chamber the pressure is so low that the ice will go from a solid to a gas at temperatures too low for the ice to melt; a process called sublimation - from a solid directly to a gas. (Like when dry ice disappears) The water from the food ends up on the wall of the chamber as ice in a process called desublimation or deposition - from a gas directly back to a solid.
The chamber walls are being used as a moisture or vapor trap, so the water doesn't go into the vacuum pump.
This is a good overview of the process, but has an error about ice crystal formation - they have it reversed. What is Freeze Drying? - ua-cam.com/video/PxwgB-uFiR8/v-deo.htmlsi=y2NJ4m1CjfV3uPTO
And this one from HR (and it also has an "error" The machine can NOT tell when it's done) How Freeze Drying Works - ua-cam.com/video/eE993Vs7j8s/v-deo.htmlsi=yddx4Ju27qN9Ml9q
DDo all freeze dryers have some of these issues? This is the first video I have watch so I dont understand why you had to make a window to place in the machine. Considering how much these machines cost I would never expect you to have to add additional thermometers in order to ensure they are finished. Love the video. I really want one of these machines but as I said they are sooooo expensive.
Thanks so much for watching and commenting!
Sorry if this is more than you ever wanted to know! 😁(If it's not enough details, I'd be happy to expand on it:) The very short answer is - None of the things I add are *_required_* to have the machine function.
The "issue" that caused me to add the disc is inherent to the temperatures involved with the process, -40ºf inside and 70ºf outside, a 110 degree swing. The "issue" of not trusting the machine to know if it's done drying, well, that's on us as the operator of the machine. Unlike a commercial operation where every batch would be loaded exactly the same over and over (and therefore they can _know_ how long that batch will take) we will be loading ours differently each time. (And a bunch of other variables for every batch) That being said, *Never* trust the machine to know if the food is dry. *_It can't know!_*
True, they are expensive, but they are shareable, too. Splitting the cost 2 or 3 (or more) ways can make them much more affordable for more people. The payback, when comparing to buying commercial freeze dried food, can be as little as about 50 batches.
The machines don't _need_ the disc. However, for us it's a useful addition because of two related things: condensation and heat transfer. First, while it's cooling, but before the vacuum pump starts, it helps with heat transfer. Second, because I often (very often!) don't get to the machine right away when it finishes, it just sit there chilling. Sometimes it waits 12 hours or more. Very chill, -40 chill. By the time I get around to it, without the front disc and seal insulation, the entire door and seal would be covered with condensation, both liquid and frozen. And then it melts and makes a mess. For people that stay right on top the the process, ready to take it out and check it the minute it beeps, all this is much less needed.
The thermometers are absolutely _not_ required for freeze drying, and I absolutely love using them. I consider them to be the second most important tool (after the scale) for freeze drying. I like data; I like to know what's happening inside the machine. I never use the thermometers to tell me if the process is done. (they can't) I use them to tell me it's not done. I know that might not sound like a difference for some people, but if there is still any cold area in the food and therefore the process _can not_ be complete yet, even though the freeze dryer firmware is telling me it is.I use a scale (weight) to check for moisture doing a _Dry Check._
I use the thermometers for two main reasons:
First, to let me know if the food is getting close to being complete and second, to tell me if it's too cold to take out. For example, I might be doing a batch where the machine says is getting close to done, it might be in the last 3 hours and is going to finish at about 2 am, but one thermometer is showing that one tray is still only 10 degree, and I know from experience that it wouldn't be done in just 3 more hours, so I add more time without having to take it out and check it. As some (most) foods dry, they really became like super light fluffy insulation. The top and bottom layers can be very warm, yet there can still be a layer of ice through the middle. The machine's temperature probe will often say that it's very warm not knowing about the ice in the center layer. - Example: ua-cam.com/video/qDuB_T8gIm8/v-deo.htmlsi=BZSwReZ0c2PZDpv2&t=540
Second, if the freeze dryer finishes when I'm not there (happens a lot for us:), I can still know the temp of the food, making sure it's still warm before I take it out. If the food is -40, there will be condensation on/in the food almost instantly, you just won't be able to see it because it will be absorbed and not visible. It probably will have already happened before you even get it out of the freeze dryer. The room air moisture going into the machine when the drain valve is opened may be condensing in the food before you even have the door open. There is a temperature probe built into the machine (it's on the bottom of the second tray from the bottom on mine), it's sandwiched between the heater pad and the rack itself. It can not tell me the temperature of the food, only the temperature of the heater; good enough to know the temperature of the heater for controlling it, but tells me almost nothing about the food. Again - Thermometers are absolutely _not_ required for freeze drying.
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 2023)
harvestright.com/ (only one I've used) All the others might be great, but I've 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 very promising! (If I were buying one today, I'd probably at least look into this one)
With leg quarters being .50-60 a lb, wouldn't it make sense to just do this in the winter and back it in the over? Making heat for the house and not really adding any cost to the chicken?
Wow! That's a great price per pound! I don't think I've seem that price in 20 years!
If you like dark meat that sounds like a great way to go.
@@SchoolReports That has been normal price for the last 20 years at Walmart. It was cheaper 10 years ago even. Under .50. It could be where you live too. In FL and TN that is the price. IL is similar. 10lb bags of Leg quarters have always been the cheapest meat since I've been old enough to buy groceries. Granted, most of my shopping is experience is this century as I was born in '81. :)
@@davidroberson1962 Thanks. To be fair, I would never have give the dark meat a second glance, so I probably just never noticed. But now I've found that it's pretty good when it has taco seasoning added; I'll have to check into it more. LOVE the price!
Should do Freeze dry various types of dish/meat and make is short. Explanation is nice, but for a lot of viewers, it's too long. Should categorize two types of your video. 1 for Full details, and the other for short video. The Short video of you freeze drying the food and then show casing the dish being cooked and tested for "What are the results? Good or Bad?" this will bring up more interest, views, and sponsors.
