For those considering getting the XL, they sell only the 7 tray and you can’t do the stacking trick of strawberries he suggested or with any other food. There is not a lot of space between the heating pads and trays. Knowing what I know now, I probably would have went with the large. It still works great but have to be careful on the height of the food because either it won’t fit into the rack or touch the heating pads. So those in the candy business might want to consider that if your product expands on purpose or accidentally.

I have the large unit and just love it. Just had a slice of Lemon, lime and orange for snack. Did a bunch of beets too, they are amazing!! I have a batch going right now of beets, bread and butter pickles and parmesan zucchini chips.

Just a thank you for posting the freeze drying content. I appreciate the variety and the information you provide. Cheers!

@live.life.simple.

5 ай бұрын

Thanks for your support!

I named my soap company Living Simply Soap 18 years ago. I can so relate to your joy for living simply. Love your channel!!! ❤

I appreciate that your videos contain so much information, yet are short enough to watch quickly! Thank you!

@live.life.simple.

5 ай бұрын

👍You got it!

Great tip on using a slicer blade on a food processor to speed up the slicing process. 16+ pounds of strawberries, depending upon how many XL trays one's freeze dryer is equipped with, is *A LOT* of berries to have to process by hand with a knife and cutting board, or by pushing against the blade of a mandoline.

Strawberries are next on my list to freeze dry. Thank you for sharing your freeze drying knowledge with us each week. Have a blessed day.

I do strawberries every year... my parents live in Florida and get them for free! They hand slice them into quarters, freeze them on cookie sheets then bag them together. They stay in the deep freeze until we want to run them. Yes, being quartered they do take a bit longer but make for better snacking (IMO).

Thank Brian. One reason I appreciate my medium. 10 lbs, max. Love FD’d berries, of any kind.

Perfect timing. Just ordered from the local schools FFA.

Thanks for the info

I always soak my berries in water with about 1/2 vinegar for about 15 minutes. Then drain them and rinse well. They don’t taste like vinegar at all and it gets rid of all the junk. Your berries will last longer too!

Ninja skills. Saw that

I highly recommend in season, fully ripe berries. Red from top to bottom. Much better flavor and color if you powder them for frosting, smoothies etc.

@live.life.simple.

5 ай бұрын

Sounds great!

@kuroimushi9421

5 ай бұрын

You realize that there're different kinds of strawberies? Just like pineapple white with pinkish blush, there're red with white insides (which are harder), and red fleshed ones that are mainly best for processing.

@coppertoad1847

5 ай бұрын

@@kuroimushi9421 Yes, I do know.

Wow, that XL tray is HUGE.... Thanks for the video. So, I just noticed that the Manual says you void the warranty if you Bypass the "freeze" cycle. So, if you pre-freeze, does the freeze dry timer automatically reduce freezing time so we don't void our warranty?

Thanks for sharing, very helpful! Incidentally strawberries are on the EWG'S DIRTY DOZEN #1.

I have five trays of strawberry chunks in the freeze drier at the moment. Next up … five trays of avocado and then more strawberries to round out the week

What was the setting ? The temp ?

What temperature setting do you use for FD strawberries? Thx!

What is that food processor/ slicer that you're using to slice the atrawberries?

@elysebrooks9095

5 ай бұрын

I'd love to know also.

Our medium freeze dry white insulated board came off on the top. What can i use to reglue it back on?

How do you double and triple check to make sure they are done? Also I saw someone online say that you shouldn't use an oxygen absorber or they will clump together and maybe get ruined. Is that true?

@live.life.simple.

2 ай бұрын

Weigh when cycle is done. If you don't feel they are completely dry add extra time. At the end of that cycle, weigh again. If there is no difference in weight they are complete. If not, add more time, and repeat until no difference.

I'm one week into owning a HR medium. Question about ice in the chamber. How far back does it normally build up. I have ice building up only the first 6-8 inches the rest of the chamber isn't icy at all.

That boy's vacuum pump flexing... That pump costs more than the XL freeze dryer...

I have a question.. Can you freeze dry fresh or liquid rennet? Could you rehydrate it to make cheese?

Can you make a video for freeze drying blueberries?

@robingirven4570

5 ай бұрын

He already has one.

Since you added two layer and have parchment paper in between. Just because you touch the bottom of the trays and it’s warm, doesn’t tell you the top layer is warm and is fully dry. Weighing the trays will tell you if it’s fully dry.

@live.life.simple.

