Freeze Drying & Rehydrating Sliced Mushrooms - Batch 625

[@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!

[@hydej1667]

👍 🙂 🐸 🙃 😛 😋

[@torea26]

Love the shirt! We've learned more from your channel than any other. Many little nuggets of good info. Thank you!!! Harvest Right should hire you.

[@SchoolReports]

Thanks! 😇

[@AddictOfLearning]

Great info as usual!

[@marilynschmidt5869]

We have learned so much from your videos! Thank you so much for your dedication and detailed information! We've had our freeze dryer for almost 3 years now, and use it regiularly. We freeze everything in our freezer first - just as you do. However, the lessons on moisture have helped us so much. We were intrigued with the L-shaped probes you've shown recently, and would like more info about them and how to obtain a set. We have the thermometer set you recommended, but we really would like to be able to use something cheaper and easier for pre-freezing purposes, plus avoid the drilling part. Your idea appears to work great. We did get the long drill bit, and it works, but would prefer something simpler to use.

[@SchoolReports]

Thanks so much for watching and commenting! If people only got one thing from all my videos, I hope it would be - Do the Dry Check to _make sure_ the food is actually dry as opposed to just feeling dry! A viewer suggested using freezing stainless steel rods in the food instead of drilling, and the L-shaped things are what I made. I made 20 of them for about $12. They are working great. My long drill bit is no longer getting much use! Cutting and Bending Stainless Steel Rods for Thermometers - kzbin.info/www/bejne/jKXVaGtseciJn5I (The rods don't show up in the video until about 6 or 7 minutes in:)

[@kuroimushi9421]

​@@SchoolReportsI'm spreading the knowledge about dry check with other peeps who do or will get on FD journey 😊❤

[@stuntman762]

Love the rehydration videos. Also, I bought a 12” Impak sealer (IPK-305H) within the last month, and using a 5mm band couldn’t get it to reliably seal even in the highest setting. I used my kilowatt meter (same one you have) and even though the pulse of electricity is almost too quick to register, mine was consistently reading in the 520 watt range on setting 8, whereas my Harvest Right unit was reading in the 760 watt range at its highest setting. I think I’ll be returning it and sticking with the Harvest Right. I wanted it to work! Looks like you got a good unit.

[@SchoolReports]

Well, I'd always stick with the machine that actually works! 😁 That's interesting, I've never known an Impak to arrive non functioning. I guess it's bound to happen, and I would still stick with the one that works! I had seen many dozens of them where I used to work (though it has been a *lot* of years), and they had always been pretty good. (until the were bumped off the table!) I haven't checked the watts on the sealer; I'll have to try that. I have checked the voltage drop with an open circuit and across the heat strip. The average of the open circuit was 21.5Vac and when measured across the heating element it was 14.9Vac Another viewer reported their findings regarding 2 Harvest Right sealers, a replacement sealer and their old sealer. This part of what they had found: " . . . the new sealer would not seal my heaviest bags, even on the highest setting. . . . For this report the older sealer will be A and the replacement is B. . . Over 6 tests 3 sec ON - 30 sec. OFF: A was 805, 763, 762, 792, 787, 790 watts. B was 770, 793, 777, 782, 787, 762 watts."

[@robingirven4570]

I managed to fit 8 lbs of crimini mushrooms on the 4 trays. They worked out great. They are great freeze dried and rehydrated. I’ve used them on pizza and sautéed- they are delicious!

[@SchoolReports]

That's great to know. I was thinking, after I did them, that I could have fit more on to the trays!

[@TPD605]

My wife bought me that label maker as an early Christmas gift. I've been getting tired of writing each bag out by hand. Thank you for your thoughts on it from an earlier video.

[@SchoolReports]

It's so much easier to add a lot of information if we don't have to hand write it all!

[@misterp158]

Very good, thanks for sharing

[@corabunselmeyer1241]

what happens if you freeze dry dried navy beans, will thy take longer to cook or not at all. will the taste change?

[@SchoolReports]

If you freeze dry the beans before cooking (I would cook them first) they will just take a bit longer to cook. Maybe not even a noticeable difference in time. There should be no difference in taste.

[@corabunselmeyer1241]

i have done a batch and i was suprised to see how much water was still in dried beans

[@DM-fz3ly]

This is probably one of your better instructional videos!! very good explaination!! It is amaizing to me how badly Harvest Right does in educating their buyers. They really fall down in helping customers to be successful in determining if their food is really dry so it will not spoil. It is also a mystery to me why they hide some software features behind screen logo's and such. They could give a LOT more information and guidance on the screen but the software developers seem to want to play with hiding features behind cryptic spots on the screen or the words "harvest right" or the "leaf circle" where no one knows to touch there or what it will do if they do! Good job on the tutorial!