Mostly short rehydration videos: ua-cam.com/video/qeUuWApVV9s/v-deo.html
This has definitely become my go to freeze drying channel. I went from about 1 batch every 2-3 months to 2-3 batches a week. The bloopers at the end are great. Keep adding those. It would be nice to see a sample reconstitute at the end of each episode so we can get an idea how it turns out. I did two batches of something (from another channel) and cannot get it to reconstitute correctly. Not sure if the person who posted the video got it right either. I now have a bunch of food I might not use.
Thanks for the kind words.
I decided to not do the rehydration of the food during the series for 2 main reasons; First, and probably the biggest issue for me is that if I did, I wouldn't have 500 lbs when I'm finished. Second, and on this one I could be completely wrong. (let me know if I'm wrong) I knew the videos were going to end up being long and I didn't think I should make them longer. (As a part 2 of that, I'm having a hard time keeping up with the video making. I'm almost constantly 2 batches behind.)
Share; What food did you do 2 batches of and have difficulties rehydrating? I love challenges and problem solving. It was kind of my career.
@@SchoolReports 1) you are the 1% that reply to almost all comments. I commend you for that. 2) i understand the 500lb vs 10lb per batch. A 0.5 lb sample would really only add 3 batches to the entire series. But I do underatnad why the hesitancy. Maybe your next series could be reconstitution.
3) And sorry to say, but you are wrong about video lengths. I would be more willing to watch a longer video if it showed the entire process and often filter for videos that are over 20 minutes to weed out the silly 2 minute freeze drying videos.
4) when are we going to see the man behind the camera?
@@SchoolReports it was an apple oatmeal that didn't work for me. Came out hard as a brick. Could have been because my wife added brown sugar. I do realize that most youtubers would always say you could never tell it was freeze dried. I believe you, above all else, would be the most honest.
@@YakAttack145 😁Responding in kind: 1) Wow! Thanks. 2) The problem is that if I added batches than it wouldn't be a nice even 50 Batches in 100 Days! I couldn't call the series 53 Batches in 106 Days. Yikes! My wife said I should plan a rehydration series using food from this series. I would do that. I could also take other food, of the same variety, from the main freeze dry shelf from earlier batches and rehydrate that. Almost the same. 3) I'll do a poll. I love longer videos, maybe other people do too. (I am also going to try some livestreams for Q & A) 4) I am the man behind the camera. And in front. Yes, I'm the one that forgets to start the camera, I'm the one that forgets to start the audio.
@@YakAttack145 Apple flavored oatmeal?
What the heck! Why are you making it so labor intensive? Just add 6 or 9 hours if you're concerned about it not being dry. I've been FDing for 9 years and have only had maybe 4 batches that weren't dry enough. In those cases I just put them back in for another 4 or more hours depending on how wet they will were, and they were good and dry. It's not like you will over dry things.
Keeping track of the water loss is not a bad idea, but I wonder how many people in an emergency will have a scale to weigh out the water in grams. Not me! I'll just wing it as I have always done. My philosophy is go light on the water to reconstitute. You can always add more if needed. After a while you get a feel for what takes more water and what takes less.
I'm not trying to convert anybody to my method, I just showing what I do and trying to tell why. The weight check is not very labor intensive; if it weren't of the videoing it takes less than 2 minutes. Even if I were to add 9 hours (or more) I would still check to make sure it's dry. (and time is money - electricity)
You say you've only had 4 batches that were not dry enough? How do you know? What was your test?
I heard from other viewer that "knew" that their food was dry, but found out some time much later that it wasn't and their food had gone bad.
As for the water loss, I started tracking it and including it in videos because it was one of the most asked questions. I wouldn't need a scale because for water, grams equals milliliters, so I could use a measure cup. It's more important to have measurements if I sharing/giving the food to someone else. I'm not worried about the measurements for myself, I do like you said; add some and check.
I rehydrate my freeze dried food, I don't reconstitute it. 🤣 I reconstitute frozen, concentrated OJ.
The optimist says: “The glass is half full”
The pessimist says: “The glass is half empty”
I say: “The glass is too big”
you are doing great work!
Hi English Teacher! Thanks so much. I feel I should tell you, if it weren't for English, I had enough credits to graduate high school a half year early.🤣
I always wondered what an anthropomorphized spread sheet would be like
Lmao
Video idea 💡, could you show electricity costs for all types of fruits, veggies, and meats per batch.
Thanks.
I show the show electricity usage (kWh) for ever batch in this 50 batch series, along with the weight before and after, the batch time, the number of bags used, and the total cost. It's all in the description, and I have a link to the spreadsheet for the whole series. Finally, here is the recap video for the 50 batch series: Freeze Drying Your First 500 lbs of Food - Recapping the First 50 Batches ua-cam.com/video/IRkac5wrCzI/v-deo.html
Wow! Modern Homestead Alaska mentioned your channel in her video this morning and I've been binge watching your videos throughout the day. Thank you for going through so many steps in your videos to teach us newbies. I'm a planner and an organizer and the handful of videos I've watched today have saved me so much time and energy and I haven't even gotten my freeze dryer. I'll be checking out your other videos and your Amazon list for sure. Thanks for making food prepping fun! 😊
Thanks for watching and commenting! And thanks to Modern Homestead Alaska. 😁
I haven't seen that channel because I stopped watching any freeze drying channels/videos a _long_ time ago. The last ones I watched was Catwood Cooking. I hope someday I can do something with some other video maker. Sometimes my sister watches other channels and gives me the highlights; I'll have to have her check it out.
I’ve never seen someone so organized! Thank you! I was all over the board trying to mentally think my storage needs…. You’re an inspiration!
Thanks. It's the only organized part of my life!
Great ideas!!! I wonder if you worry about rodents getting to your food. They would be able to chew right through your plastic bins. I've been using 64 oz ball jars but they take up a lot of room. I need to think about other options. Again, thank you so much for sharing your info!