5 ай бұрын

no, but if there is any cold, you know to put it back

@iiinsaiii

5 ай бұрын

@@live.life.simple. I can’t believe you don’t weigh your trays. That’s what I’ve been doing for over 2 years now. Weighing or a FLIR camera will tell you if it’s full dry. Touching it looking for cold spots is assuming it’s done and that will leave you into problems later on. Everything I do it’s between 36-42 hours and I still weight check it.

Not to be picky but those berries look a little on the green side. Will that affect the flavor? Or will it FD better?

@Dewdskis323

5 ай бұрын

Yeah that wil affect flavor

@kuroimushi9421

5 ай бұрын

Of course, FD enchance the flavour...no matter if it's sweetness or sourness

What food processor are you using?

How long do this last in mylar bags?

Does freezing them first help with the time?

@live.life.simple.

5 ай бұрын

The first 3-6 hours is freezing the food. If you pre freeze, it will speed up the overall cycle and save a little wear and tear on your machine

I like to blend mine up then use smallest seaparators. I get little snacks or can crush when done to add it to yogurt, cakes etc. But, my freeze dryer broke yet again!!! It broke soon after purchase then broke again 12/23 and is still broken. I'm going to get rid of it! Grrrr

Why do mine lose their sweetness after freeze drying

I joined MeWe several days ago and tried to join your group but it still says “applied”. What else do I need to do?

Do the cookbooks have different recipes or is vol.2 just have some added?

@live.life.simple.

5 ай бұрын

Both volumes of the cookbook have different recipes

I have a medium size and have done 5 runs of candy so far. I know that’s not a true freeze dry run. The other day I did ice cream sandwiches and cheesecake bites. I’d like to do some fruits next for my real freeze dry run.

@live.life.simple.

5 ай бұрын

Candy is usually a good way to start. It gets you used to the machine and you can't really mess it up.👍

👍👍👍👍👍

i have been drying a bunch of different stuff lately and when i get to the machine to empty and fill the trays are always very cold? is this a problem or am i just not getting to them sooner . any help appreciated. i sure dont want to be packaging food that is going to spoil

@kuroimushi9421

5 ай бұрын

Trays should be warm, coldness indicates there's still water (try running dry check one or two times after assumed end of the drying process, you will know if it's finished or not).

@marvindelack4483

5 ай бұрын

@@kuroimushi9421 I figured they were cold because the machine was done for hours before I could empty it. It was still running but I was not home to empty it.

@live.life.simple.

5 ай бұрын

weigh the trays when the cycle is done, add time and weigh again. If the weight is different, keep repeating the process until you have the same weight twice

How many lbs of freeze dried strawberries did you end up with?

I prefer to buy organic frozen berries. They're already frozen and significantly cheaper period it must cost a fortune to get that much fresh fruit

@paw9568

5 ай бұрын

Cheaper than buying organic frozen that's for sure. Cheapest I found for frozen organic is 2.64 a bag, 10oz. Need to spend 105 dollars for 25lbs. VS fresh at 1lb for 2 dollars spending only 50 dollars. Soooo fresh is always going to be cheaper then organic frozen prepackaged.

@robingirven4570

5 ай бұрын

@@printingwithpeek4897I have 200 strawberry plants. They’re everbearing. I was still picking berries in October last year. Cannot remember the last time I bought berries.

@paw9568

5 ай бұрын

​Amen to that

@Dewdskis323

5 ай бұрын

@@paw9568 You're not buying the things in the right place. I buy three pound bags of organic frozen strawberries blueberries mangoes and cherries at costco. $10 for the blueberries. You just need to work on getting better sources.

@Dewdskis323

5 ай бұрын

@@printingwithpeek4897 You don't even understand something but you're criticizing it. Shows how little you know. Hey if you want to eat fresh non organic berries with pesticides go ahead. That's what Brian was talking about. Washing off. All the gunk that people sprayed on the berries. Unfortunately you can't wash pesticides off because it gets to the plant. I guess have fun with contaminated berries.

My lx freeze dryer has never really worked right, and it is burning my food. The top trays will be frozen, and the bottom will be black.

WTFH is that scream at kzread.info/dash/bejne/o5agqrp-lLyTZJM.html ???

Why are you posting fewer weeks?

@live.life.simple.

5 ай бұрын

I started every other week now. It has actually made views go up and takes a bit of pressure and stress off me.

@annatrappett2410

5 ай бұрын

⁠@@live.life.simple.Thank you for your videos, I have learned so much and am very confident in using my freeze dryer because of your instructions. I look forward to your future videos, even if they are available every other week.