Freeze Dried Rice

Freeze drying rice is easy. Long grain white and Arborio rice

[@bbikermama]

I just found you today. Love your no nonsense style - chemistry+freeze drying = Phil @ 4800’!! 😂

[@Philat4800feet]

Thanks

[@Gonesquirrely]

Phil, you’re certainly worth your weight in gold! Another great video.

[@Philat4800feet]

Wow, thanks

[@jamesschultz796]

I take the white rice that comes with our Chinese takeout and put it into the freeze drier. It comes back to life just like minute rice.

[@pacearrow4620]

I can't stack that much rice in my year 2017 machine. I have been freeze drying cooked wild rice in my HR and that saves sooo much time. Trader joes has California cultivated wild rice for $5 a pound!

[@sandys.1891]

Good to know. TY

[@maegan5034]

Great suggestions! Will try this with rice and already do this with penne pasta cooked in chicken broth/rosemary. I've been experimenting with FD rice pudding using a Crockpot recipe w/o eggs added. I've processed one batch already [almond flavored w/ cherry-infused Craisins] and right now am processing rice pudding with vanilla bean paste, cinnamon, and raisins. I place the raisins/Craisins on top of the pudding in the FD pans as I've experienced former problems with embedded fruit not yet dry but our infrared thermometer indicating it's dry. I use any remaining milk from the cooked pudding to plump up the raisins/Craisins separately before placing them on top. [ya, I know....just so I can then remove all that moisture in the FD!] This actually adds more nutrition to them as well as flavor. Because I deliberately am using whole milk to make the pudding with my eye on full nutrition for long-term storage, these batches do take a lot of time to FD plus we always follow your suggestion to add on the extra 12 hours setting which makes all the difference for sleeping through the night or being away from the machine for various reasons. I like the idea of FD rice pudding: great crunchy snack right out of the Mylar bag with a fair array of nutrition, also a quick, warm dessert if rehydrating, AND effective long-term nutritional storage containing protein, milk fat, calcium, carbs, and fruit in a small bit of space. PLUS, it makes a great holiday gift for neighbors. THANKS FOR ANOTHER VERY HELPFUL VIDEO!

[@Philat4800feet]

Grapes and raisins have always been a problem due to higher sugar and the skin. How thick is your pudding when FD? What would happen if sliced your raisins? (food processor)

[@maegan5034]

@@Philat4800feet Great questions! And thanks for the suggestion to slice the raisins/Craisins in the future! For the almond flavored/Craisin test batch, I spread the pudding very thinly on the pan and then sprinkled the Craisins on top, but not heavily. Besides the regular processing time, I did extra drying of about 8 more hours. Here at our high desert plateau, this seems to have worked okay. It was dry, dry, dry. I tested it with my hands (always wearing thin food handler disposable gloves) as well as with our thermometer. I think that pan weighed around 2 lbs total before processing and around 1 lb afterwards. (Would need to find my records.) The current test pan I'm processing is heavier, but has been in one of our freezers for about 10 days drying out. It initially weighed right around 3 lbs. I'll run it at least an extra 8 to 10 hours after the regular FD time ends. I'll also open a bag of each one in a couple of weeks to see how they're doing and give any updates, if needed. For this current batch, I added our silicone dividers to portion it into small squares & then placed 3 or 4 raisins on top of the pudding in each square. As already mentioned, I've learned not to stir fruit into a batch - always place it on top. That seems to help in the ultimate drying process. (Have the same problem with corn - can't include it mixed in a soup batch - have to sprinkle it on top or FD it separately.) Thanks for your collaboration on this!

[@philw7174]

Great video Phil, thank you. Happy trails!

[@jo-annrussell5997]

That is making me hungry! I will try making this!

[@jeffrichards2011]

Excellent and a very timely video, thank Phill!

[@davevieyra]

well done my friend

[@janetchisolm-richard6225]

Thanks for the rice cooking lesson. I have trouble using the rice cooker. Yours looks perfect.

[@danieldaly2641]

You can also crush the cooked white rice really easy after it is freeze dried for a rice flour

[@Philat4800feet]

Great idea. My wife is GF and rice flour was also gritty..