I know it could happen, but I've never had a rodent in a house I've lived in in my life. If I did, I would go to Shawn's channel 🤣 ua-cam.com/users/ShawnWoodsprimitive-archervideos and take care of the issue!
Everyone can not do that not everyone can afford it. How would you do it in Appartment livening ???? Would help ALL elderly people live in Appartment !
HELP y’all don’t make videos of us old and disable that lives in Appartment’s any HELP . Thank YOU. Can u reply with a video for us ? Something plus with the little money we get ONCE a mouth. We would like to have some food 🍲 on hand times are coming !!when the gried go down ?
People are shut in , live alone. Some
have no one !! But when I read ALL these videos There is nothing simple for us to get threw the winter ❄️ plus with the high food going UP ! A lot of us don’t have the space. So were does it leave US !! God bless you and your family and happy holidays 🙏let’s not forget the diabetes. They have to eat different there on some kind of a diet !!! I wish a lot of you guy’s would think of people in Appartment livening and how can we put food back that we can eat and try and find some were to store. Not a lot of ROOM !!! Also we are not rich . Little money does not goes FAR !!! Again we need more videos for us that are Appartment livening. Spread the word, just maybe, maybe we will get some help on Appartment livening for US !!
Not to be insensitive but it doesn’t sound like purchasing or using a freeze drier applies to your situation. The upfront cost is quite a bit which you stated isn’t in your budget and these machines are also a little bit noisy which are not likely going to work out in an apartment situation. This method of food preservation is definitely not for you. Try another UA-cam channel like “Alaska Granny” I suggest you buy bags of dry beans and rice and preserve them in Mylar bags, placed in buckets or tubs. To save space the buckets can be kept in the bottom of your clothes closet or stacked up and draped with a table cloth to look like a side table or night stand. Beans and rice do make a nutritious and balanced food for when you need to survive in hard times. I suggest you save some spices, salt, bouillon cubes, etc. to season the beans and rice. Canned meats are another item to add into your emergency supplies and as your budget allows. Don’t forget to stock up your medications and extra multi vitamins to keep you healthy when your diet isn’t a perfectly balanced one. Also, remember to alway keep bottles/jugs of water in case of emergency. You can reuse/recycle clean juice bottles and refill them with clean drinking water and keep them in the backs of cabinets or under the sink. Seek out other means to prepare your pantry without a freeze drier. Good luck!
Contact Senior Centers to see if any in your area would take on a project to purchase and run a freeze dryer to help the elderly - they could require volunteering to help run the machine to receive the freeze dried foods from it.
Contact local churches - many have large kitchens - approach them about taking on a freeze drying project. (The LDS church believes in having a food supply on hand to last several months - you coud find out if any near you could start this type of project.)
Some people may be able to get several family members to get together to afford and operate a freeze dryer if one of them has a space for it.
When grocery shopping, try to buy even one extra can/box/bag of food to start your "stockpile" of emergency foods. Remember - most canned and other foods are still good to eat past their " Best if Used By" dates. Just keep buying extra and rotate them.
If your budget is really tight - go to food pantries to get some food. (that's what they are there for) If you don't like "charity", volunteer to help with the pantry. Most are short on helpers.
Yes, freeze dryers are expensive. Many people Can't afford one. I saved money for several years before I felt I could afford one. Until then I bought the extra can/box/bag of food when I was shopping, to have extra on hand in my "pantry". I'm also retired, on a fixed budget, and get paid once a month. We each do what we can.
I love what you are doing. Are you "awake" ? I would like to know more with what your doing. Your accuracy is great.
Thanks. I have no idea how to respond to this. 🤔
@@SchoolReports probably conspiracy/“prepper” stuff, pay no mind
I'm just now starting to do research on freeze drying ... What's the purpose of the acrylic disc that you put and before you closed the door
Condensation is the #1 reason.
The machines don't _need_ the disc. However, for us it's a useful addition because of two related things: condensation and heat transfer. First, while it's cooling, but before the vacuum pump starts, it helps with heat transfer. Second, because I often (very often!) don't get to the machine right away when it finishes, it just sit there chilling. Sometimes it waits 12 hours or more. Very chill, -40 chill. By the time I get around to it, without the front disc and seal insulation, the entire door and seal would be covered with condensation, both liquid and frozen. And then it melts and makes a mess. For people that stay right on top the the process, ready to take it out and check it the minute it beeps, all this is much less needed.
Ice on disc: ua-cam.com/video/5cHronGQID0/v-deo.htmlsi=D9JYNyioR3FMIpfD&t=618
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 2023)
harvestright.com/ (only one I've used) 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 very promising! (If I were buying one today, I'd probably at least look into this one)
Seems far more labor intensive and complicated than other videos. Are you double safe or is this process that should be happening every time. i.e, drilling holes in the food for thermometers, weighing all the trays before and after, etc?
Thanks for watching and commenting! Sorry, this is going to be long.
The shorter answer is - The thermometers are absolutely NOT required, and I absolutely LOVE using them. I consider them to be the second most important tool (after the scale) for freeze drying. I use them for checking the temperature of the food while it's still running. I use a scale (weight) to check for moisture. It actually only takes seconds when I'm not trying to show it on video. (I am switching from drilling to freezing a removable stainless rod in the food and then replacing it with a thermometer. - a viewers suggestion) If you're not really going to check to make SURE the food is dry, you might just as well flip a coin and hope.
The longer answer is: I use the thermometers for two main reasons; first, to let me know if the food is getting close to being complete and second, to tell me if it's too cold to take out. For example I might be doing a batch that the machine says is getting close to done, it might be in the last 3 hours and is going to finish at about 2 am, but one thermometer is showing that one tray is still only 10 degree, and I know from experience that it wouldn't be done in just 3 more hours, so I add more time without having to take it out and check it. Also, if the freeze dryer finishes when I'm not there (which happens most of the time), I can still know the temp of the food, making sure it's still warm before I take it out. If the food is -40, there will be condensation on/in the food almost instantly when you take it out, you just won't be able to see it because it will be absorbed and not visible. It probably will have already happened before you even get it out of the freeze dryer. The room air moisture going into the machine when the drain valve is opened may be condensing in the food before you even have the door open. There is a temperature probe built into the machine, but only one, and it's on the bottom of the second tray from the bottom. It's sandwiched between the heater pad and the rack itself. It can not tell me the temperature of the food, only the temperature of the heater; good enough to know the temperature of the heater for controlling it, but tells me almost nothing about the food.
