Freeze Drying Blueberries
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- čas přidán 27. 07. 2024
- Freeze drying 5 lbs of frozen blueberries.
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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!
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I just found your chanel a few days ago. I'm loving your videos.
Good job!
Do you have the commercial Software running on your machine or the regular one? Asking because I have never seen the "Pre-freeze cycle" in mine drop below 17F degrees... How can I change this? I have my every day FD cycles set to -20 for the freezing process, it is just the PRE-FREEZE on the chamber that I am curious about....
No, we have an older version, v2.4.3 and it allowed for more user control in the custom mode. Some foods seem to do better if VERY cold before starting.
It sounds like you have a newer software version. It is possible to cheat/lie to the machine to make it freeze longer before the dry cycle starts.
When using fruits and berries for smoothies, and assuming you powdered them how much do you use?
I didn't powder them ahead of time, I just measure out the same amount of the whole blueberries that I would have if they were not freeze dried.
I want this.
It makes crunchy blueberry goodness!
After the first batch failed to fully dry (second batch ever) I took to putting the frozen berries in a ziplock bag and lightly whacking them with a rubber mallet just to crack them a bit. Still had some chewy ones tho. might have to run them again when I have a free tray. I wasn't sure you could cure the squishy ones, thought maybe the sugar had done a weird crystal candy thing.
You could also try adding more initial freeze time and more final dry time. Some of the fruits do better with 12 hours (or more) of each.
What temp do you set to???? No video will tell you
The machine's default rack temperature is 125ºf (non candy mode) and most people just leave it there. I leave mine set to 120ºf for almost everything.
What are you using to punch holes into the blueberries?
This is what we used amzn.to/3cXygJ6 it's made to be a Meat Tenderizer, but it worked well for this. Some people have been lightly whacking them with a rubber mallet in a plastic bag.
Did you try rehydrating any of the blueberries? I have some frozen wild blueberries waiting for the dryer
We have tried rehydrating a few. I thought they were okay that way, but I like them best dry or used in something like a milkshake, smoothie, muffins, etc.
Do you need to punch holes in them to get them to freeze dry?
If you don't they will take A LOT longer to dry. With holes, blueberries are slow and they might still take 40 to 60+ hours to dry. Without holes I would probably plan at least 3 to 5 days.
Where did you get that tool to punch holes into the blueberries?
This is the one I used - Meat Tenderizer $14 amzn.to/39ZAwx2 I use this one because it does the job and it's low cost.
Other people have said that the Roller Berry from frozenright.com works well, but it costs $140.
How much extra time did you do for the blueberries?
Sorry, I don't really remember, but it was probably 5 hours-ish.
Because each blueberry is like a little balloon, they are really hard to dry. They are probably the hardest thing to dry that I've done so far; not just hard to dry, but hard to tell if they are all the way dry.
So, what I do now is, after the freeze drying is complete, I carefully weigh each tray, then put them back in for another 2 - 3 hours of "More Dry Time", take them back out, weigh them again, and if there is ANY drop in weight I repeat until there is no further drop in weight. (I've started doing this for all batches now)
How long did it take to freeze dry the 5 lbs total? I also used a meat tenderizer to poke holes. Thanks
I don't know for sure, but blueberries are very, very slow, like pineapple. Probably 60 or 70 hours, maybe more. (we do have the older, slower,4 year old machine)
Why do pre frozen blueberries work and the pre frozen strawberries not work.
The short answer is - I'm not sure.
And to be fair, it's not like it doesn't work, it's just that the results aren't as pretty as we would like. It does freeze dry, it does rehydrate, and it is taste good.
🤔 Here's some of my observations: (and some guessing, a lot more guessing than I like:)
Blueberries have a more solid/strong structure than a lot of other fruits. The IQF fruits I've tried have mostly collapsed (not blueberries, but all mangoes, fresh and frozen), but not the fruit that have gone through the slower, home, freezing process; they have done fine.
With (IQF) fruits, we have tested letting them warm up to just about the freezing point of the fruits, somewhere around 26 to 31ºf (different temperatures depending on the fruit) and then we freeze them slowly. (regular freezer speed) This does seem to help them do better, but still not as good as fresh. IQF vegetables don't seem to have this issue. I assume it's because of the sugar level in the fruit helps to keep it flexible and vegetables have a lot less sugars and a different cell structure.
I wonder/think/believe that the key may be, in part, what the Senior VP of manufacturing says here about ice crystals - czcams.com/video/OzOvsDVL_Q8/video.html
I'm guessing that part of the problem is that our machines work relatively crudely, allowing the pressures to go up and down enough to slowly crush some foods that have enough surface integrity while it's still flexible.
I also think that I should test a lower tray temperature for the sugary fruits when freeze drying. Maybe as low as 100ºf instead of default 120º or 125ºf.
Love your video! Have you found a difference between freeze drying from fresh and frozen blueberries? How well do they keep?
I haven't been able to get any quantity of fresh ones at a good price, so I have never freeze dried any. But, to be fair, frozen ones were fresh when they were frozen so I'm not sure there would be much difference in quality. Fresh ones might be a lot easier to prep because they wouldn't be frozen solid when trying to put wholes in them. They keep very well for many years.
After freeze drying 5 lbs of frozen blueberries, what is the weight of freeze-dried output?
I think it was a little under 400 grams (less than .9 lbs)
Man, I just put mine in without holes 🤦♀️
How come freeze drying blueberries is so difficult in comparison to other fruits? I'm just seeking clarity. I should be get my dryer soon.
