Ashley, I’ve followed you thru the years and your post are always so helpful! I love how you get to the point. I don’t have a lot of time to sit and read each blog post or article I’m interested in, so I appreciate how you sum up what’s important. I saw no one had posted a comment yet, so I didn’t want you to think your time isn’t valuable. It is, and I am sure I’m speaking for a lot of your reader. Thank you again!
I have a dehydrator that is maybe 30 years old. It has two settings - on or off. I have used it to make jerky and fruit rolls. I have dehydrated apples, bananas, tomatoes. The deydrated ripe tomatoes taste like sun-dried tomatoes and have a similar color. Apple chips and banana chips hardly last a week. The tomatoes can last a year.
I would like to get a freeze-dryer; but, I can't afford the $2,000 prce and I'm not likely to have one gifted to me. I've seen small food dehydratos at the thrift store; but, never a freeze dryer.
Yes, freeze dryers are definitely something that's a lot more of a lifestyle and commitment than simply dehydrating a few things here and there. I had one of those simple on/off dehydrators for years, they work for sure. Not ideal for fruit or herbs that want to be dehydrated at lower temperatures to maintain more flavor, but they still get the job done no matter what you put in them.
Even air drying without heat isn't as good as the freeze drying for the volatiles. (I have a dark drying area with a vent fan.) Lemon balm and especially spearmint stay incredibly strong when they come out of the freeze dryer, and this persists if I keep them in a jar in the dark. The catnip does incredibly well too, and our cats can get really blasted year round. One thing I've found is that the scent of lemon balm fades very fast because the essential oils are so volatile. The rosemarinic acid sticks around though.
These guys are drying on solar/wind power here, but yes, obviously if there's no electricity for an extended period freeze dried strawberries are going to be the least of our worries. Thankfully, I'm adept in salt curing long pork, so we're good.
I have 2 questions about freeze drying: Can I gril my peppers, remove the peel and then freeze dry them? And can I freeze dry wild mushrooms and rehydrate them.
Yes. You can prepare the food however you want and however you'll use it. You can even cook whole meals with your ingredients and then put them in on the trays in the freeze dryer. Grilled peppers would work great, and I did whole batches of wild mushrooms from our woods last year. Chanterelles and morels are excellent, and the morels especially are better than dehydrated. Other things, like chicken of the woods, didn't do as well, but a that's a hard one to preserve in the best of cases. There really are no good methods for that one.
My question is : The cost of electricity for running either machine. Is there a noticeable difference? In other words is one more efficient energy-wise than the other? Please and thank you.
Most dehydrators are 500 to 600 watts, while the freeze dryer is pulling an average of 1000-1200 watts. So, on average, it costs about twice as much per hour to run a freeze dryer. But, depending on the size of your unit, most freeze dryers hold more than twice as much food as a dehydrator. Mine holds 3-4 times as much as my dehydrator.
The per batch cost will vary based on how much electricity costs in your area and the size of your unit, but in general, it's around $2 to $4 per batch, and a single batch can produce quite a bit of food depending on what you're drying. Here's the breakdown from Harvest Right:
Small and Medium
Our small and medium freeze dryers use a standard 110 volt outlet .
At peak, the freeze dryer draws about 13-15 amps, but on the average about 9 to 11 amps (990-1210 watts) of power per hour. A dedicated 15 amp circuit is required. Your freeze dryer will cost an estimated $1.25-$2.80 a day, depending on power costs in your area.
Large
Our large freeze dryer requires a 110 volt (NEMA 5-15) outlet
At peak, the large freeze dryer draws about 16 amps, but on the average about 13 amps (1500 watts) of power per hour. A dedicated 15 amp circuit is required. Your freeze dryer will cost an estimated $2.00-$3.00 a day, depending on power costs in your area.