I've heard from too many people that thought their food was dry (by feel), only to check again a short time later and find out it wasn't, and now it has gone bad.
Remember, I'm just another idiot on the internet. Don't listen to me. I could be wrong. The #1 joke at our house is "But, I saw it on the internet!" Consider looking at what commercial companies are doing. That's where I look to for guidance. If they can do it, we probably can too. (with method adjustments)
Costco chicken is hit or miss. Sometimes they're raw and under flavored. Locally there is a store called Smart N Final that blows away Costco's rotisserie.
Interesting. I've never had that experience with a Costco chicken.
Why did you cut out the circle to place in the freeze dryer. New subscriber here?
Thanks for watching and commenting!
The machines don't _need_ the disc. However, for us it's a useful addition because of two related things: condensation and heat transfer. First, while it's cooling, but before the vacuum pump starts, it helps with heat transfer. Second, because I often (very often!) don't get to the machine right away when it finishes, it just sit there chilling. Sometimes it waits 12 hours or more. Very chill, -40 chill. By the time I get around to it, without the front disc and seal insulation, the entire door and seal would be covered with condensation, both liquid and frozen. And then it melts and makes a mess. For people that stay right on top the the process, ready to take it out and check it the minute it beeps, all this is much less needed.
Ice on Door Seal and Condensation on Door ua-cam.com/video/WMNvva9uTds/v-deo.htmlsi=VeHAw1gPZbsY3zs7
Batch 95 of my Sister's Machine ua-cam.com/video/XTCToZINZFA/v-deo.htmlsi=8DWfzYX-RBHiHesk&t=496
All in all, one of the best most informative videos on this topic.
Well done!
Thanks for checking it out and for commenting!
How can this Video be 1 year ago?
😁 Time flies!
That would have been great, but mine did not last that long. I spent $1500 on the oil free pump and it lasted less than 2 dozen uses. It is just out of warranty and they won't even talk to you without paying $45 just to talk to support. Not a very reputable company. A friend of mine bought one and had to send the whole unit back, but thankfully hers broke within the first year.
That sucks; I'm sorry to hear that. Mine is a bit over 6 years old now with very little trouble. Just starting batch 641. My sisters is 11 months old and starting batch 88.
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/ (only one I've used) 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 very promising! (If I were buying one today, I'd look into this one)
@@SchoolReports Thank you for sharing your research!!!
and just like that, the crazy cat lady down the street is not so crazy......
I believe that the crazy cat lady is going to use the freeze dryer to keep her cats looking fresh and life-like forever! 🤣
You make it way harder and tedious than it needs to be brother
Okay. Harder in what way?
I want to know where you get the dividers for the freezer pans?
The dividers are just something I made. The dividers are designed to fit the pans we got at a Dollar Tree store. They were called 8x8" but the bottoms are about 7x7", 2 1/2 pans are a perfect fit ** for our medium freeze dryer trays. (Turns out they have them online too www.dollartree.com/cooking-concepts-square-cake-pans-75-in/10065 ) Here is the design and print video if you are interested; ua-cam.com/video/3KLblPCTpHk/v-deo.html They were printed with ABS then vapor/acetone smoothed to seal them. The file is on Thingiverse. www.thingiverse.com/thing:3848619 (Some people feel that it's wrong to have food touch plastic - it's low on my personal risk list) I've updated the Thingiverse listing to include a new version of the divider that is slightly narrower at the bottom to fit more of the pans. (I hope!)
** Clarification on the 2 1/2 pans per tray; it only works IF the divider is the thickness I use. (or thicker) The freeze dryer trays actually
fits about 1/2" less than 2 1/2 pans; that's one reason I made the dividers that thick, that and to fit the magnets.
For those without a 3D printer, here's my best ideas for getting some 3D printed dividers. Lots of areas have Maker's places with people that would love to do it for you. Or, better yet, some schools have 3D printing labs. Check with a the local charter school that has junior high or high school age students. I taught 3D Design and Printing for 3+ years at a local 6th - 8th grade charter school. We loved it when we could find/were given a real-world project with a real need.
I finally made a couple of the dividers without using the 3D printer a short time ago. It turns out it's an easy craft project and my sister says they are working well. (I will be making more non 3D printed ones, they're easy, cheap, and work!)
Making Dividers for My Pre-freeze Pans Without Using a 3D Printer (For Our Medium Freeze Dryer) ua-cam.com/video/XNsbWn29xdE/v-deo.html
Stay tuned. 😁 I'm going to show another way using 1/2 thick cutting board. (For people with more tools and/or skills)
What is in the solution they use for brining or injecting? Is it safe?
Nothing is safe if over-consumed. As they say "dose makes the poison."
Safe in what sense? I think they sell more than 2 million chickens a week and I haven't heard of millions of people dropping dead from them.
Best. Chicken. Ever! 🤣
I'm not in charge of the chicken buying/processing for Costco, but I'm pretty sure they are injected with unicorn tears and magical seasonings! 🤣 The ingredients are on the label. But I do know that a lot of people hate success and will always try to put Costco down.
It looks like they raise and process the chicken in Nebraska. Costco Lincoln Premium Processing in Fremont, Nebraska. www.businessinsider.com/costco-rotisserie-chicken-plant-nebraska-photos-2022-6?op=1
77% of Americans Believe this Myth About Chicken. Do You? www.chickencheck.in/blog/77-percent-of-americans-believe-chicken-raised-added-hormones-steroids/
"No chicken sold or raised in the U.S. is given added hormones. All hormones and steroids in poultry have actually been banned by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA since the 1950s." (It's even printed on the label) ua-cam.com/video/aNMednOWW4c/v-deo.html
So how much water do you stockpile? Where do you store poss nuclear blast safe?