[@Tjensen999]

Rice is such a versatile food item. I love it!! 🥰🥰

[@webknob6998]

Great info. Thank you for adding the risotto

[@cheryllicata4198]

I’ve done a lot of different rice and it’s so easy and reconstitutes so good. Rice a roni does real well. Love freeze drying rice

[@Philat4800feet]

I agree

[@2fathomsdeeper]

I've been doing basmati rice instead. I get 2 cups to a leveled large dryer tray. Full tray to a 10x14" bag, and half tray to a 8x12" bag. The basmati rice is kind of pokey so I don't vacuum seal it. I get as much air out as I can and let the O2 absorber take it down another 20%.

[@martinhanks1379]

I admire your posts.

[@sura2047]

You’re a good cook!

[@Philat4800feet]

I try

[@PattyLU2]

Love! Great demo as usual and looking forward to trying your risotto recipe!

[@Philat4800feet]

Had it for lunch today

[@maegan5034]

Thanks for the heads-up about raisins! I dried the rice pudding for an extra 10 hours. Even with the raisins on top, they were getting there but still not completely dried - maybe another 24 hours which just isn't worth it. Next trial, I'll cut them in pieces but still place on top. I'll also open a bag of the rice pudding I FD with Craisins on top to ensure they really are dry. The Craisins had a different look/feel than the raisins did this morning. Perhaps because they're cranberries that have been infused with the cherry juice/flavoring, their skins might have less cohesiveness plus definitely are thinner than the skins of grapes/raisins. Your input is most beneficial! Appreciate it!

[@lindaarnold3091]

Love this! I have been wanting to do some rice. Also I haven’t tried shrimp in freeze dryer so you just agave me the courage! Thankyou for trying these.

[@Philat4800feet]

Love doing shrimp

[@janecantrell7155]

Great Video!

[@nicoleshupe9134]

So informative

[@aseedofwisdom6149]

I do appreciate your freeze drying vids on YT, tyvm for all the time you take. This vid about rice on tv, as I normally watch, so I can actually see them. I have it paused because immediately just had come sign in and ask for clarification. It looks like the rice you are cooking is regular long grain rice (not instant). The ration should be two parts water to one part rice (i.e. 4 C rice= 8 C water, not 4), and in your case (higher elevation) you should require a bit more water, and slower cooking to make "good rice". I had to look it up to see if ppl at higher elevation could cook rice with half the water, lol. 🙂 You cooked regular rice 1/1? Will continue to watch, but am just curious did I miss that the rice you cooked was instant rice which is one to one ration?

[@Philat4800feet]

You are correct...if you are going to eat the rice at this point. But in this case, we just want to remove (soften) the crystalline starchy structure around the rice grain. Adding two cups of water will inflate the rice grain and make the volume of rice larger, increase the ice ring in the freeze drier, and increase the time to dry. Can I give you a challenge? Cook some rice at a 1:1 ratio. Boil the water, add the rice, cover (tight lid) and put on low heat for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes turn off the heat. Do not uncover the rice for 20-30 minutes or until the pot is cool. You may, I hope, you'll be surprised.

[@aseedofwisdom6149]

@@Philat4800feet Very interesting! I will try that! So you are saying it makes it easier after cooking this way to freeze dry and or dehydrate, right? And then to rehydrate, you just use equal amount of liquid/rice as with instant rice, correct? ty for the response.

[@Philat4800feet]

@@aseedofwisdom6149 Much easier. With two cups water the volume of rice doubles.

[@daily_life_routine1]

good

[@dandelion1239]

When I cook the long grain rice, I would use 8 cups of water to 4 cups of rice, according to directions, for regular meals. Are you doing equal parts water & rice so you can freeze dry it?

[@Philat4800feet]

Yes, just to remove the crystalline coating (gelatinization)

[@timgawlick4100]

Did you get yourself one of the water softener funnels yet. It would be great for that rice. I put my bag in a waste basket can , hold on my bags. Then put the funnel on top. Just did 10 trays of split pea soup. Getting ready to actually do some rice myself.

[@Philat4800feet]

Ten trays? Must like the soup.