[@SchoolReports]

Thanks! Yes there is a lot of hidden stuff (certainly not open-source), but in their defense, have you noticed that a lot of people have difficulties with even the regular controls? (I wonder if they have a flashing 12 o'clock on their tape player?) This is a fairly precise process, and close enough is not good enough. This isn't heating things in the microwave where a little under or over is going to work out just fine, and some people treat it as if it is. My biggest issue with the Harvest Right manuals is where it just says ". . .Check the material thoroughly to make sure it is completely dry . . ." with no hint as to how to accomplish this in a way to ensure it's 100% dry every time. I have a bad feeling that a lot of people are going to find out someday that some of their food was not dry enough. Many foods can hide moisture that's not noticed at the time of bagging. #1 rule of freeze drying - Never trust the freeze dryer to know when it's done, it can't know! I'm paranoid about having water in my freeze dried bags of food. Thanks for watching and commenting.

[@shaunnichols4664]

How much change in weight from one drying time to the next would you consider too much (needs additional drying time), 1g or a percentage?

[@SchoolReports]

Great question! I hope I can give you a satisfactory answer. I feel _very_ uncomfortable with any number other than 0! That being said, *_if_* it was no more than 1 gram *_and_* has been at least a 2 1/2 hour "Dry Check" *_and_* the *_dry_* weight of the food on the tray is over 100 grams (meaning the loss was well below 1%), than I sometimes will take it out. You can see on this video at this spot- kzbin.info/www/bejne/a5Sro6KkfLZ8epIsi=P8nUr6hs_1m8iamQ&t=1407 - that tray #1 had a 1 gram loss in 2 1/2 hours. After I mixed all 4 trays together for a total of 538 grams dry weight, the loss was less than 2 tenths of one percent. The only reason I kind of comfortable with taking it out after this small loss, is because after doing another round of _Dry Checks_ many, many times, I've found that the next check would show no loss under these conditions.

[@forthosewhoHUNGER]

Can you show us a CLOSE-UP of your heat seal? I have three heat sealers and not one of them puts a SOLID heat seal on my bags. It’s always thick and kind of rippled-looking.

[@SchoolReports]

I can get as close as you need. Do you need closer than anything in any of these? Quick Test for Mylar Bag Heat Sealer kzbin.info/www/bejne/eoaod4J-d9p8gqssi=VQR65XQ8xCVGE-FH&t=156 Trying a 5mm Replacement Heat Strip for an Impulse Bag Sealer kzbin.info/www/bejne/m2a9iIiulsegbM0si=ZNSNtHzuvca2k_eN&t=312 New Sealer vs Old Sealer (or Sealer Failure to Function) kzbin.info/www/bejne/pXXRknqmmbKNq9ksi=p8CAVMshZz11qwtr&t=1853

[@forthosewhoHUNGER]

@@SchoolReports THANK YOU! I’ll watch ASAP! You’re the best! 🙏🏼

[@SchoolReports]

Just let me know if you need closer photos of the seal. I can post them to the community page.

[@forthosewhoHUNGER]

@@SchoolReports Again, thanks!!! 🙏🏼

[@curt6285]

Very meticulous. I like that 😊

[@SchoolReports]

Thanks! Meticulous is a nicer term than some call me. 😁

[@curt6285]

@SchoolReports As someone with ADHD and Dyslexic im quite envious when I see people who are super organized.

[@SchoolReports]

Well, for me, I just have need to have consistency or I get nothing done in my life. I only have one organized thing at a time. Again, for me I certainly don't find it Obsessive, I'm not " Compelled" to do it the same way every time, (I just _like_ the order), and it's a good thing so it's not a Disorder.

[@judypatterson4132]

I have FD'd some mushrooms. so far I haven't gotten into them except the taste test as to how they tasted after they were dried. I plan on doing more as time permits. Oh by the way. Love the shirt. My son would love one of those. guess I will search for one similar. I always look to see what you are wearing. lol. love your videos by the way.

[@SchoolReports]

Thanks! 🤣 Here is this one - Anatomy Of A Pew - There are a lot of different ones! amzn.to/3Nyzehh

[@holly7010]

Hi, I just found your site and I was wondering have you ever freeze dried butter? If yes can you tell me what video it is and if not could you do a video on it? Thank you

[@SchoolReports]

I have not tried butter. Just plain butter should be problematic and/or not freeze dry-able. The dry butter powder I've seen is not freeze dried; I assume it's spray dried. The ones I've seen are also a mixture of butter and nonfat milk solids. So, maybe we could make a emulsified mixture of butter and nonfat milk solids (and water?) and be able to freeze dry it. Hopefully I'll get around to trying this.