Or are you just prepping to beat inflation? 😊
We really don't have a planned stockpile of water besides the 80 gallons (about 300 L) that's always in the water heater.😁 However, we do have year-round water sources near us and we always have water filters.
Our freeze drying is mostly our pantry. I started freeze drying with the goal of having less freezers! I like cooking big batches of everything and I was thinking of getting another one; 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. And then you still live at risk of power outages and freezer failures. With freeze drying, once it's finished and bagged, it can sit there for years without additional energy input
Hi is it worth the kwh to freeze dry? It's seems a lot of energy but in a real emergency if the stock survives its would be worth it .
@@goingwildagain In the long run it could cost less to freeze dry than to leave it in the freezer. This batch cost me about $2.60 to freeze dry the 10 lbs (about 4.5 kg) and now it needs no more power for as long as it sits on the shelf. If I left it in the freezer, it would require power until it gets used.
What great detail! Thank you! I’m new to this process and you made some excellent tips on prep and pre-freezing.
Thanks for watching and commenting!
What have you added to your pump to recirculate the oil? Does this remove the need to drain and filter the oil? You do an amazing job and I thank you for such an amazing learning experience!
I'm using paper towel filter elements that the oil is pumped through. It is filtering the oil as it go through. I have the original vacuum pump, which requires the oil to be drained, filtered, and replaced after every batch. (or at least every couple batches) With this, I can go as many as 20 batches before changing the filter elements.
Freeze Drying Your First 500 lbs of Food - Cleaning the Oil Filters Between Batches 5 & 6 ua-cam.com/video/x0iU-Rd_Q2A/v-deo.html
Freeze Drying Your First 500 lbs of Food - Batch 21 - Apple Slices with extras ua-cam.com/video/ueSdOSjXfyM/v-deo.html
Hmmm new viewer. This is an extremely well presented demo. I have extensive experience with eating freeze dried food but not making it. I would seriously consider freezing your chicken broth in 125g and 315g weights. Makes the chicken taste WAY better rehydrating with broth than just adding water.
You are correct, rehydrating with broth is way better, and we almost always do.
I have a question...with the expensive machine, why do you have to create an additional clear door? Just curious. Thank you
That's a very fair question.
The first answer is, you don't NEED it. However, for us it's a useful addition because of two related things: condensation and heat transfer. Because I often (very often!) don't get to the machine right away when it finishes, it just sit there chilling. Sometimes it waits 12 hours or more. Very chill, -40 chill. By the time I get around to it, without the front disc and seal insulation, the entire door and seal would be covered with condensation, both liquid and frozen. And then it melts and makes a mess.
For people that stay right on top the the process, ready to take it out and check it the minute it beeps, all this is totally unneeded.
Besides, I'm just trying to trick out my ride. 🤣Some people that buy 50 thousand dollar cars add custom wheels and paint jobs!
Thank you.
Just wondering why do you place a thermometer into each shelf?
Thanks for watching, commenting and for leaving a question!
I use the thermometers for two main reasons:
First, to let me know if the food is getting _close_ to being complete and second, to tell me if it's too cold to take out. For example, I might be doing a batch where the machine says is getting close to done, it might be in the last 3 hours and is going to finish at about 2 am, but one thermometer is showing that one tray is still only 10 degree, and I know from experience that it wouldn't be done in just 3 more hours, so I can add more time without having to take it out and check it. As some (most) foods dry, they really became like super light fluffy insulation. The top and bottom layers can be very warm, yet there can still be a layer of ice through the middle. The machine's temperature probe will often say that it's very warm not knowing about the ice in the center layer. - Example: ua-cam.com/video/qDuB_T8gIm8/v-deo.htmlsi=BZSwReZ0c2PZDpv2&t=540
Second, if the freeze dryer finishes when I'm not there (happens for me a lot), I can still know the temp of the food, making sure it's still warm before I take it out. If the food is -40, there will be condensation on/in the food almost instantly, you just won't be able to see it because it will be absorbed and not visible. It probably will have already happened before you even get it out of the freeze dryer. The room air moisture going into the machine when the drain valve is opened may be condensing in the food before you even have the door open. The temperature probe built into my machine is on the bottom of the second shelf up from the bottom. It's sandwiched between the heater pad and the rack itself. It can not tell me the temperature of the food, only the temperature of the heater; good enough to know the temperature of the heater for controlling it, but tells me almost nothing about the food. The built in probe also does not tell me the temperature of the chamber walls, (on my older machine) the thermometer laying on the bottom does.
The shorter answer is - The thermometers are absolutely _NOT_ required for freeze drying, and I absolutely _love_ using them. I consider them to be the second most important tool (after the scale) for freeze drying. I never use the thermometers to tell me if the process is done. (they can't) I use them to tell me it's _not_ done. I know that might not sound like a difference for some people, but if there is still any cold area in the food and therefore the process _can not_ be complete yet, even though the freeze dryer firmware is telling me it is.
Pretty cool, tho that's a $8-10K bench top lab freeze dryer you got there.... so I don't think at that the $2 per lbs chicken becomes very economical unless you have one....
They are about $2900 for the medium size Harvest Right, the size I have. The payback, when comparing to buying commercial freeze dried food, can be as little as about 50 batches.
Great deal if you spend a couple of grand on a freeze dryer.
True, they are expensive, but they are shareable, too. Splitting the cost 2 or 3 (or more) ways can make them much more affordable for more people.
They are about $2900 ($2700 this month) for the medium size Harvest Right, the size I have. The payback, when comparing to buying commercial freeze dried food, can be as little as about 50 batches.
