If you don’t mind rolling up your sleeves for a bit of upkeep, the premier oil pump’s simplicity and lower cost might be more attractive.
Freeze dried food retains its taste – Dehydrated food is often tough and tasteless once it is rehydrated. Food that is bought and placed in the refrigerator will also start to degrade, lose its flavor and texture, and go bad in pretty short order.
Even though the initial investment is high, the long-term savings and peace of mind about food security make it worthwhile for us.
Dehydrated food is a different animal. That is due to the nature of the dehydration process, which is fundamentally different than freeze drying.
Our oil pump gave out before we had used it more than a few weeks. It was a hassle to get it fixed and three months later it quit freezing and we had to send the whole machine back. And that was MONTHS ago! I lost my summer and fall harvest because they simply couldn’t be bothered to do anything about it.
The oil-free pump boasted many benefits but came with a downside – noise. It’s loud, and not in the charming way that a bustling kitchen might be. It’s more like the constant hum of a vacuum that’s persistent enough to drive you out of the room.
Most water extraction methods destroy enzymes and terpenes because of the heat used in the extraction process. Because the freeze drying process does not use heat to remove water, the enzymes and terpenes in freeze dried products are not destroyed.
I’ve worked a lot of electronics over the years, including working for the feds in electrical and electronics. Looking inside the unit, it’s obvious Harvest Right put a lot of effort into insuring trouble shooting and repairing their dryers would be as easy as it could be for people who know little about electronic and mechanical repairs.
There aren’t very many companies who sell a freeze dry machine for home use. In fact the only company we found is Harvest Right. They are starting to become more popular as people want to be less dependent on the Government and supply chain for their food.
Freeze-drying candy is becoming immensely popular, and our picks happen to be the best to get it done. A lot of us with freeze dryers and extra capacity are turning to selling freeze-dried candy to fuel the craze.
All of our picks use similar pumps and all get down to -40 degrees to effectively freeze dry the food within a reasonable amount of time. Industrial freeze dryers can do this more quickly but are of higher Shop Now capacity and are much larger.
) Since the process involves removing moisture from frozen food it can affect some food textures and flavors when it is reconstituted with water.
If a freeze dryer is out of the budget at the moment, you can buy food kits from Augason Farms that are already made up for you.
Vacuum Pump: Most freeze dryers have an external vacuum pump and many come with the pump included (but not all).