I want to share how I re-hydrated my lasagna. I made it in layers, as your video showed. After freeze-drying & assembling it, I weighed my lasagna dry. Since I have heard that dried foods are roughly 1/3rd their original weight, I multiplied the dry weight by 3. I then subtracted the dry weight and converted what remained to cups. That is how much water I added to the lasagna. (That worked out to twice the dry lasagna weight in water, but converted to cups.) I covered it with foil and baked it at 350F for 45 min. Uncovered & baked another 10 min. It worked beautifully! Not soupy, and perfectly tender noodles and rehydrated meat and sauce. It was delicious!! I also wanted to point out that I cooked the components, but never baked the original lasagna, so it needed the long baking time. Thanks for giving us this great video, John!

@TanteEmmasKitchen

Жыл бұрын

Thanks for sharing your way of rehydrating the lasagne. A small tip: if you can switch your scale to gram setting you can weigh everything in gram and skip the math converting the amount of water from liquid oz in cups. 1 gram equals 1 milliliter. So if the weight loss is 250 gram you need 250 ml. Most measurement cups have ml lines next to the cup lines.

@SayMyNameAgain

Жыл бұрын

Super helpful, thanks!

I appreciate you showing your process and your "mistakes". It is very educational. I definitely love the layering process for the lasagna.

I’m amazed you only have 3000 subscribers! You have a great channel. Thanks!

@JohnInBibs

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the compliment and Thanks for watching!

Thank you for sharing this idea of separate layers! Your tips of ingenuity are always very heloful, full of work-arounds to FD challenges us newbies haven't thought of (like diluting ketchup) 😊 ps I often say my epitaph should read, "Her Entire Life Was A Work-Around" 🤦🏼‍♀️😂

Best Freeze Dry Channel. Thanks for the info.

@JohnInBibs

3 жыл бұрын

Wow, thanks!

Excellent video, have not found another video where they have successfully rehydrated an entire lasagne!

BTW, "You can never go overboard on cheese." -- Greg. :D

This is amazing! I think for our purposes, we'll seal in a gallon mylar and rehydrate as a lasagna casserole. The shape isn't as important as the taste. Thanks for going the extra mile on this!

I love the remark in my Mind it works.

@eileenniehaus5368

3 жыл бұрын

😂

I just found your channel and I’m so happy. The middle one is just how we love it. My freeze dryer is ordered and I have to wait 10 weeks for delivery. I’m so inspired. Thank you

@JohnInBibs

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching! I hope your 10 weeks goes quickly.

@SD_honeybees

3 жыл бұрын

I ordered mine yesterday.....I'll be waiting too!

This opens up a whole new dimension to freeze drying! I am definitely going to try this!

@JohnInBibs

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks!

I just love watching your vids. I never thought about your process in making the separate layers in the FD. I wasn't sure how long you left the FD absorb the water before you popped it in the oven. You are the man. Thumbs up!!!

@JohnInBibs

3 жыл бұрын

Basically I just added the cold water and put it in the oven, it reconstituted as it cooked.

Your ingenuity is amazing, John! Thanks for all your efforts.

@JohnInBibs

3 жыл бұрын

I appreciate that!

Separating the layers? I never thought of that, I will have to investigate further and maybe work it into my own videos. Excellent experiment and good results.

Another reason this is a great video is that we've had a long-standing promise to a very long family friend to make this for her. The deconstructed layers I'm sure is a great key for this. Thanks! ... Oh the sacrifice of "going through" all that lasagna. :D

@JohnInBibs

3 жыл бұрын

LOL somebody had to do it

Brilliant! If you reuse the Mylar, you should be able to clean off the permanent markings with alcohol. I'm just getting started with Freeze Drying so this video is wonderful.

@JohnInBibs

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks

You must have been a chemist and chef in another life. The brilliant ideas you come up with expands the freeze drying culinary world. 👏👍🤗

@JohnInBibs

3 жыл бұрын

LOL, I could sure use the income of a chemist or a chef! Have a great weekend

@toconnor6811

3 жыл бұрын

@@JohnInBibs you have a great weekend too!

BRILLIANT JOHN! Omgosh I just ordered my pans so I can do this. Im Italian and we gotta have our lasagne. Thank you

@JohnInBibs

3 жыл бұрын

As an Italian please forgive my recipe. I wasn't sure it would work so I made a basic recipe. Let us know how yours come out

@Eyes2C.

3 жыл бұрын

@@JohnInBibs Yours is great. Not our ancestors but it’ll work and it’ll feed our families ❤️ Ciao

5 cups might have work if you backed it without wrapping it in foil so the steam gets out. Just a thought. Love your videos.

Keeping all your recipes. I love them all thank you for sharing.

Masterfully done. Have always wondered how that would work. I always just chunk mine up. Thank you for all the work this took. Looks great, my mouth was watering.

@JohnInBibs

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks 👍

Love your videos, very helpful!