I’m curious, why not vacuum seal them in to the bags? I know it’s not expressly necessary, but why not increase your chances of preserving the food even longer?
I'm not against vacuum sealing the bags (as long as there are oxygen absorbers), except for the cost of the chamber vac, time (maybe a minute or two per bag, times thousands of bags), and the potential of crushing some delicate foods (if using bags), e.g. tomato slices, green beans or other delicate items. Plus, most vacuum sealers leave significantly more of oxygen in the the bags than oxygen absorbers. I suppose doing both doesn't hurt.
I have no plans to get a chamber vacuum for Mylar bag sealing, though I would like to do nitrogen flushing of the bags like commercial bags are often done. (I just never got around to it) One concern I would have with vacuum sealing is that because the bag has a lower pressure on the inside vs the outside, there will be a pressure pushing the oxygen in. The long term problem is permeability - oxygen is going to be going through the bag, slowly, forever. The better the bag the slower it happens. Of course if you have oxygen absorbers in the bags they keep absorbing any oxygen that comes through. No matter how we pack them, we always add oxygen absorbers.
my HR FD is on order, so I'm just binge watching tutorials... this was a great video. Do you open the valve before you open the door, close the valve before you start the machine? Just trying to understand the process.
You have to open the valve before the door _can_ be opened when it's done. (Because the outside air pressure will prevent it from being opened until the pressure has equalized) The valve can be closed anytime after the defrost water has drained and before the freezing/vacuum process. I _try_ to close the valve at the same point in the process each time so I don't forget. Close valve, start machine, pre-cool, open valve, put food in, close door, close valve.
I would suggest this video: Freeze Drying - The Next 50 Batches - Batch 585, Mixed Vegetables - Every Little Detail ua-cam.com/video/lpa3db5al20/v-deo.html
Why did you freeze it first? I heard by doing that you loose some nutrients
100% of the food is going to be frozen, either in the freezer or in the freeze dryer.
Yes, when frozen and then freeze dried, food does lose "a bit" of it's nutrients. But, in compared to what? Freeze-dried food retains nearly 100% of its nutritional value, dehydrated contains roughly 60%, and canned food 40%. Even so-called fresh food in the produce section of the store can be significantly lower than freeze dried food.
There is a lot of research about this.
I would say, for "fresh" fruits and vegetables that I'm going to freeze dry, I will almost always take frozen over fresh because, assuming a quality brand, the items tend to be picked and processed faster. Not sitting in a cold storage warehouse, then in the store's back room, and finally in a store's produce section for who knows how long. I love to go to the u-pick places and pick items myself. (or grow it myself) Did you know that the apples at the store can be over a year old? CA storage is an impressive thing.
In order of my personal preference, fresh that I harvest, next frozen, produce from the store, and last by a large margin canned.
This is one of the benefits of using frozen foods; they usually go from field - to processing plant - to flash freezer in just a few hours. The "fresh" food you find at stores is not fresh.
( getdailyelements.com/blogs/articles/the-facts-on-freeze-drying )
. . . nutrient profiles of fresh fruits and vegetables begin to degrade the moment they’re picked-and continue degrading the longer they sit in your fridge. In fact, one study1 showed that spinach lost roughly 50% of its folate after eight days of refrigeration. Not to mention, produce from the grocery store can range from weeks to months old, some even spending upwards of a year in cold storage before you see them on the shelf.
. . . freeze-dried food retains nearly 100% of its nutrition value, dehydrated contains roughly 60%, and canned a slim 40%
Hey Mr SR please report to us about the flavor and nutritional content of this? Sounds neat but i am very skeptical that they would make good enchiladas later LoL
The flavor and texture remains unchanged as far as I can tell. (Also true of the other taste testers in the family:) Freeze-dried food retains nearly 100% of its nutrition value, dehydrated contains roughly 60%, and canned food 40%. Even so-called fresh food in the produce section of the store can be significantly lower than freeze dried food.
This was different chicken, not as good as Costco chicken but still good! Freeze Drying and Rehydrating Cooked Shredded Chicken ua-cam.com/video/cbNkCIxaP_I/v-deo.html
I will be rehydrating and using some from this Costco Rotisserie batch in the future.
We use Costco chicken stock French to make enchiladas. Add a little butter and or garlic and your family will love them
Why did you put the plexiglass “circle” in the front of the machine? Why the fan? Thanks!
Great video!!!
Thanks for watching and for commenting!
The machines don't require/need the seal insulation or the door disc we add, but for us it's a useful addition because of two related things: condensation and heat transfer. First, while it's cooling, but before the vacuum pump starts, it helps with heat transfer. Secondly, and most important to us, because I often (very often!) don't get to the machine right away when it finishes, it just sit there chilling. Sometimes it waits 12 hours or more. Very chill, -40 chill. By the time I get around to it, without the front disc and seal insulation, the entire door and seal would be covered with condensation, both liquid and frozen. Then it melts and makes a mess. For people who stay right on top the the process, ready to take it out and check it the minute it beeps, it probably doesn't really matter. (The beep can be also turned off:)
We run 2 fans, one blowing in on the intake side of the machine and we do run fans on our vacuum pumps.
I understand the reasoning for having the pumps run hot (to help make sure the water vapor doesn't condense in the oil - but it's never been an issue for us), but most electric motors run more efficiently and last longer when kept well under 160ºf. (My pump runs hot) Very high temperatures also degrade the oil faster, leading to less effective vacuum and the need to change the oil more frequently. After 7 years with fans, we're still happy with the results.
Remember, I'm just another idiot on the internet. The #1 joke at our house is "But, I saw it on the internet!" I look at what commercial companies are doing. If they can do it, we probably can too. (with method adjustments)
Why do you need a fan blowing in it ? Does it not do it on its own ?
It the way we choose to defrost our machine.
We decided to use the fan to save electricity, to save wear and tear of the freeze dryer components, and to make sure I don't give molds and mildew a warm moist growth environment.
Some people that have used the defrost function (and forgot to open the door afterwards) have reported a nasty, fuzzy surprise when opening it later.