X-Large
Our x-large freeze dryer requires a 110 volt (NEMA 5-20) outlet
At peak, the x-large freeze dryer draws about 18 amps, but on the average about 15 amps (1700 watts) of power per hour. A dedicated 20 amp circuit is required. Your freeze dryer will cost an estimated $4.00 a day, depending on power costs in your area.
I appreciate the information. I received a Corsori dehydrator as a gift and gave yet to use it as it’s off-season. A freeze dryer is out of my budget. My goal is to preserve fruits and herbs from the garden/grocery that would otherwise go to waste due to over-abundance. Looking forward to implementing the knowledge you shared. Thanks!
The Corsori is a really nice dehydrator, totally top of the line, and will give you MANY years worth of food preservation. That's a really great gift! Freeze dryers are definitely a specialty thing, and not something that everyone really needs to have on hand.
I like the work you do. I tried leaving you a private message but I had very little luck. I am hoping for a conversation and a potential for a form of collaboration. Please email me back at dmirfani at gmail.com if you are interested.
I dehydrate with warming oven on wood cook stove, or wind, electric is precious. I was wondering about cost of running a freeze dryer? Electric? Propane?
Thanks for sharing this information. We use a combination of dehydrating at home and buy freeze dried foods. We may eventually choose to get a freeze dryer. I love having meals prepped in jars, ready-to-go for camping, breakfasts, or I'm-out-of-time dinners. These methods of food preservation are definitely helpful. I've bookmarked this to come back and go through your links, thank you.
It does in fact take 20 to 30 hours, averaging around 24-ish, per batch. That is completely correct. It's a set it and forget it machine, so you load it and it does its thing and then the next day you come back to pack up the food and start again. Depending on what you're dehydrating, they also take that long though. It takes a while to get water out of food.
Ashley, I’ve followed you thru the years and your post are always so helpful! I love how you get to the point. I don’t have a lot of time to sit and read each blog post or article I’m interested in, so I appreciate how you sum up what’s important. I saw no one had posted a comment yet, so I didn’t want you to think your time isn’t valuable. It is, and I am sure I’m speaking for a lot of your reader. Thank you again!
Thanks so much Anna!
I have a dehydrator that is maybe 30 years old. It has two settings - on or off. I have used it to make jerky and fruit rolls. I have dehydrated apples, bananas, tomatoes. The deydrated ripe tomatoes taste like sun-dried tomatoes and have a similar color. Apple chips and banana chips hardly last a week. The tomatoes can last a year.
I would like to get a freeze-dryer; but, I can't afford the $2,000 prce and I'm not likely to have one gifted to me. I've seen small food dehydratos at the thrift store; but, never a freeze dryer.
Yes, freeze dryers are definitely something that's a lot more of a lifestyle and commitment than simply dehydrating a few things here and there. I had one of those simple on/off dehydrators for years, they work for sure. Not ideal for fruit or herbs that want to be dehydrated at lower temperatures to maintain more flavor, but they still get the job done no matter what you put in them.
Freeze dried herbs retain much more of their flavor, color and aromatic qualities. That’s the main reason we purchased a unit.
That's true for sure, because they're not heated like they are with dehydrating.
Even air drying without heat isn't as good as the freeze drying for the volatiles. (I have a dark drying area with a vent fan.) Lemon balm and especially spearmint stay incredibly strong when they come out of the freeze dryer, and this persists if I keep them in a jar in the dark. The catnip does incredibly well too, and our cats can get really blasted year round. One thing I've found is that the scent of lemon balm fades very fast because the essential oils are so volatile. The rosemarinic acid sticks around though.
Think the freeze dryer is going to work when the lights go out?
Let's hope the sun doesn't.
These guys are drying on solar/wind power here, but yes, obviously if there's no electricity for an extended period freeze dried strawberries are going to be the least of our worries. Thankfully, I'm adept in salt curing long pork, so we're good.
Thanks for this comprehensive summary
Thanks Martin!
I have 2 questions about freeze drying: Can I gril my peppers, remove the peel and then freeze dry them? And can I freeze dry wild mushrooms and rehydrate them.
