Batch 637 - Freeze Drying Peaches - First Batch of Fresh Peaches This Year!
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- Опубліковано 2 вер 2023
- Batch 637 - Freeze drying the first of a few batches of peaches for 2023. This year we're doing at least 5 batches of peaches, including at least one batch using my sister's newer Harvest Right.
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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 the channel? Buy me a coffee :-) www.buymeacoffee.com/DanZm
If you are thinking of buying a freeze dryer, please consider supporting us by purchasing through our affiliate link. It helps us and costs you nothing! affiliates.harvestright.com/995.html
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.
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!
I just love your thoroughness. Best on YT. Thank you for showing your work. Much appreciated!!
Thanks!
I have an older machine as well and appreciate all this information….peaches going in next.
Thanks for watching!
Yummy! I cannot wait until peach season this year. Maybe my favorite fruit. I FD some store bought peaches and they required maybe 50+ hours and they never got crispy like the other fruit I’ve done. I hope they were done. They had only lost 1 gram per tray the last couple times I did a dry check.🤷🏼♀️
Some very ripe fruits seem to less crispy and more cotton-candy-squishy, like these pears. Comice Pear Slices ua-cam.com/video/fbREiFhTpgk/v-deo.htmlsi=eQwcJL_FXnSXnH8S&t=1671
👍👍👍👍👍
I WANT THAT T SHIRT!!!
That's not fair, I show more than one t shirt in this video! 🤣
Most of my current shirts are either gifts or from Amazon. (or both?) Some of the ones I show are 25+ years old. I do have some shirt links on my Amazon store page.
Every video is just awesome! THANK YOU!
Thanks so much for watching and commenting!
Love me some freeze dried peaches! Especially good when rehydrated in a Fuzzy Navel!
Sounds good!
Great information thankyou so much for sharing
It’s been awhile since you’ve posted a new video on either channel and I was going to ask if you were all right.. but then I noticed you were answering people on videos a week or 2 ago? so I knew you were fine. I haven’t checked since then though (6/25/24).
This video came up in my feed and thought I should watch it, because I’m FD’ing sliced peaches. I had watched a different channel where this gal bought large cans at Costco and FD’d them. I liked that idea.
I found large cans at Sam’s Club and bought a bunch. I watched some guy on a completely different channel spoon them directly from the cans to the trays, whereas the gal had washed hers.
I decided to try what the guy did because he didn’t show the results of his batch. Sure enough the sugar content in the light syrup crystallized and they came out in one large blob. I had a feeling they would, but had to try it.
Last night I washed a can’s worth (they’re freezing right now), and will see how a washed batch comes out. It’s been several months since the syrupy batch was done.
I didn’t try fresh peaches because I didn’t know how to peel them… Now I do! Blanch them and if ripe they practically peel themselves 😂 as long as they’re scored.
I thought about mailing an item I ordered off Amzn to you because I have no use for it. I ordered “Yesland collapsible plastic bucket on wheels” without realizing it’s a 2 pack. I only wanted one. But I’m lazy and haven’t made it to the post office. Since I’m making this comment, I thought I’d ask you if you wanted it-look it up. If the colors are correct the unopened package I have might be the grey colored one. If not, I would then just send a Get Well card, or something to say “hi” because as you state “who doesn’t like getting stuff?”
I bought some dowels and wire that I need to do a makeshift slicer for my ice cream (I haven’t given up on that, I just have so many other things going on)…I need to sit down and create what I have in mind. I’m planning on stringing the wires between 2 dowels to create a slicer-like pattern about 1 cm apart that I can press on an entire quart and slice it all in one fell push. 👍
We've been away from video stuff for a while (and tied up doing prep) to help #1 son move 2000 miles away. Big road trip! I will be posting some of the travel video when I can. I need to learn how to post while on the road.😁 I tried some Blue Bell brand ice cream while in Texas. (Got it at Buc-ee's) Blue Bell makes a great A&W Root Beer Float Ice Cream. - I brought home 2 pints all the way from Texas. www.bluebell.com/product/aw-root-beer-float/ It's not in stores in our part of the country.
