Freeze Drying - The Next 50 Batches - Batch 574 - Sister's Turkey Spam & Canned Ham Slices

Freeze Drying The Next 50 Batches - 551 to 600
Freeze dryer batch #574 - Turkey Spam and canned ham slices. Freeze drying another batch of my sister's food. (She didn't get her machine until a least 20 batches after this batch, still more of hers show being freeze dried in my machine)
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Freeze Drying The Next 50 Batches - 551 to 600: docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...
Batch worksheet link: docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...
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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!
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!
We have been getting our Mylar bags and oxygen absorbers for PackFreshUSA.com and have been happy with the products and service we have received from them. --They are not a sponsor, we just like their stuff.
Mylar bags: packfreshusa.com/mylar-gusset...

[@SchoolReports]

Want to support the channel? Buy me a coffee :-) www.buymeacoffee.com/DanZm If you are thinking of buying a freeze dryer, please consider supporting us by purchasing through our affiliate link. It helps us and costs you nothing! affiliates.harvestright.com/995.html Before buying a freeze dryer perhaps research to find out more about the downside of the machine; like with any big machine, some people say they have had problems with their machine and it's big and heavy and hard to return! Batch worksheet link: docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/13DCB2hXo9_ZYrhIUicLk2IrEaQGszwbaJTcEH8wJxk4/edit?usp=sharing Freeze Drying: The Next 50 Batches 551 to 600 docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1SeVFOmCqhu75fg96E9lAjUXsK9zJotiZ_HKhzQ0dAXA/edit?usp=sharing

[@PattyLU2]

Thanks for the laughs at the end on the zucchini and your out takes. Such fun and you're such a joy to listen to and watch. Thank you!

[@amyvoight6910]

Thanks so much for the video. We’re planning on freeze drying spam & I needed some tips. You’re like the Bob Ross of freeze drying, and I mean that with much respect. I love your videos - you’re just a positive, knowledgeable & calm spirit. Thanks for your channel!

[@SchoolReports]

Thanks! If you don't already have one, I'd suggest a Spam slicer. I bought one for my sister after seeing her poor slicing:) They work great and can be used for a few other things; I've used it for strawberries and it worked great. The Spam my sister was doing was turkey Spam and has less fat than the regular, so I would also recommend lining the tray with a paper towel and putting a paper towel over the top in case any fats do come out. (This is the 4th time I been compared to Bob Ross - I love it!) Freeze drying a batch of happy little Spam slices . . .

[@Forestriveroutfitter]

Ham is my #1 favorite meat to FD. Comes back extremely fast and with zero loss of flavor and texture.

[@SchoolReports]

And it's really good well still dry!

[@mcmillanfarms]

I am new to freeze drying, just got ours this week. Seeing how you have tried freeze drying so many different things, I would love to see a video of what were the best items once reconstituted and best items just eaten freeze dried. A video on which items were not worth the effort would probably be very helpful as well. Thanks for all the effort you put into your videos.

[@SchoolReports]

Thanks for watching! I like it! It's such a simple ask - Could you just rate all 2 or 3 hundred foods you've tried! 🤣😇It is way past time for me to update our Freeze Dried Food List; I'll work on getting it updated and add ratings and notes for the items. And I'll try to mention more of my favorite freeze dried foods and why in videos. For the most part I find that if a food freezes and thaws okay, it seems to freeze dry and rehydrate well too. Sliced ham is great! Dry or wet, and it rehydrates in seconds. For vegetables, freeze dried corn is the best! It's like candy when still dry! (and rehydrates well) Garden fresh (and blanched) green bean are great after rehydrating, but taste like lawn clippings when still dry. As far as does something 'work well' that depends on what you mean by that and your expectations. Most vegetables freeze dry (and rehydrate) fine, they turn out about the same as if the were just frozen and then thawed. Freeze drying zucchini and eggplant will work, but it still leaves you with zucchini and eggplant, which are yucky! Freeze dried, thin sliced apples, are probably my favorite freeze dried snack food. Freeze dried list as of 1-27-21 kzbin.info/www/bejne/iZbJaaCagdmgbJo Freeze dried list as of 1-27-21 docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1M8Zhqb8GdCLdYFF9yTQ7KU2oSPYgU7QoR-p2dpTa-R0/edit?usp=sharing Remember, I'm just another idiot on the internet. The #1 joke at our house is "But, I saw it on the internet!"

