If you've been curious about getting a freeze-dryer, then this podcast is a must-listen because we're diving deep into everything you'd want to know about freeze-drying before bringing one home!
Today's podcast (episode #442) is special for me because it's with my best friend, Carolyn Thomas of Homesteading Family. In this episode, we share the behind-the-scenes of our freeze-drying journies and share some of the mistakes we made along the way.
In This Episode
- Discussing Carolyn's new book, Freeze Drying the Harvest.
- We share how skeptical we both were of freeze drying and home freeze dryers.
- Carolyn shares her first use of the freeze-dryer with making freeze-dried onions and then freeze-dried eggs.
- One of my favorite uses for the freeze-dryer is to make freeze-dried zucchini.
- How long a freeze-dryer takes for each batch.
- We share the must-know tips for making freeze-drying more practical.
- The difference between the new sizes and old sizes of the Harvest Right machines (plus the pros and cons of each).
- Tips on freeze-drying multiple food items together (should we freeze dry onions and strawberries in the same batch? Spoiler: The answer is NO!). But you may want to freeze-dry some garlic with last night's leftover spaghetti! Plus, proper machine cleaning tips to prevent flavors from transferring to your next batch.
- Our love of freeze-dried tomatoes and all the ways we can use them!
- Tips for freeze drying and using yogurt.
- Carolyn's seven steps of freeze drying.
- Prepare the food
- Pre-treat the food
- Pre-freeze the food
- Freeze-dry the food
- Test the food
- Store the food
- Rehydrate the food
- Learn how to properly store freeze-dried food.
- Learn how to rehydrate various freeze-dried foods.
- Myths of freeze-drying food.
- Tips for storing food, depending on if you're storing it for 5-20 years, 1-5 years, or only a few months.
Freeze Drying the Harvest
I was so honored to get a pre-sale copy of Carolyn's new book, Freeze Drying the Harvest (Amazon) or (Direct from Publisher). Right now, if you grab her book on pre-sale, she has all kinds of goodies that she'll throw in as a bonus!
Once you place your order, grab your confirmation number (you can find this under order details in your Amazon account), then claim your pre-sale bonuses here!
For more information, you can check out more of Carolyn's freeze-drying tutorials on her website, Homesteading Family.