[@coloradokid8321]

Thought your video was over, and it wasn’t! LOL

[@SueSmith1]

What about brown rice? You can't store uncooked brown rice for more than about 3 to 5 years because of the oils in the rice. I bought a big bag to cook and then freeze-dry but then began to wonder -- if you freeze-dry brown rice can it be stored for a longer amount of time? Don't the oils that go rancid still remain?

[@Philat4800feet]

Sorry, didn't have brown rice at the time. If you can remove oxygen, moisture, light, and keep it cool, you should be able to store anything.

[@pacearrow4620]

Phil Question: Do all oxygen absorbers emit Carbon monoxide when they get activated? I see that as a huge benefit for storing flour or rice long term... TY!

[@Philat4800feet]

Most do, if one of the secondary ingredients is carbon or charcoal. The gas works well on weevils

[@blueraven2345]

I am new to freeze drying, so if you wouldn’t mind, I have a question. Why did you choose to rehydrate and cook the rice before freeze drying it? Why not freeze dry it straight out of the bag, is it just for the purpose of speedy rehydration when you are ready to eat it?

[@Philat4800feet]

It's more like minute rice.

[@jeffrichards2011]

Phil, how you getting that so vacuum packed? Are you using a vacuum sealer?

[@Philat4800feet]

I use a vacuum chamber kzbin.info/www/bejne/eXXNYWWirad5n7M

[@jeffrichards2011]

@@Philat4800feet Watching now.

[@nicoleshupe9134]

I wish you wouldn’t eat that on video. It makes me hungry 😁😋

[@sandys.1891]

I did something wrong. My rice came out hard and in big clumps. Everyone said to use an Instant Pot so I did. Back into the kitchen to try your method.

[@Philat4800feet]

1 cup water bring to boil, add 1 cup washed rice, put on low heat for 20 minutes with a tight lid. After 20 minutes turn off heat and let sit until warm (20 min). do not remove lid. Looks like I should make another video.

[@sandys.1891]

@@Philat4800feet Your method is right on the money. Following your instructions the rice came out perfect.

[@Philat4800feet]

@@sandys.1891 It's time to change the mind-set of many

[@kimskluckers5665]

❓Thank you again for answering my question. I made up rice and would have done my experiment with it last night. Problem was I just pulled out my cranberries. ❓ Do I have to wait for my Harvest Right to totally defrost before I start another batch ❓

[@Philat4800feet]

I've heard of people who don't wait, but I would. Try using a fan placed in front of the chamber.

[@monajohnson5538]

Be good to put an expiration date on your bags too 👍

[@Philat4800feet]

I'm going with 20 years from time of bagging.

[@Malaea1]

Can you please do a video on how you vacuum sealed your rice? Thank you!

[@Philat4800feet]

Two videos: Vacuum Chamber kzbin.info/www/bejne/eXXNYWWirad5n7M Vacuum Seal (See Time index 11:25) kzbin.info/www/bejne/eXXNYWWirad5n7M

[@tammyk6708]

Did you see harvest right came out with a new larger fd?

[@Philat4800feet]

Yes, I visited the factory last year and saw it under development. It was a beast.

[@heart-centeredhealthcoachi3615]

So not sure if I just missed this in your video, but must you separate the yolk, add salt/sugar then mix with whites before freezing? Or just add the salt prior to mixing the eggs and freezing?

[@Philat4800feet]

The salt/sugars keep the proteins from separating during the freezing process. These are added before freezing or FD. These eggs are made more for component cooking instead of "breakfast"

[@PerryBettySebring]

Hi Phil-some of my favorite rice recipes include butter. Will the butter cause a problem if I freeze dry the rice after cooking? Thanks for all the information you share.

[@Philat4800feet]

You can't freeze dry a stick of butter, but you can freeze dry recipes with butter. I've done shrimp scampi which has a lot of butter. Any foods higher in butter and fats I would extra dry and vacuum pack.

[@PerryBettySebring]

@@Philat4800feet thank you!

[@BullShite-et2hf]

Phil question about the Risotto .. you added "butter" to make it before FD'ing: How long would you estimate you would keep it in a your vacuum packed bag before you need to use it? TIA/Excellent vid!