Any of the fruits (or other things) that have a closed balloon-like structure are very slow and/or hard to dry, that's why the items need holes in them. Citrus, pineapple, blueberries, blackberries; anything made up of little closed bags of juice, are going to be slow to dry. They need to be broken up or have holes poked into them to let the moisture out.
My blueberries were dry, but when i transferred them out of the freeze dryer (to a temporary plastic bag), the bag started to get warm, as if there was trapped heat coming from the blueberries.
Do you let your blueberries cool off before putting in mylar? I'm worried that if they are warm, that warmness will create moisture inside the mylar bag.
Wow! I wish I had talked a lot more on these earlier videos and said what the heck I was doing and why. I hope some of our newer videos are better. (I don't want to say that this video sucks, but It sure leaves out a lot of info. But I think it does look good.)
I take our blueberries (and almost everything) out of the freeze dryer while they are still very warm, before the last 15 minute cool-down. And I try to bag them while I'm still warm. They can't create moisture, but they can 'pretend' to be dry. Because each blueberry is like a little balloon, they are really hard to dry. They are probably the hardest thing to dry that I've done so far; not just hard to dry, but hard to tell if they are all the way dry.
So, what I do now is, after the freeze drying is complete, I carefully weigh each tray, then put them back in for another 2 - 3 hours of "More Dry Time", take them back out, weigh them again, and if there is ANY drop in weight I repeat until there is no further drop in weight.
@@SchoolReports Oh man... this is more complicated than I was hoping. This was my first test. I also noticed my fingers were stained (a little bit purple) when scraping the blueberries (all 4 trays) into my plastic, and later mylar bag.
I ate a few, and they tasted crunchy/light, but I think there might of been 1 or 2 that were just slightly chewy in the middle. But i wasn't 100% sure, and figured maybe my mind playing tricks. But i also didn't want to keep eating them (too sweet). So, I went ahead and bagged them w/O2 absorbers. I'm worried now that I should've dried them longer.
My total freeze dry time was about 24 hours, plus an extra 2 hours added onto the "extra dry time" function (total 4 hours). I have a ton of blueberries about 300 bags stored in freezers, that i desperately want to freeze dry. But i can only do 4 bags per batch. If a batch is gonna need 48 hours (to completely/thoroughly dry), I may have to rethink this.
@@MGillDesign I'm going to assume that you have one of the newer machines/firmware; ours is the 2017 version. With our machine/firmware, even 48 hours would be fast for blueberries. (and a few other slow drying items) Our blueberries probably took more like 60 or 70 hours. If I find even one that seems chewy, I put them in for more time.
Blueberries are one of the sugary items that will pull moisture from the air quickly if given a chance, so they can become sticky if not bagged fast.
Cutting them all in half or blending them speeds up the process a lot, but they're not the same as whole blueberries anymore.
@@SchoolReports Yes, I purchased my harvest right late last year (2021). I'm just starting to use it now. I don't really need my blueberries to look good/whole. I only consume/use them for smoothies (in my blender). I really just want to free up my freezer space, and freeze dry them for emergency storage. Also, last time we had a power outage, I lost a lot of frozen fruit, don't want that to happen again. Will chewy blueberries mold (inside mylar bags w/O2 absorbers)? thanks
@@MGillDesign If you are going to blend them anyway, I would blend them before freeze drying. We have done it this way many times with blueberries, blackberries, grapes, cranberries, pineapple, oranges, cherries, etc; things that are very slow to dry whole or in big pieces, and that we are ultimately going to use as blended anyway. They dry in a fraction of the time of the non-blended item, and you can more per batch.
Without a lab quality AW meter I don't trust chewy blueberries (or chewy anything) for storage.
I thought freezing them caused them to burst
I would have thought so too, but they never have for me.
@@SchoolReports I just tried the frozen blueberries from Costco. Took forever and all I had was a ball of air lol
@@lynnscott8286 Yes, they take forever and you end up with a delicious, blueberry flavored air ball! 🤣I think blending blueberries first was a better choice.
Do you ever notice that after storing they get a little bit sticky? And ruins the freeze-dried texture%?
No. . . But.
I have never had an issue with blueberries getting sticky or squishy in storage. I've been extra careful with blueberries to make sure they are very dry because of the difficulties of drying them. (they take extra long to dry) And, I've only bagged them in the best, thickest bags.
However, I have had some other items pull moisture through some cheap, thin bags I once bought. I'm correcting that right now. (Video already made and coming soon about my biggest freeze drying mistake so far)
@@SchoolReports im going to be purchasing that meat tool.
@@SchoolReports I don’t think I saw that one, what’s the title?
@@eileenniehaus5368 I had some batches that were bagged in both the good bags and the bad bags. That was the only difference, and the thin bags failed but not the thick ones.
The Freeze Dry Video I Never Wanted to Make czcams.com/video/B0KUfoHuCk4/video.html
Hi, can you send me a video that covers how you put the aluminum insulation around your rubber door closure? My helper is coming today and lots of heavy moving for me, but he has strength in his hands than I do.
I'm uploading a temporary, seal wrap video. I hope this will help.
If You still need to see a how-to example, it's finally uploaded!
@@SchoolReports love to see it before I go and cut the foil for the rubber door gasket Thank you for your kindness
@@marthaadams8326 Hope it was helpful.
Where did you get the clear "pillow" for lack of a better word?
In this video I show how I made the clear plastic disc for the front: czcams.com/video/erH1VDqNi80/video.html