[@eileenniehaus5368]

@@SchoolReports yes! Apples, but fresh apples. These are candy. 😋

[@sonyah1274]

You mentioned in one of your videos that rack that you put your trays on in FD. that the bottom one was hotter/colder and the top one was hotter/colder. But I can't remember which way it was. I have searched but you have soooo many. I really enjoy your videos and I have learned so much from you. And too it was funny your take on zucchini.

[@SchoolReports]

Thanks for watching and commenting. The top and bottom spots TEND to be about 10 degrees cooler than the middle 2 spots in my 2017 machine and also in my sister's new 2022 machine. This why we started rotating the tray positions.

[@starfire8221]

Amazon has a great spam cutter😂

[@lcdc59]

Thanks Phil & familey!!

[@SchoolReports]

?

[@chrislg1957ilovespam]

Yes they do make a Spam Slicer ....I have one ...got it on Amazon .... They work great

[@SchoolReports]

🤔 When I heard myself say that during editing, it reminded my to go check. I bought her one (actually a 2 pack) on Amazon - she loves it. I should have known that they would make them! 🤣

[@cfkkirby]

I cut my spam using my egg slicer turned on its side. Perfect slices every time.

[@SchoolReports]

I bought my sister a actual Spam Slicer. (Who knew they made them - but of course they do) She says it works great!

[@brianschindler1511]

👍👍👍👍👍

[@ShutterFanatic]

Great videos. I noticed that you keep having to use that frosting spatula to bright the gasket forward. Have you ever considered putting a thin gasket on the red side to keep it forward a little?

[@SchoolReports]

We are trying something like that right now on my sister's new machine. I should make it more clear on the videos when I mention the seal and the seal ring that the amount of movement is just a couple of thousandths of an inch. Even a piece of thin paper would be way too thick to fit in the seal "gap." I only do it because (I'm me😁) I don't stay around for when it starts the vacuum and I want to be 100% sure that it's sealed before it starts.

[@ShutterFanatic]

@@SchoolReports got it. Just getting mine setup. Your videos are very helpful

[@kellyvcraig]

If you have to use something to move the door gasket, you NEED to adjust your door, rather than do a Rube Goldberg repair.

[@SchoolReports]

@@kellyvcraig 🤣 Rube Goldberg 🤣

[@kellyclemmer9715]

I asked my 2 year old what her brother likes to eat. Her response “NOT zucchini!” He would absolutely agree with you. He often sits down to a meal and says “THANK YOU for not giving me any zucchini!!!” Anyway, you two can get along on that.

[@SchoolReports]

Ha! Have him try the dry seasoned zucchini chips. If he tries them (and likes them), maybe, just maybe, I'd try one too! 🤣

[@kellyclemmer9715]

@@SchoolReports I’ll get back to you on that! Maybe after summer zucchini season. He’s 5 years old and OBSESSED with FD. He thinks everyone will like any food if it’s FD. He’s hilarious.

[@jeffjohnson6252]

Question, sir @SchoolReports...WHY freeze dry Spam when it's nice & stable for long term in the original can? Not trying to be an idjit....just hoping to learn, as a brand new freeze dryer owner.

[@SchoolReports]

That's very reasonable question! The printed shelf life of cans of Spam is fairly short. (Of course the real safe shelf is much greater) Also, it makes it lighter for back packing or for the travel trailer. Plus, the shelf life can be longer when freeze dried, plus it's really good as a dry snack. Candy doesn't need to be freeze dried at all for storage, but some things are just better after being freeze dried!

[@misterp158]

good stuff, everyone loves Spam, thanks for sharing

[@SchoolReports]

Well, apparently some people think it's bad and/or evil, or that it will kill the freeze dryer!

