Freeze Drying Milk, Again

Freeze drying a couple more gallons of milk. This time with (hopefully) more information. We had a couple gallons of milk that were going to go past their best-if used-by date while we were gone to the coast, so we frozen the milk in prep for freeze drying upon our return. This is their story. Bum-bum-bum-bum! (hear the Dragnet tune here)

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PackFreshUSA
We have been buying oxygen absorbers and 7 mil Mylar bags from PackFreshUSA since early 2018. During all that time (1000's of bag and oxygen absorbers, and about 6 year before before we added this affiliate link) we have been happy with the products and service we have received from them.
Use the discount code "SchoolReports5" to get 10% off your first purchase when using the link.
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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!

[elemental_video]

The cutting board hack is worth the cost of admission! 5 stars! Highly recommend!

[SilentWatcher]

I use a canning funnel for powdered products into the bags.

[lyndabuchholz]

Thanks! You give such good information!

[richardallan]

Could you double the portions/batch on the trays by stacking them on top of each other?

[annwithaplan]

Thanks. I like your ideas. I want to try that with soy/almond milk and see how that does. Have you tried that yourself?

[mburge]

Where can I get my hands on one of those clear circle inserts?

[Offbeat_Universe]

Is it better to pre-freeze before putting in freeze dried machine?
I've seen lots of folks on YouTube seems to do pre-freeze. So I'm kinda wondering why.
Does it save time and electricity by doing that?

[anwarsharif]

hey please can you tell me if i can freeze dry heavy cream, if so what will be the shelf life of heavy cream powder

[SilentWatcher]

Ahh, , , powdered milk. How long did the process take?

[noracharles]

We have an older FD, with 5 trays. We seem to have problems when we load each tray with all raw eggs, or all bone broth. We always pre-freeze. We have had massive blow ups. Should we be limiting the amount of liquid per batch? Instead of an all egg batch, should we limit the eggs to 3 trays and add sliced apples to the other two? Could we be overloading with liquid? We have been afraid to try milk. Love your channel. Thanks for the help!

[sandrajones]

What size oxygen absorbers do you put in the bags and how long will these store. Also, how much water do you add to each package of milk to bring it back to liquid?

[deborahraymond]

Why pre freeze for 2 weeks? What the heck? Sounds crazy for time!

[LivingBreadHomestead]

In my experience, lower fat milk with less sugar works best. The time I tried a brand name whole milk, it was a disaster. It looked like blown cotton candy in the freeze dryer. Because of the high humidity here in the South, the dried milk does reconstitute quickly if left out. It could be that is wasn't completely dry, although the trays felt dry. It was a huge mess😳
The second go around went perfect. Lower fat/sugar as well as pre freezing did the trick.

[janecantrell]

I was intrigued with the process of of how you freeze the milk in pans, then inserting and using a thermometer, and then crushing the milk in a plastic bag. It was well done! What temperature minimum were you looking for to tell you the process was done?

[maggiewilliams]

Hi, how long is the shelf life of the FD milk?

[DavidNinIllinois]

What number do you have the Sealer set on for those 7Mil bags?

[Maleezza]

Can u also FD buttermilk & whole milk not 2% ? Your subscriber

[sheilarogers]

Waste of bags. Just reseal and use it up