In the past, only large food processing companies had the technological ability to freeze dry food. Today, while not yet common, their freeze dryers available for home use.
Every can you put on the shelves is full of liquid, which accounts for most of its weight and the space it takes up. Freeze dried food takes up a fraction of the space of cans, and less space than dehydrated foods too.
While various sealing systems can be used, vacuum sealers or heat sealers are often preferred for freeze-dried products. These systems help remove air and create an airtight seal, which is crucial for maintaining the quality and shelf life of freeze-dried items.
Simply press start on the touch screen and the patented Smart Freeze™ technology senses when it’s done.
The weight of the freeze dryer – If you have ever lifted a microwave oven you know they are heavier than they look. The same is true for the freeze dryer, except they are much bigger than a microwave.
While there are many places to get a freeze-dryer, you are likely to have some issues with it. If you’re a first-time buyer, you want something reliable. Don’t think that saving a few hundred makes it a good deal. Here's why certain platforms might not be the best choice:
Freeze drying completely removes water in about 24 hours. Shop Now No other preservation method comes close to removing water this quickly. This is important because the longer a harvested plant or compound retains water, the greater the chance it has of spoiling and losing nutrition and potency.
The freeze dryers profiled above represent the state of the art as far as home freeze drying technology is concerned. Use the information in this guide to help you make an informed choice about which one is right for your particular needs.
Whether your electrical wiring is up to the job – The larger freeze dryers consume quite a bit of electricity and require a 220 volt plug. If you have an older house or live in an old apartment building it may not have one. Also, freeze dryers can draw as much as 16 or 17 amps at their peak consumption.
Freeze drying food saves space – A freeze dryer is a good idea if you want to create an emergency food bank for yourself or your family but you do not have a lot of space.
Cost analysis is a much more crucial consideration when you are looking at larger machines. Processing a mix of emergency food twice per week on your own Home Pro XLarge model should see an investment payback of just 11 weeks, according to our freeze dryer calculator.
Other brands, like Harvest Right, want you to contact them to make sure you get the correct parts and know how to install them. There are pros and cons for both service approaches. Maintenance parts are available at most manufacturer’s websites.
All of our experience and the testing we do to determine the best freeze dryer is useless without listing our research sources and references. We leaned on these for the book knowledge that we paired with our hands-on testing and practical prepping experience:
We’ve got a great stash of organic, spray-free food we can trust because, let’s face it, even “organic” from the store isn’t always what it seems.