Yes. You can prepare the food however you want and however you'll use it. You can even cook whole meals with your ingredients and then put them in on the trays in the freeze dryer. Grilled peppers would work great, and I did whole batches of wild mushrooms from our woods last year. Chanterelles and morels are excellent, and the morels especially are better than dehydrated. Other things, like chicken of the woods, didn't do as well, but a that's a hard one to preserve in the best of cases. There really are no good methods for that one.
My question is : The cost of electricity for running either machine. Is there a noticeable difference? In other words is one more efficient energy-wise than the other? Please and thank you.
Most dehydrators are 500 to 600 watts, while the freeze dryer is pulling an average of 1000-1200 watts. So, on average, it costs about twice as much per hour to run a freeze dryer. But, depending on the size of your unit, most freeze dryers hold more than twice as much food as a dehydrator. Mine holds 3-4 times as much as my dehydrator.
The per batch cost will vary based on how much electricity costs in your area and the size of your unit, but in general, it's around $2 to $4 per batch, and a single batch can produce quite a bit of food depending on what you're drying. Here's the breakdown from Harvest Right:
Small and Medium
Our small and medium freeze dryers use a standard 110 volt outlet .
At peak, the freeze dryer draws about 13-15 amps, but on the average about 9 to 11 amps (990-1210 watts) of power per hour. A dedicated 15 amp circuit is required. Your freeze dryer will cost an estimated $1.25-$2.80 a day, depending on power costs in your area.
Large
Our large freeze dryer requires a 110 volt (NEMA 5-15) outlet
At peak, the large freeze dryer draws about 16 amps, but on the average about 13 amps (1500 watts) of power per hour. A dedicated 15 amp circuit is required. Your freeze dryer will cost an estimated $2.00-$3.00 a day, depending on power costs in your area.
X-Large
Our x-large freeze dryer requires a 110 volt (NEMA 5-20) outlet
At peak, the x-large freeze dryer draws about 18 amps, but on the average about 15 amps (1700 watts) of power per hour. A dedicated 20 amp circuit is required. Your freeze dryer will cost an estimated $4.00 a day, depending on power costs in your area.
Thank you, just what I to needed to know. Sorry for asking in a comment before reading all the comments.
I appreciate the information. I received a Corsori dehydrator as a gift and gave yet to use it as it’s off-season. A freeze dryer is out of my budget. My goal is to preserve fruits and herbs from the garden/grocery that would otherwise go to waste due to over-abundance. Looking forward to implementing the knowledge you shared. Thanks!
The Corsori is a really nice dehydrator, totally top of the line, and will give you MANY years worth of food preservation. That's a really great gift! Freeze dryers are definitely a specialty thing, and not something that everyone really needs to have on hand.
Thanks! This is great information. I appreciate how straight to the point you were here!
Thanks Carly!
Hi,
I like the work you do. I tried leaving you a private message but I had very little luck. I am hoping for a conversation and a potential for a form of collaboration. Please email me back at dmirfani at gmail.com if you are interested.
I dehydrate with warming oven on wood cook stove, or wind, electric is precious. I was wondering about cost of running a freeze dryer? Electric? Propane?
Thanks for sharing this information. We use a combination of dehydrating at home and buy freeze dried foods. We may eventually choose to get a freeze dryer. I love having meals prepped in jars, ready-to-go for camping, breakfasts, or I'm-out-of-time dinners. These methods of food preservation are definitely helpful. I've bookmarked this to come back and go through your links, thank you.
Thank you this will really help when we expand our production - which we are planning this year!
How long does a batch take to freeze dry? I have the perception that it takes 24h each batch.
It does in fact take 20 to 30 hours, averaging around 24-ish, per batch. That is completely correct. It's a set it and forget it machine, so you load it and it does its thing and then the next day you come back to pack up the food and start again. Depending on what you're dehydrating, they also take that long though. It takes a while to get water out of food.