[@Philat4800feet]

With the air removed by using a vacuum and oxygen absorber, in a cool-dry storage location, I believe it could last 20 years easily.

[@coloradokid8321]

@@Philat4800feet- Hi Phil. I had the same question! But I thought that fat goes rancid after a short time with Freeze Dried food. Isn’t butter a fat that can go rancid in freeze drying? I’ve been preparing a lot of food for freeze drying and removing the butter from the recipe (although I wish I didn’t have to - as it removes some of the flavor). Or are you saying that if you remove ALL the O2 and air it will be okay for longer (like vacuuming out all the air via the FD’er)?

[@Philat4800feet]

@@coloradokid8321 Fat becomes rancid from the presence of oxygen. Remove the oxygen, remove the rancisity. That's why I vacuum pack with an AO

[@bruceweissman8772]

Hi Phil, just a question on your packaging. I was using a chamber vac sealer with mylar and liked having tight packaging like you show here but I noticed i was getting pinholes due to the crumpled mylar. I have started just pressing out as much air as possible and oversizing it on the oxygen absorbers just to be safe. Do you feel that is a good idea ? certainly looks nicer than a crumpled bag anyway. Thanks for all the great mylar and absorber testing.

[@Philat4800feet]

Here's my video using a vacuum chamber: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eXXNYWWirad5n7M How thick are your bags? I use a 7 mil or better. I run the vacuum up to around 20-25 Hg/in (about 30 seconds)

[@bruceweissman8772]

@@Philat4800feet Thanks Phil. I try to stick to the thicker bags but my bags end up looking like those in your video if I let it automatically vacuum and seal at even the shortest time setting of 15 seconds. I have an AvidArmor ULtra. I initially thought being so tight was great but I noticed over time that perhaps half of the bags for a particular product would have been under such a vacuum that over time, it produces pinholes and the bags lose the vacuum. This may work for some products but my experience has been that it crushes softer products (as you suggest) but also can be so tight as to puncture the bags from most foods over time while they are stored away. In reality, most freeze dried food is rather hard and it doesn't take much to cause a hole it seems, even in a 7mm bag. I did just experiment and saw that I can force the machine to stop vacuuming by pushing the SEAL button and only let the vacuum run about 2-3 seconds rather than the lowest auto setting it has which is 15 seconds. Perhaps by doing this and using the oxygen absorbers it will be a happy medium. Thanks again for all your efforts.

[@Marshalorn5]

did you add an oxygen absorber to the rice pack?

[@Philat4800feet]

Yes...to everything

[@cheryllicata4198]

Phil what bags do you use

[@Philat4800feet]

One gallon, 7 mil, from Discount mylar, Top Mylar, or Harvest Right

[@kalikale3969]

Does your elevation use less water in their rice? I've always used a 2 to 1 ratio (2 parts water to 1 part rice) to cook it. It's also the directions on the rice package (plain white rice, not the parboiled or instant rice.)

[@Philat4800feet]

2:1 works good for eating, but for freeze drying I use 1:1. Less water to be removed during freeze drying

[@kalikale3969]

@@Philat4800feet Thank you for the reply and explanation. I was a bit confused (which is normal for me anyway. LOL)

[@debrasonner5970]

Can you freeze dry barley?

[@Philat4800feet]

Yes, Barley has around 13-18% moisture at time of harvest. You could FD as is as a grain. or cook it and freeze dry it and make it easier to cook after rehydration.

[@debrasonner5970]

@@Philat4800feet THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY BARLEY BARREL~ I WILL GET RIGHT ON IT, AFTER WE GET REASONABLE AIR QUALITY. IT’S IN THE 400’S NOW.

[@waiting4theking360]

For God so loved the world, He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16 Time is running out! Get saved now as judgement is at hand! •Admit that you are a sinner in need of a Saviour •Believe that Jesus died for your sins, was buried and rose from the dead 3 days later •Confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord If you truly believe this, you will be saved and have eternal security in Heaven.

[@Philat4800feet]

...and love your neighbor as thyself.