Freeze Drying Mistakes 5 – Freeze Drying Large Pieces of Meat
Perusing the freeze-drying forums, I've seen quite a few accounts of people attempting to eat freeze-dried pork chops – and having them taste like leather. Bigger chunks of meat simply don't rehydrate well. Even the sausage patties were mighty chewy.
For best results, stick to the meat that is shredded, ground, or diced. If it's normally served in a sauce, soup, or stew of some sort, even better.
A reidratação com bastante líquido e muita área de superfície para que o líquido seja absorvido contribui para uma refeição mais saborosa.
The exception to this rule may be cooked shrimp, which some folks say rehydrates just fine for shrimp cocktails. (I have not tried this yet because we don't eat much shrimp.)
Small pieces of meat also make tempting snacks. (Our strips of fajita beef tasted like meat-flavored cheese puff snacks AKA "meats".) Just make sure you don't eat too many dried pieces without drinking plenty of liquid so your internal plumbing doesn't get backed up.
Freeze Drying Mistakes 6 – Not Using a Liner in the Pans
The first time I loaded up my freeze dryer, I didn't bother with liners for the pans. After all, they're stainless steel, non-reactive, and food grade. Not a good idea.
Como uma criança com a língua presa em um mastro de metal, minhas guloseimas-desidratadas não queriam sair da panela.
If you let them sit around until the pans warm up, there's a risk that they will start absorbing moisture from the air and get soggy, ruining your freeze-drying efforts. (Winter hasn't been bad, but in summer, when the humidity is sky-high, this is a real issue.)
Invista em algum tipo de revestimento e economize muitas dores de cabeça.
Comprei folhas de pergaminho reutilizáveis e cortei no tamanho certo. Você também pode usar papel manteiga comum. Com cuidado, você poderá usá-lo para algumas cargas.
Wax paper and plastic wrap are a little too flimsy, and I wouldn't recommend aluminum foil because of the long exposure to aluminum for your food.
Freeze Drying Mistakes 7 – Expecting Quick Drying in Hot Weather
Just like your air conditioning, your freeze dryer has to work harder the hotter it gets. Higher temps add hours to the drying time – sometimes many, many hours.
Our unit is in our attached garage, which is insulated but not air-conditioned.
When the heat and humidity go up (80 degree plus F), I take a break from freeze-drying. If you live in an area where it's almost always hot and/or humid, I'd put the freeze dryer in an air-conditioned space.
Also, don't operate the unit below freezing. You will very likely have water within the compressor (which is normal) but below zero it can freeze and destroy your compressor.
Freeze Drying Mistakes 8 – Freeze Drying Fruit with Tough Skins Whole
Para frutas com casca dura, como uvas, cranberries, tomates cereja e mirtilos, minutos extras de tempo de preparação economizarão horas de-congelamento.
As uvas são normalmente cortadas ao meio longitudinalmente (como pessoas com crianças menores provavelmente já as preparam). Nós preparamos os tomates cereja da mesma maneira.
Para mirtilos e cranberries, eu os congelo em uma assadeira antes de congelar-secar e, em seguida, dou um giro muito breve em um processador de alimentos.
The goal is to nick the skins ever so slightly so water can escape while leaving the fruit intact. I've also seen folks poke holes in individual berries, but the pre-freeze method is much faster.