[@j.l.dawson1290]

Have you ever done regular Spam? Do you cook the Spam first before you FD?

[@SchoolReports]

These we my sister's, and yes she has done regular Spam. (it turned out fine) She hasn't cooked just slices for freeze drying, but she has had it as an ingredient in things that she has cooked and then freeze dried. You certainly could cook it, and it might be very good that way, but it is already cooked when it's canned.

[@j.l.dawson1290]

Have you ever used Silica packets with the Oxygen Absorbers? Or has anyone on here?

[@SchoolReports]

Thanks for the question! I have never added Silica Gel (or any other desiccant packs) to my Mylar bags of food. Maybe we'll hear from people that do use them. I don't think that putting desiccant packs in with the oxygen absorber would do any harm because they do completely things and probably won't interfere with each other. (Though, I don't think Silica Gel will do what people think they will do, because it stores the water, it doesn't convert it. It's still there.) I could be totally wrong, I don't know enough of the science of Silica Gel. Desiccant packs may be worth using, but I never have and I haven't seen any science/commercial papers saying that I should, and Mountain House freeze dried food packs don't have them. I found this in the Q & A area at PackFreshUSA: The desiccant absorbs moisture. If you have an Oxygen Absorber system with a good seal, there is not really a need for one usually. . . . You wouldn’t be the first to use one and it certainly wont hurt... it just is likely not necessary. They sell desiccant packs, but it doesn't sound like they are trying very hard to sell them to us. (Us, meaning people doing home freeze drying.)

[@steelhorses2004]

Great idea. How long do you think canned ham and spam (regular) will last freeze dried?

[@SchoolReports]

I only have 5 years of personal experience with OUR freeze dried items, so I only KNOW it's good for about 5 years. But, some foods will have a shorter shelf life; Mountain House only gives their ice cream bars a 3 year life span, and by way of comparison, has freeze dried ground beef that's good for 30 years and has plenty of fat. (15 grams of fat in a 37 gram dry serving. I worked it out once, and I think it worked out to about 7% fat before freeze drying) mountainhouse.com/collections/freeze-dried-meats/products/ground-beef-10-can

[@micheletanis9973]

I did spam. My freeze drier was full of grease. I had to wipe it down 3 times with alcohol. My trays also. Did u have this problem also. How did u clean up?

[@SchoolReports]

She (these were my sister's) had zero issues with them. Maybe because it was turkey spam? I do know that she has done Spam a few times and never had a problem, not even the least bit of fat on the trays. I just went over and asked her; she has only freeze dried turkey Spam, like in this video, which only has 4.5 grams of fat per serving vs 16 prams per serving for the regular Spam. When we do batches that have more fat in them (like hamburger, cheese, etc), we do line the trays with paper towels and put paper towels over the food to capture any fat that comes out of the food to keep it from making it to the chamber walls. We have also lowered the tray temperature down to 110ºf sometimes.

[@lillypatience]

Thanks again! I’m confused about the weight difference at 21:13 and 23:38 . What happened between coming out of the FD and final weighing?

[@SchoolReports]

If you are referring to the 7 or 8 gram loss per tray, It's the thermometers. When I'm weighing the trays at the freeze dryer I'm just checking to see if they have stopped losing weight, so I don't care if the thermometers are still in the food. With the final weighing, I'm going to use the it to calculate the weight loss, so I remove any thermometers first for consistency. (because I don't always have thermometers in every tray)

[@lillypatience]

@@SchoolReports thank you for the clarification!

[@forseeit]

Question - on the new freeze dryer (with the premier pump) do you plan to change the oil on a schedule? I'm a good 40 batches in and my oil still looks clean and clear.

[@SchoolReports]

I think her current plan is to filter it every 20 or so batches. And you're right, it still looks great after a dozen or so batches! Nice!

[@kellyvcraig]

@@SchoolReports, changing oil is so easy, why not change it every 20 batches. I always have freshly cleaned oil and an unopened gallon around, so it isn't like using up oil is an issue.