Our door is always open any time the freezer unit is not on, and we leave the fan running for at least a day or two if, for any reason, we're not starting another batch as soon as it's defrosted.
I love the broth when it makes all that chicken “jelly!” 😊
500 lbs of food? 2.5 lbs per tray. 200 trays? 50 batches? Meat freeze-dries pretty quickly, but 31 min.... ok that is for your entire series. Series must have been over several years......
543.2 lbs rehydrated weight, 130.1 lbs dry weight after freeze drying. (3 batches were "dry" foods that just needed to have the moisture remove)
Batch #1 of the series (my batch #501) went into the freeze dryer April 24th 2022 and batch #50 (my batch #550) went in August 3rd 2022, 103 days start to finish for the series. Average batch time was about 39 hours. (And as high as 53 hours)
Based on the number of hours you have to run these machines, your utility bills have to be outrageous! This is completely cost prohibitive and NOT worth the investment of $2,000 - $4,000!
I guess it depends on your definition of outrageous.
The average electricity cost of the for the 50 batches of this series was $2.76 per batch.
When compared to buying commercially freeze dried food, the breakeven point was less than the 50 batches. I have freeze dried over 600 batches over a 5 1/2 year period, it has paid for itself many times over.
How do you keep your records is there a format you use?
We keep the batch drying worksheets (like the one I'm filling out during the video) in a 3-ring binder, in case we need anything off it later. We put the storage location information of each bag into an OpenOffice spreadsheet for tracking and sorting, and we keep a hard copy for day-to-day use for just-in-case.
Great video. I appreciate your attention to detail. The power usage data I think is understated because it is a significant cost driver.
Thanks!
You think this model of power meter is not accurate and understates usage?
It seems to match with the one other model I've tried. Do you recommend a different one?
@@SchoolReports Sorry, I should have reworded that. I meant that the cost of using the freeze dryer in terms of utility bill is ignored by a lot of users and your video enlightened me to that. You are the first to show the kWh used for a batch and it was an eye opener here in the Northeast. Got me thinking. i.e. would it be way cheaper to buy freeze dried veggies commercially vs doing it yourself and having a way higher electric bill? Are protein batches more cost effective than veggies? Your chicken video is excellent because it shows that it would represent 1/3 of my current electric bill to do that batch. We do have significant off peak discounts so the timing of when you run the freeze dryer makes a massive difference. Made me a lot more aware of when I want to run the machine. Great work!
@@paulhathaway6292 Oh. Never mind!
That's part of the reasons I just left the meter set to kWh instead of setting it to dollars. The power cost in our area is very low in comparison to many/most other areas. (About $2.60 for this batch) Less than a 1/3 the price of some areas. I figured if I only showed my cost it would give people unrealistic expectations of the cost of use. For us it's about $45 - $55 per month. 🤔 And, I think you are correct that, unless you can get some great deal or grow it yourself, some things might be better to buy commercially freeze dried. (especially if you factor in the time)
Thanks for the comment!
What size Harvest Right dryer do you have? It looks like there are 4 sizes. On video yours looks large but compared to their website the 4 slot one says small. Just checking. Thanks for answering.
Mine is a medium machine from 2017. About a month ago Harvest Right changed all their machines to add one more tray to each machine. I think it will be better for drying times, as long as people still put the same amount of food spread onto the 5 trays.
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/ (only one I've used) All the others might be great, I've just never tried them. (If you are thinking of buying a Harvest Right freeze dryer, please consider supporting us by purchasing through our affiliate link. It helps us and costs you nothing! affiliates.harvestright.com/995.html )
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 very promising! (If I were buying one today, I'd look into this one)
I love Costco. And their chickens are definitely a great price! HOWEVER… I purchased these chickens at three or four different Costco‘s in my area, and all of them seem to be dry and over cooked! Especially on the outside! I even went back to a couple of the Costco‘s and bought them again (thinking maybe I just got a bad batch), but they were still dry on the outside and over cooked! I want my chicken to be moist! I would prefer that they sold smaller chickens that were moist (rather than the big chickens that aren’t)! Just my opinion. Thanks.
Wow! I don't believe we've ever had a Costco Rotisserie chicken that was even close to dry. We have had them that were very well done, almost falling apart. We always look for the biggest, darkest ones. and none of ours have been dry. Makes me wonder what went wrong. (Or maybe I just have a lower standard.🤣 My mom was not a good cook when I was growing up. 😇)
I have done this many times. Walmart marks them down to 319$ i make broth and then can it . I have also made batches of pet food and can it. Great video thanks for sharing
Great value!
At first it would seem freeze drying the Costco chicken is a great deal but when you add in the energy cost for freezing and freeze drying I’m not so sure it makes economic sense. Especially when you consider that Costco chickens are always available and still the same price. Also I would point out your when you originally weighed the chicken, you did not have the thermometer in it so your calculation of weight loss is incorrect
Thanks for commenting.
I find that freeze dried chicken is easier than fresh when camping, especially if I'm days away from Costco. (And preppers would probably say that you can't count on stores always being open)
Total cost of the batch of 10lbs of chicken was $26.59 - including 4 chickens, electricity, bags, oxygen absorbers.
I do all of the beginning and final weights without thermometers. I remove the thermometers before weighing for the final weights at 20:13 before doing the weight calculation.
I was gonna buy one of these freeze dryers, but after watching this guy, it looks so confusing lots of work. I kind of changed my mind.
Thanks for watching and for commenting! I'm sorry to hear that it comes across as confusing, that is not my intention.
The freeze drying process really is a lot simpler and quicker than the prepping and cooking most meals! I find it easier and safer than canning. I do show steps that are not "required" for the freeze drying process because people have asked to see them. But on the other hand I want to be realistic about the process. Some people doing freeze drying pretend that the machines can "know" when the drying is complete - they can not. The Dry Check process is the only really important step in the process.
