Freeze Dryer

[LazyLightning]

I'm thinking about investing in a freeze dryer and figured I'd post here to see if anyone has any experience/input. I know somebody with one, I've tried a few different candies which are really good but I really want to be able to just make any meal I want. He paid a few grand for his 3-$4,000 and he was saying they have a more user friendly one with less cleaning for a couple grand more. I just looked quick and they have a lot of different options ranging from a few hundred to thousands. If I'm going to invest in one I want to invest in quality. How sweet it would be...

[One Half]

I make all my own backpacking meals in my freeze dryer. See the link in my signature.

No freeze dryer is only a few hundred dollars.

Harvest Right has been around about 14 years and yes, they have the most customer complaints. Most of the errors (in my watching) come from people doing dumb stuff - like not reading and following the steps. But the other guys are still basically building them one at a time in their garage AND they are having problems and have no customer service team. So, pick your poison. Check out Retired at 40 on Youtube.

I've had mine about 7 or 8 years.

[RockDoc]

We just use a good dehydrator unit with good results. A pound of frozen vegetables dries down to about 2 ounces dry weight. We dry meat, vegetables, fruit, you name it. Our favorite is hamburger, which dries into hard little rocks that rehydrate readily and add needed protein to cooked food. We've carried up to 10 days food, all based on intensive dehydrating. Freeze drying might be better, I don't know. Just drying the heck out of food is pretty good, cheap, fast, and easy. $4000?????

[buckhead]

I have a Harvest Right Medium freeze dryer. It works very well. I make pots of chili and gumbo for backpacking meals. I love to just measure the water, heat it, pour it in the pouch, and let sit for about 15 minutes. Perfect every time! I also freeze dry things to have on hand around the house. Veg-all, corn, onions, tomatoes, meats, peas, potatoes and much more. It’s a fun hobby.

[RockDoc]

Personally I don't think you'll gain much compared to a $100 dehydrator. At least that is what worked for us. We have done ten-day-long hiking trips without resupply, using only food from our dehydrator.

[LazyLightning]

I have dehydrators and loved my apples but it is actually a huge difference. Ever tried freeze dried apples? It's like melt in your mouth candy.

I was going through the freeze dryer thread from One Half, thanks for that. I'm definitely gonna do it just a matter of when I pull the trigger. I'm looking forward to my own freeze dried meals like goulash, hamburger mac and cheese and stuff like that, to mix with boiling water the same sort of way as other meals. I can't imagine what something like that would come out of a dehydrator looking like. I'm just thinking I don't really want to be dumping out water after I soak a piece of steak or chicken or something, unless I'm walking way away from camp but don't really want to. Not sure how good drinking it would be. That's why I'm thinking more mixable meals with small pieces that wont waste any water.

[One Half]

you can't dehydrate ice cream but you can freeze dry it!

FYI

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1208867829787811

[One Half]

I have dehydrators and loved my apples but it is actually a huge difference. Ever tried freeze dried apples? It's like melt in your mouth candy.

I was going through the freeze dryer thread from One Half, thanks for that. I'm definitely gonna do it just a matter of when I pull the trigger. I'm looking forward to my own freeze dried meals like goulash, hamburger mac and cheese and stuff like that, to mix with boiling water the same sort of way as other meals. I can't imagine what something like that would come out of a dehydrator looking like. I'm just thinking I don't really want to be dumping out water after I soak a piece of steak or chicken or something, unless I'm walking way away from camp but don't really want to. Not sure how good drinking it would be. That's why I'm thinking more mixable meals with small pieces that wont waste any water.

I make a lot of stews, chilis, etc. Fajitas, pulled pork, cassoulet, creamy chicken. some people do biscuits with gravy etc...