[@SchoolReports]

@@kellyvcraig On my sister's new machine that's what she is doing, changing it after every 20 or 30 batches and the oil still looks perfect. Not so on the old ones. On the old vacuum pumps it's not an issues of changing the oil every 20 or so batches like with the new vacuum pumps; the oil needs to be changed at LEAST once every batch just to stay as clean as the oil in the new pumps after 40 to 80 batches. They simply are not the same vacuum pumps.

[@jeffrichards2011]

Q: Sausage? How long can we expect FD's sausage to last if stored correctly in air tight/oxygen free sealed mylar bag? If we read the labels on the cans of FD sausage from companies like Mt House, Honeyville, etc.. we can see the FAT content on the label is pretty high, >25 grams, but yet they claim the unopened can should last for >10 years. Is their sublimation process different? TIA

[@SchoolReports]

I assume (without proof, because I only have 5 1/2 years of data) that we should be able to get the same shelf life for the same product. If we could get 75% of that I'd be happy. However, we probably don't have the same product, I'm sure they have spent a LOT of time and money to perfect their recipes, ingredients, and processes. The one thing that I'm not concerned about is the sublimation process. Their freeze drier are many times bigger and have the ability to capture the sublimated water a greater rate so they can run them faster, but overall the process is still the same. I would think that the fact that they can do nitrogen flushing of the bags before sealing would be a bigger benefit.

[@jeffrichards2011]

@@SchoolReports Thank you. I would agree that if we could get 75% of their projected shelf life on foods like Sausage - I'd be happy as well. I'm a big advocate on ROTATING FOODS and monitoring my pantry stored foods...so there is that factor. Foods with higher "fat" content, will just be higher up on the list to rotate through. Again thank you for all your great videos.

[@SchoolReports]

@@jeffrichards2011 Couldn't agree more, well said! Rotating and testing to make sure everything is holding up as it should.

[@jeffrichards2011]

@@SchoolReports Thanks again!

[@kerry1963qld]

Hi Dan , can I ask if you run your machine in an airconditioned room ? Just wondering because it can get pretty stinking hot here in Australia so we used to only run our machine in winter but now we have an airconditioned room ( mmy pantry 😉 ) we will be starting it up again after sitting for a few years and wondering if it will be ok .

[@SchoolReports]

Thanks for asking. No, it's not in an air conditioned area, but it is in a basement where it rarely gets over about 22°C (about 72°F) even during the hottest part of our summer. It only gets that warm BECAUSE I'm running 2 large freezers and a freeze dryer down there. Without the freezers and freeze dryer running it might plummet down to as low as 62°F (about 17°C) in the winter. With them running, it's about 68°F (20°C) down there right now, and it was about 22°F (-5°C) outside overnight.

[@kerry1963qld]

@@SchoolReports Thanks for reply , well it should do pretty good in the aircon then :)

[@hydej1667]

😀 😛 🐸 ❤️ 😋

[@debphillips4719]

Can I ask why you want to freeze dry spam because in a can it will last longer than 25yrs.... Truly I want to know because maybe you know something I don't. Thank you in advance

[@SchoolReports]

That's a very reasonable question! We freeze dry a number of things that don't "need" to be freeze dried. The printed shelf life on cans of Spam is very short. (Of course I understand the real safe shelf is much greater) One of our main reasons is that it makes it lighter for back packing or for the travel trailer. Plus, it's really good as a dry snack. (I personally think it's much better when dry.) It's kind of like candy; it doesn't NEED to be freeze dried for storage, but some things are just better after being freeze dried!

[@Bama_J]

Dan, was the spam cooked or raw?

[@SchoolReports]

I believe it was straight out of the can. I don't think my sister cooked it before freeze drying it, but of course it was was cooked when it was being canned.

[@Bama_J]

@@SchoolReports thanks! I will try this

[@SchoolReports]

@@Bama_J She just confirmed to me that it was straight out of the can. (Turkey Spam)

[@Bama_J]

@@SchoolReports wonderful! Thanks again

[@lcdc59]

I meant Dan.

[@SchoolReports]

Thanks. 🤣 I thought maybe I said something odd in the video!

[@Bama_J]

Evening