Peaches are good, and fresh is best, of course. We have done canned peaches (and other canned fruit) and we've mostly just drained them without washing them. Maybe just a light rinse. We just didn't see the light syrup as a big issue.
Peaches do slice pretty well using a Spam slicer; nice even slices. Slicing Peaches for Freeze Drying using a Spam Slicer - ua-cam.com/video/qDBmod1l4tE/v-deo.htmlsi=2NtBGTpvd7sbYtV4 I just need a giant one for ice cream:)
Collapsible buckets look cool and now that I know about them (thanks) I'll have to get one (or more) for the van camping, probably without wheels, but I don't think I could use one the size that you have. I had no idea there were so many choices of shapes and sizes of collapsible bowl/bucket things out there. I'll look for a small-ish sized one to use as a wash basin.
Nice 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻 👍🏻
Love the T-Shirt on extrapolating data😂
Surprised you didn't use acid to prevent browning. I find peaches, apples and avocado particularly benefit.
Thanks! I often wear that shirt when I meet new doctors or other "professionals." If they don't get the shirt, I don't trust them! One time I had to explain to an assistant what "extrapolate" meant, and she still didn't get it. I was worried! But, the doctor took one glance, laughed, and said "Oh, that's good!"
Acid - I forgot when I started the peaches this year! 😅I hang my head in shame. 🤣 I did finally remember the ascorbic acid on subsequent batches.
My peaches peeled without scalding! They worked great. I did 2 bushel. I dislike peach skins but freeze dried, I loved them! Too funny how we are all different.
Had I watched the whole video before I started commenting 🤦♀️😳🤣
It's okay to like different things (or the same/similar things in a different form), _as long as_ you don't start professing a love of mint; that's just yucky! 🤣🤣
@@SchoolReports I LOVE peppermint but not spearmint. 🤷♀️
@@robingirven4570 🤔 Well, I do hate peppermint a little less than I hate spearmint! 🤣
@@SchoolReports You’re too funny! I’m marathon watching your older videos today! That banana cream pie? Oh my!!
@@robingirven4570 🤣 I have to apologize for _many_ of my older videos. They work if you already know about freeze drying. In my focus to keep them very short, most of my older, shorter videos are almost devoid of information! I had just assumed that people watching them would already know about freeze drying, and had watched all my earlier videos leading up to each one, and therefore, they would make sense. Oops! Then I found out that half the viewers of each video have never seen any of my videos before and a large number had never even seen _any_ freeze drying video before. That's when I switched to the longer format with the (somewhat) more repetitive content. 😁 I just had to realize that people know how to skip ahead!
Nature's candy!
🤣 Sounds about right! 👍 These were _so_ good.
At the end of the FD cycle, sometimes the trays are hot , or room temp, and some times it's freezing cold. .
That's one of the reasons we put thermometers into the food; so we never take it out when the trays are cold.
On my older machine (mid 2017) the heaters are off during the last 15 minutes of the process. I try to take mine out before the end of the process so they will be very warm. (120ºf) With mine, the trays will generally start to feel cool/cold within 30 minutes of the heaters turning off and the vacuum shutting off.
are you going to up grade your freeze dryer, to the pro version?
No. Not if I have to pay for it. 🤣
For the price it would be, I wouldn't be interested, and perhaps equally important, my older machine (mid 2017) can not be "upgraded" to the newest firmware. I've never "upgraded" my firmware from the original and have no plans to ever do so - I like the old version. (I put upgrade in quotes because I didn't see it as an upgrade:) Perhaps I would be more interested if I were just starting out and didn't have 50 bins full already.
