Freeze Drying This Years Apples - 86 lbs

Freeze Drying apples - 2021

We picked about 86 lbs of apples at the beginning of October. We picked about 26 lbs of Golden Delicious and about 60 lbs of Fuji apples. At the time of this video we had finished freeze drying 5 batches of the apples, have a batch in the Harvest Right, and 3 more batches in the freezer awaiting their turn, for a total of 9 freeze dryer loads.

Also, our new apple peeler arrived just in time to use on this years apples.

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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!
I'd check Costco first to see if you can get one there. - Best return policy:)

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!

[lindapeterson]

I like to sprinkle my snacking apples with a little cinnamon before I FD them. They are so delicious!

[Todd_S]

We got two five gallon buckets of apples from our neighbor's apple trees. We have great neighbors!

[allisonbennett]

Thank you for sharing all your knowledge and systems. You have so much credibility and I’ve learned so much.

[dsboutdoors]

As usual!! You still impressed me! Wish we had orchards like that here in Colorado. At least winter is coming and that will free up a lot of my time to do more FD ing.

Again Thank You for sharing!

[sassyherbgardener]

Thank you for making your videos. I just found your channel today, and have already learned a lot! I was searching for how to stop the condensation from dripping down the HR door, and saw you make your insulation ring around the seal. Awesome!! We may make one. Thanks again!

[debik]

Awesome. Great video. Although I mostly FD other foods, apples are my favorite thing. I love, love love snacking on them. Better than any candy!

[jsigmo]

Something to try, when first opening the drain valve to relieve the vacuum, is to just barely crack the valve open so that the chamber fills very slowly.

This is sort of frustratingly slow, but it seems like it's easier on everything.

It may be entirely coincidental, but I find that my vacuum pump oil is always pristine with none of the discoloration or particulate contamination that others describe, even after long use. I figure any particles, ice, or liquid water that may be lurking near the vacuum pump exit opening in the chamber, or anywhere in the chamber won't be as likely to be swept up and get drawn into the pump or it's tubing.

And flexing of the chamber and the various seals such as the wiring feed-through may be lessened by reducing the sudden shock of opening the drain valve rapidly.

And I don't risk nasty old chunkage that's formed in the drain tube or valve area being sucked back into the chamber or onto the food in the finished batch.

I do get impatient waiting for the door to pop open, but I think venting the chamber slowly seems prudent.

[debbiee]

Now you can take the peelings and the Coors and cook them down and make apple jelly as well

[JipseeGirl]

Sooo... Looks like I can put alot more apples on my trays than what I have been putting. Good tip about the citric mixture...

[judyjohnson]

How did you determine these apples were dry? You didn’t weigh them on camera? Thanks so much for these wonderful videos. I appreciate the way you explain everything.

[ThirteenKidsLater]

What type of laser did you use for the apples? That was brilliant and would decrease headaches for me. I also appreciate how you use silicone mats and baking trays to prefreeze before storing in ziploc bags. I have a large freeze dryer and three quart sized ziplocks fill one tray. However, the product tends to freeze into a block and dry slower. Your method would solve that dilemma for me as well. Enjoying your channel. Thank you for sharing with us.

[Tnkcommander]

I've yet to have a batch of apple slices last more than 2 months before getting soft and ruined. I've read thin slices and no skin is the fix....but you have left the skins on. Have you found those apple slices are lasting for years, or not? Thanks!

[lynnscott]

Does leaving the skins on hinder the drying?

[ewcraigs]

What is that lid you are using in place of the pad on the Harvestright?

[johnbailley]

what is the best thickness for the freeze drier?

[donkrider]

So whats the purpose of the thermometer and what temps are you looking for?

[emailausdrucker]

do you think an O2 absorber is needed when you have a pressure chamber?

[Barbarabenhill]

Mine were nice and white until I tried to rehydrate them. Then they turned brown. What did I do wrong?

[lynnscott]

How did you get the round slices? By cutting it differently?

[suprmn]

Where did you find your scoop? That looks like a perfect fit. Enjoy your videos, thanks