The total needed hands-on time is actually very short and easy if you're not trying to document it on video. Like most new things, it seems a bit complicated the first time, but it's not.
Why drill into it n put 4 thermometers in there. Doesn't have a built in tempature Guage.
Thermometers are NOT required for freeze drying. For me, I consider them to be the second most important tool (after the scale) for freeze drying.
There is a temperature probe built into the machine, but only one (more on the X-Large machine), and it's on the bottom of the second tray from the bottom. It's sandwiched between the heater pad and the rack itself. It can not tell me the temperature of the food, only the temperature of the heater; good enough to know the temperature of the heater for controlling it, but tells me almost nothing about the food.
As some (most) foods dry, they really became like super light fluffy insulation. The top and bottom layers can be very warm, yet there can still be a layer of ice through the middle. The machine's temperature probe will often say that it's very warm not knowing about the ice center layer.
BTW, doing less drilling now. Cutting and Bending Stainless Steel Rods for Thermometers During Freeze Drying. * NOT Required * ua-cam.com/video/Vtr786DcVi0/v-deo.html
Costco chickens are not quality grown, i would recommend getting chickens to freeze dry that were grown in a healthy way. Costco chicken is easy and quick so i understand why but it has growth hormones and other chemicals that is not good for your body. Feel free to disregard what i said. Costco chickens do taste really good though and are way cheaper than other grocery stores. There are always trade offs in this life.
How knows, the media has lied to us about a lot of other, more important things, so maybe this one too.
Don't buy them, leave more for me! Best. Chicken. Ever!
I'm really not the one to ask. I have no proof because I'm not in charge of the chicken buying/processing for Costco, but I'm pretty sure they are injected with unicorn tears and magical seasonings! 🤣 But I do know that a lot of people hate success and will always try to put it down. It looks like they raise and process the chicken in Nebraska. Costco Lincoln Premium Processing in Fremont, Nebraska.
www.desmoinesregister.com/videos/news/2020/04/12/see-inside-plant-processes-1-million-chickens-week-costcochicken/2866441001/
77% of Americans Believe this Myth About Chicken. Do You? www.chickencheck.in/blog/77-percent-of-americans-believe-chicken-raised-added-hormones-steroids/
"No chicken sold or raised in the U.S. is given added hormones. All hormones and steroids in poultry have actually been banned by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA since the 1950s." (It's even printed on the label) ua-cam.com/video/aNMednOWW4c/v-deo.html
🤣 Remember, I'm just another idiot on the internet. I could be wrong. The #1 joke at our house is "But, I saw it on the internet!"
Did you subtract the weight of the thermometer when you weighed the chicken? I noticed the thermometer was still in the chicken when you were weighing them @15:49
Good question.
I weigh them without the thermometers before starting and after they are completely dry, before I bag them, but I leave the thermometers in while I'm doing the Dry-Check process. I remove the thermometers before weighing for the final weights @ 20:08
During the Dry-Check process @ 15:39 I'm only checking for weight loss, not the actual weight of the food, which doesn't matter at this stage, so leaving the thermometers in doesn't matter.
Your Awesome.
Great job.
Best of luck to you and your family.
Thank you.
FIVE DOLLAR CHICKEN, GOD DANG
Costco Rotisserie chicken. - Best. Chicken. Ever!
After weighting them, you added that the thermometers but you hadn't removed them, and you weighed them 2nd time.. The second time, you would have already lost more weight 😂
I do all of the beginning and final weights without thermometers. I remove the thermometers before weighing for the final weights at 20:13 before doing the weight calculation.
Thanks for videos. What happens if your batch stops in middle of night and sits there? Will food go bad if unattended on completed batch for 4 to hours?
No, it's not really a problem. I just re-warm it using "More Dry Time" and it's all good!
Very well done videos. Thanks so much. Where did you get the funnel scoop, I want one. Great tool.
The scoop is something that I "adjusted" starting with a scoop I got from Amazon. (link in the description) This is how I changed the scoop - Food Scoop For Freeze Dryer Tray ua-cam.com/video/trs26E42Zho/v-deo.html
It could be done without a 3D printer by heating up the cut off pieces with a heat gun (could be done over a toaster or in an oven) and I was able to easily flatten them. It would then be very easy to sand them to fit the side of the scoop and glue them on.
When you fast forward thru your annoying sounds of pounding, you could use downloaded sounds like squishy toy or even a bok-bok chicken noise.
😃 Great idea!
So all that expense for the kit + All that time fusing about getting a seal + All the hours you have spent. You have saved 3 bucks?
Sorry, I don't remember when I say that I only saved 3 bucks. I must have misspoke or was thinking of a single bag of a less expensive item.
The hands-on time is actually very little if you are _not_ trying the video the process. When compared to buying commercial made freeze dried bags of food, the machine pays for itself (and the food) in about 25 to 50 batches, depending on what you choose to freeze dry.
I love how you use those dishes to freeze your food. Would you mind sharing the size of that?
I also have a question about the thermometers. I ordered those thermometers and I was wondering could I not insert those when the food is freezing so I don’t have to take the extra step of drilling a hole into my food?
The pans are just some pans we bought at a local Dollar store. They were called 8x8" pans, but the bottoms are about 7x7", a perfect fit for our freeze dryer trays.
I've been meaning to try putting some thermometers in the food before freezing, but I never remember to do it. I think it would work great. However, we are often prefreezing our blocks of food weeks before we freeze dry them, and have had 100 plus blocks awaiting their turn in the freeze dryer.
@@SchoolReports thank you so much for your feedback and you answer. Yeah that would be a problem you would need a lot of thermometers LOL. I’m not doing that yet so I think I’m gonna try to put the thermometers in the food when I freeze it. I don’t think my husband would appreciate me drilling holes in our food and by accident scraping the pan or something. That would be my lunch lol thank you again for your speedy response and the info.
This is probably the most informational video I think I've ever seen on freeze drying. Thank you
Thanks for watching and commenting!