Wow. Fantastic video. I'm going to have to make a bunch of trays up for the coming Apocalypse!!

Thank you for sharing this comparison..

Thanks so much for doing all this! mine is on order, I can't wait!

@JohnInBibs

2 жыл бұрын

Hope you enjoy it!

Fun watch, thank you! It's a must try👌

I love your videos! Thank you.

Maybe the freeze drying marries the flavors. That might be why the flavors are better. Love your videos. Thanks for the your time and money you put into teaching and giving us ideas.

Thank you so much for this, it gave me ideas.

Love your videos. Learning so much from you. Thank you.

@JohnInBibs

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching!

Wow that was so much work! You did amazing and thank you for sharing.

Looked delicious, thanks for the inspiration

This is great!! I really need to try doing this!

Wow, I could probably eat one of those pans in one sittings. Thank you for going through the time and cost to refine this recipe. I am holding you responsible if I gain any weight.

@JohnInBibs

Жыл бұрын

Oh No! LOL

Great idea... I love lasagna! However, I'm going to take the challenge and make a few dishes and FD, seal and store then for 1 & 2 years and post videos. I think sealed with correct O2 absorbers and air removal will work even with oil item. My hypothesis is that oil oxidizes for O2, so stored w/o that and water will be safe. ;) That is part of the first video that I've got an FD item going now for. ;)

@JohnInBibs

3 жыл бұрын

Great idea!

Such a brilliant idea to dry the layers separately!! Thank you so much for sharing!!

@JohnInBibs

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching

Looks delicious.. thanks going have to try this 🤗👍

Thank you so much for this! We are waiting on our freeze dryer to arrive. You sure added to our excitement! And ideas and thoughts about how we can make use of this amazing machine.

Thank you 🙏. Great video !

We appreciate all your experimentation and the expense involved with it! I think though the noodles were precooked in all 3 versions, the FD probably infused the noodles with the sauce during the vacuum process. As for liking the middle, more cooked version better... my hubby would have selected that one too. Tomato products always taste better on the 2nd cooking/warming though I don't know the science behind why. Its been documented in many a cookbook though, and I know for my small family lasagna lasts 2 nights, and the 2nd night always tastes better. I think there is probably a carmelization of the sauce and onions with the longer cook time. Since your 4 cups of water version had extra liquid in the bottom, cook according to directions covered, then uncover and cook until the top gets the color and crispness you want it. Honestly though, I do a lazy lasagna with shaped pasta, sauce and the cheeses (no eggs) and cooked like baked ziti, which is faster to make and easier to serve and eat. And while I haven't tried it in the FD yet, I'm sure its easier to put on trays and to reconstitute too. But I love how you were able to layer it on the trays and reassemble to rehydrate and cook with good success! Well done!

Brilliant! I’m new to freeze drying & don’t have a lot of imagination.. Thank you for this wonderful video!!!

a giant smile! ty

Love your videos!!

@JohnInBibs

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks

Great job! Thank you for investing so much time and sharing your valuable opinion. This was very special but watching made me terribly hungry! Now I want to cook up a storm.

Who would of thought....excellent video!!!👏👏👏

Thank you for showing all this. I was debating DF lasagna but wasnr sure how it would reconstitute.

Wow, John... EXCELLENT demonstration the whole way through. THANK YOU for taking the time to video & share your experiment bc it's so very helpful to those of us who are just starting out. REALLY APPRECIATED!!! Love your channel & content! You should put up a Thanks$ button for ppl who'd like to donate to 'the cause.' :)

Awesome video...maybe instead of using plain water drop a beef bullion cube or maybe mix in a little roasted tomato bullion 🤷‍♂️

Just got my freeze dryer and am so excited to find your channel!! Thank you so much for all the details and comments!

@JohnInBibs

Жыл бұрын

Welcome!! And thanks for watching!

@melanieconner9193

Жыл бұрын

One quick question please. Do you have a chart for the correct oxygen absorber amounts per size of Mylar bags? I’m reading conflicting amounts and after all the hard work that goes into preparing it all I don’t want to screw it up! Thank you again!

@JohnInBibs

Жыл бұрын

www.topmylar.com/selecting-absorber-size

I’m watching this on March 6, 2021.... 3/6/21....your date on the long term storage is 4/4/21..... We all get so happy about our freeze drying that sometimes we lose track of the dates! Your recipe looks delicious! I think cooking the middle one longer, sweetens the sauce. Your crazy way of freeze drying was brilliant!

@JohnInBibs

3 жыл бұрын

LOL, thanks another viewer noticed the dates as well. Numbers and I aren't friends

Awesome Thanks! I always add garlic powder and chopped parsley to my cheese mixture.

Lasagna soup with the watery one! I make lasagna soup with my leftover lasagna sometimes.

I am really glad that you made the low calorie version of your lasagna.

@JohnInBibs

9 ай бұрын

Thank you so much for your support. It really makes a difference!