If my machine every dies, then I would consider my options. (Including using my sister's machine - don't tell her!) I have a list of 10+ freeze dryer brands/makers. (In the pinned comment)
Sir, I have a question for you. Have you ever had a batch that gained a few grams of weight on the second dry cycle? I put them in for a third cycle and was same as second . Also I have had nothing but trouble with the sealers and have went through 2 of them until I spent the extra money for a commercial sealer. Glad I did.😊
Great question. I've never had an _actual_ weight gain during the weight check cycles. _So far_ every time I _thought_ I had a gain, it turned out to be another issue. Once it turned out that I had a fan hitting the tray - showed a gain of 3 grams, once I forgot that I had added a thermometer mid cycle and the weight was up 8 or 9 grams, and a couple times the batteries on the scale were getting low and it showed weights that didn't make sense.
It's an important step; checking to make sure your sealer actually functions. It's great to know that you checked yours! I've been happy with my sealer; it's the same kind that I'd used for decades (decades ago:) in a commercial setting.
@@SchoolReports Thank you. At least now I have some things to check if this ever happens again.
When or how do you decide which bin the final product goes into?
Great question!
The system of organizing we started with was more or less - veggies, bins 1-5, all fruits in 6-10. etc. We had a tag on each bin listing what was in that bin. By the time we had 15 or 20 bins full and had started to use some of it, moving things in and out, things started to get messy. If you want to use a First-In-First-Out (FIFO) system, then you're still going to need to dig through the bins a bit to get the exact bag needed. (oldest of that item) That's why we switched to tracking the location of each bag using a database and just put the bags where there is space. We found, for us, it was easier to find anything.
Until I started making the "First 50 Batch" series I really hadn't given much thought to having a plan or goal for our freeze drying. That was a big reason I started making the series; to tell other people to start with a plan or goal! The bins from those batches would be great for grab-and-go bins because each bin does have a good mix of foods.
Other than those 8 bins the rest of the storage is simply based on where is there space. Nothing else.
😀Two words: Barcode Scanner. (And maybe a little RC forklift)
My first thought when I decided to track our inventory was to use a warehouse inventory management system. (WMS) And, of course, barcode every bag (or RFID tags) with a unique code, have scanners at the prep area, bagging area, and at the racks. I could track all movement! I could track the WIP and the BOMs for each batch. . . . 🤣
The response I got? Let me ask you this - Is it possible for someone to damage their Eye-rolling muscles? My wife thought we should try a simple database first, since we don't have 1000's of SKU's or a large warehouse.
But, seriously. . .
We keep it super simple by not "organizing" it! 😁
There is no "organization" of our inventory on our racks of freeze dried food anymore. 😁We just put the bags into bins and track the locations in a data base. It's like a small, super simple, warehouse management system. (We both spent a lot of years in food related manufacturing) We do print an updated hard copy every month or two and use it for the day to day movements of bags in and out.
We are using OpenOffice database to track our bags of food, and of course, we can sort by food, date, or location.
@@SchoolReports
I can’t thank you enough for sharing your efforts and experience. I will be implementing some of your practices. I bought an EX Large FD, and getting it set up right now. All of your tips and experience will truly save me a lot of mess ups. I’m super excited to implement the process of freezing ahead of time as you do in smaller pans and weighing them until the no longer lose water to determine ready to store. I’ll keep watching. ❤️❤️
@alisamuir9864 Thanks so much for watching and commenting! I'm glad to hear you've found some useful ideas.
Until I started making the "First 50 Batch" series of videos, I really hadn't given much thought to having a plan or goal for our freeze drying. (Except making space in our freezers) That was a big reason I started making the series; to tell other people to start with a plan or goal! Having a plan, _any plan,_ is better than no plan! It took us a long time to start freeze drying to/with a plan. Close to 5 years. I learned a lot doing the 50 Batch series.
🍑 🙂 🍑 😋 🍑 🐸 🍑
Your pre weight was without the thermometer and your post weight was WITH the thermometer. OOOOOOPS Might work for weight check, but total weight reduction is not known.
? 😁
I remove the thermometers before weighing for the final weights at 18:36