[@holly7010]

@@SchoolReports thank you

[@mikesfarmmikesfarm3977]

I saw in your older link to the scale you use. I am about to order it. Is it still your scale of choice ?

[@SchoolReports]

This is the silver one in the videos. Escali Primo Kitchen Scale amzn.to/3r8VqRe It's almost 12 years old and the first 6 years of life it's were spent in our kitchen. When we started using it for freeze drying all the time, we replaced it with another one of the same model, except blue. We've been very happy with them. But that wasn't your question. I think because of it's accuracy, durability, (at least for us), and price, I would still recommend it. The other scale I use a lot, especially for bagging, is this one: Etekcity Kitchen Scale11lb/5kg amzn.to/3K3ajhY I really like that it goes to 1/10s of a gram increments, but it does sometimes drift a bit and I have to re-zero, and for weight the whole trays it seems a bit too sensitive. The slightest breeze will change the weight by grams. I'm sure that there are even better ones, and maybe people can add their favorites.

[@horticultureandhomes]

I always enjoy your FD videos. Especially since you explain everything. I have to ask.... where can I purchase the magical fire dust shirt?

[@SchoolReports]

🤣 Look on Amazon for Anatomy Of A Pew - There are a lot of different ones! amzn.to/3Nyzehh

[@horticultureandhomes]

@@SchoolReports thank you!

[@kerry1963qld]

Mushrooms 1 of my favourite things :)

[@zellko9080]

Do you wash or rinse the mushrooms?

[@SchoolReports]

I didn't (I don't know if I should have) with these pre-sliced ones, but I do when I buy whole ones and slice them myself.

[@brianschindler1511]

👍👍👍👍👍

[@zach3003]

W mans

[@lillypatience]

Thanks! Any issues with the oil being dirty from the spores? I saw another channel that said the oil will need to be filtered or changed after freeze drying mushrooms.

[@SchoolReports]

Short answer is "No, I'm not concerned." I'm using a continuous flow oil filter system with two filters in series, so I'm not worried about draining/filtering the oil. (older 2017 vacuum pump) The continuous oil filtration system I made (and use) is only needed with the old vacuum pump like my old 2017 one. The new pumps stay SO much cleaner. My sister's new vacuum pump stays so clean (even after she has dried mushrooms) that even after 40 batches the oil still looks pristine! I just have seen no issue with _anything_ getting into the oil, with any food. I don't know how people are getting stuff in their oil. The chamber is under such good vacuum, after about the first 4 minutes, that I don't think there would be enough air to lift/move even something as small/light as spores.

[@lillypatience]

@@SchoolReports Thank you! I just got back from the Chefs store. I did get the mushrooms, but also ground beef. I watched your video on cooked ground beef and raw hamburger patties. Any more tips or lessons learned? I’m debating on whether to cook the ground beef. Everyone on the FD group says they rinse the meat after cooking. Is it necessary?

[@SchoolReports]

@@lillypatience Thanks for watching and commenting. I don't wash my ground beef. I wouldn't tell people not to, but it seems reasonable to want to see the data. (That being said, when I grind my own ground beef I do start with a lean cut of beef, but wash it? No, I don't) I've thought it so odd, since even before we even got our freeze dryer, that home freeze drying people seemed to live in constant fear of anything with fats. The funny thing is that I get lots of comments about fat for every food I do that has ANY visible/known fat in it, except when I do ice cream or cheese! (and I don't wash my ice cream either) Eggs are about 50% fat when dried and it seems no one has an issue with those! I only have about 6 years of personal experience with OUR freeze dried items, so I only KNOW it's good for about 5 1/2 years. 😁 I assume that you've seem this video? Putting Lots Of Fat In The Freeze Dryer. A LOT! -- Responding to Anti Fat Comments kzbin.info/www/bejne/amTMlnyiaKp1bs0 (It turns out that my big skill is the ability to read freeze dried food bag labels! 🤣) I know that 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) mountainhouse.com/collections/freeze-dried-meats/products/ground-beef-10-can or Mountain House Beef Stroganofff with 12 grams of fat in a 61 gram (dry) serving. mountainhouse.com/collections/pouches/products/beef-stroganoff-pouch or Mountain House Scrambled eggs with bacon with 23 grams of fat in a 63 gram (dry) serving mountainhouse.com/collections/10-cans/products/scrambled-eggs-with-bacon-10-can Remember, I'm just another idiot on the internet. I could be wrong. The #1 joke at our house is "But, I saw it on the internet!" Consider looking at what commercial companies are doing. That's where I look to for guidance. If they can do it, we probably can too (with method adjustments), and they have meats with 40% fat by weight, dry, and guaranteed for 30 years!. Commercial freeze drying companies HAVE TO get it right every time or they don't become an old company! Mountain House has been doing this for more than 50 years. There are plenty of scientific and industry papers out there about food rancidity, and I've found them to be very interesting and informative; here's one - Chemists define roughly two ways a product can turn rancid: (Super simplified ) 1. Oxidative rancidity: Reaction involves oxygen 2. Hydrolytic rancidity: Reaction involves water Rancidity of Food: Introduction, Types, Factors and Prevention of Rancidity | Food Chemistry | Biotechnology www.biotechnologynotes.com/food-biotechnology/food-chemistry/rancidity-of-food-introduction-types-factors-and-prevention-of-rancidity-food-chemistry-biotechnology/14100

