Freeze drying food

Food, Nutrition and Agriculture
Catswhiskers
Posts: 25
Joined: Sun Feb 19, 2017 9:18 pm
Location: Northern Ireland near north coast

Freeze drying food

Post by Catswhiskers »

Well, what can I say..."because I am worth it"????
I have yammered on about one of these from Harvest Right for three years, top of my wish list. Then I found they make the standard size in 220v which is ok in U.K., just needed an adaptor for three pin. There are generally good offers every couple of months so my friend and I bought one between us. I have a good sized garden, polytunnel and chickens so the theory was to dry what I grow rather than letting it rot or giving it away. Delivery men frequently went away with eggs and/ or veg.

I wasn't going to post about it in case it seemed I was bragging, I'm not. In six months it will have more than paid for itself. I have had it about 2 weeks and have dried about 2 gallons of strawberries, the same of rhubarb, raspberries, 4kg sweetcorn, some cabbage, mashed potatoes with chives, sliced potatoes baked in a cheese, onion and garlic sauce, beef chilli, chicken and turkey slices. I have been beating and freezing eggs which are awaiting their turn. I am intending to freeze as much as possible of my canned storage too.

It takes longer to go through the cycle than I expected but I have a little meter I will plug it into and then I will know what the operating costs are and pot that too. A farmer friend got me vacuum pump oil which it needs for the pump.

I really love it. Lidl have Irish beef mince half price this week so I will be grabbing some to do meatballs and various other things. If you have a friend or two who could split the cost, a zero % finance card if necessary, it is a good investment. Frozen in Time in England are willing to service or repair the unit .
Stonecarver
Posts: 506
Joined: Tue Aug 15, 2017 4:32 pm
Location: Eastern Scotland

Re: Freeze drying food

Post by Stonecarver »

Hello
Can you tell me where you got the Harvest Dryer from? If from States,how much was delivery. All details would be most welcome
Not worried about powering the whole house,just eating hot food,getting a brew,seeing through the dark,and staying warm.
Jansman