[@lillypatience]

@@SchoolReports thank goodness rinsing meat isn’t necessary! And no you’re not an idiot! Even though I’ve had my freeze dryer since November 2022, I’ve only used it a few times. I appreciate very much that you take the time to respond! It’s very helpful. I’ve decided to freeze dry ground beef both cooked and raw. We’ll see how it goes :-). I don’t have a great working area for weighing and bagging. Hopefully I can figure out a solution. Have a great week!

[@SchoolReports]

@@lillypatience You're welcome. In a lot of ways, I like the preformed, raw, frozen, burger patties better than cooking the patties before freeze drying. (We got ours from Chef'Store 😁) We usually do the 5/1 patties. (5 patties per pound)

[@robertchurch2628]

Thanks for the scientific approach. I have some general questions. How do I go about that?

[@SchoolReports]

Just ask away! I try to answer every question.

[@TheTwinkletoad]

looks tasty :) How come you didnt freeze them first?

[@SchoolReports]

Great question! Two main reasons 1) I was only doing 5 lbs, so there wasn't much water, and 2) it was one of those rare times that the freeze dryer, and trays, were empty when I had something that needed to go in.

[@DT-ww4gv]

Get thermal imaging if you are freeze drying mushrooms. When you think they are done think again.

[@SchoolReports]

I would never trust thermal imaging to tell me if the food is dry, only to tell me that it's warm. Warm does not equal dry. Because of the insulation qualities of some foods, *all* of the surfaces can be showing as warm and yet not be done with the secondary drying to remove the bound water. I believe that weighing is a more sure way to "see" inside the food. A FLIR might be good to tell you that food *can not* be finished, but it will not tell you that it *is* dry. FLIR/thermal imaging test for people - take a tray full of dry rice right out of the bag - set it out in the sun and let it warm up to about 100º and then check it with the FLIR. Is it all warm? Of course it is. Is it dry? No. If it's like my "Dry" rice test batch (Batch 556 video), it still has 9.5% water by weight. (The Minute Rice had 7% water) Remember, I'm just another idiot on the internet. I could be wrong. The #1 joke at our house is "But, I saw it on the internet!" Consider looking at what commercial companies are doing. That's where I look to for guidance. If they can do it, we probably can too. (with method adjustments)

[@DT-ww4gv]

@@SchoolReports Flir will tell you if there is any cold spots witch = moisture. Flir thermal imaging will tell you if any spots on your tray are not at a constant temperature with the rest of the tray. That 100% = moisture. We have done the scale system. Trusting a cheap digital scale that can be off just a little bit never made me comfortable. A Flir handheld scout runs about $500-$600 dollars and can find temperature discrepancy instantly. Thermal temp gun and Thermal imaging are an effective way to find moisture fast.

[@SchoolReports]

@@DT-ww4gv Thanks. Again, I agree, temperature can tell me that it can *not* be done, but it can't tell me that it *is* done. Thermal imaging tells temperature not moisture. At least it's not a lumber moisture meter like some people were told to use! As long as you are comfortable with your method, and it repeatable, that's far better than those who are just guessing, hoping, and bagging. Many people may be in for a bad surprise someday. Each person needs to check the way they think is best, and in a way they believe/understand will keep them safe from foodborne pathogens. I'm not trying to convince anyone of anything, I'm just trying to show what I do and why, and show resources when I can. I spent decades in the food industry (including testing and lot tracing) and I stick with methods I'm used to. (right or wrong) I've heard from too many people that thought their food was dry, only to check again a short time later (or a year or 2) and find out it wasn't, and now it has gone bad. Remember, I'm just another idiot on the internet. I could be wrong. The #1 joke at our house is "But, I saw it on the internet!" Consider looking at what commercial companies are doing. That's where I look to for guidance. If they can do it, we probably can too. (with method adjustments)