Hello from Elkton MD I'm new to the F.D. world. Was looking for something else and came across your channel. And yes, I will be subscribing. First of all, you crack me up. I live how you are so real with your audience and not trying to pretend you are being cast in a new movie. Secondly, thank you for your honesty. Saying wether you like something or not and why.. We learn as much from our failures as we do from our successes. But seriously, I will be watching more of your videos.

@JohnInBibs

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you 😊

When rehydrating thick foods it might be better to add your boiling water and then cover the food with foil for a few minutes.

Great video 😊

@JohnInBibs

Жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching

This is either genius or madness. Either way, I'm dying to try it!!! Thanks, John!!!

Super video! I applauded for $2.00 👏

@JohnInBibs

3 жыл бұрын

Wow, thanks!

🇨🇦🇺🇸 I am partial to the double cooked one. Nice job. Thanks

my misses said Leave top off Same as you They did look good I wonder if the middle one tasted even better next day I bet it did Good grub

@JohnInBibs

3 жыл бұрын

Yes the next day it tasted even better!

let it reconstitute before you cook it i start with a noodle on the bottom of the dish for the first layer if you have the time pasta reconstitutes great overnight in the fridge really enjoy your vids

Thanks!

@JohnInBibs

Жыл бұрын

Thank you so much!

@lillypatience

Жыл бұрын

@@JohnInBibs welcome. I appreciate your efforts!

Clever!! ❤️ ~~ Sharon

@JohnInBibs

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks

I just ordered my Freeze Dryer and I'm scouring the internet for ideas. Thank you very much.

@JohnInBibs

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you for watching

Would it be easier to spread the cheese mixture if you had the base frozen? I love what you are doing!!! I wonder if you baked the wet one with a vent in it so the water would evaporate? I see you did that. It looks good!!

There’s a difference between liquid ounce and dry ounces. There’s a site called Cooking Light that explains the difference. Your finished lasagna weighed dry ounces difference than the FD one you added fluid ounce which is more than dry ounce. I’m 72 and I just learned the difference which confirms we are never too old to learn. 😃 I’m learning a lot from your for my freeze drying adventure and lasagna is on the list. Thanks keep up the good word. You are going to be eating lasagna for a month.

@JohnInBibs

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the info, who knew? Life is a learning experience for me, LOL. In this one I should have went with my instincts, I thought at the time (on the first one) that I was using too much water.

@donnastafford9799

3 жыл бұрын

I freeze my lasagna in I think 4x5 x2 inch trays like these. My hubby doesn’t like Italian foods so I fix them ALL for me, he’s a fried meat and tatters kind of guy, I have adventurous taste buds.

@JohnInBibs

3 жыл бұрын

LOL, your hubby has good taste too, nothing better than meat and tatters!

38:26 most of the freeze dried foods I've had is crumbled up, not 'in situ' as it were. so crumble it, And Don't Forget To MIX it while it's rehydrating. 48:02 as the food freeze dries the flavor concentrates as the water is removed, so yeah it's going to have more flavor. Taste should be the same, but more so.

fantastic...still waiting for my freeze dryer lol

@JohnInBibs

2 жыл бұрын

Very soon!

Dang it JiB (😉 John), you make me so hungry watching your vids! I’m trying to lose weight but I swear I gain just from watching 🤣.

@JohnInBibs

3 ай бұрын

LOL

I can’t wait to see this…I love lasagna. Have you tried doing Collard greens or field purple hull peas?😊

@JohnInBibs

11 ай бұрын

I have done Black Eyed Peas and Greens (pretty much the same) they were fantastic! kzread.info/dash/bejne/mZlnpbClfMqof7w.html

John thank you so much for the awesome lasagna video as well as all the videos you do. Your stuff is invaluable to us. Just a couple of quick questions and comments. You mentioned lasagna noodles were too soft, maybe cooking them less time, or not at all in the water when you boiled them, and keeping them al dente might have helped that. Second, I agree with less water to reconstitute cuz keep in mind, making lasagna fresh there's a lot of extra water in the mozzarella, and ricotta. Question,. I know less oil and grease is a must for free drying so are you not afraid of the oil you use when you cook the onion as far as going rancid during long-term storage? last question I've never used cottage cheese or eggs in my lasagna what's the purpose of that? I use only ricotta, parmesan, fresh mozzarella. Cottage cheese scares me and lasagna. Either way lasagna is my favorite meal so I'm so happy to see I have a path to eating it during the apocalypse. Thank you for doing it and thank you for your responses.

@JohnInBibs

3 жыл бұрын

By all means I suggest using your favorite recipe though I would stay away from the sausage (in my opinion). I used a sparingly amount of olive oil to fry the onions/garlic with that spread thru 4 FD trays doesn't worry me much though time will tell. I did contemplate getting the noodles that are made to be put in dry I think they are called oven noodles, in hind sight that may be a better choice but I do wonder if i could cut the dry noodles to size. As for the cottage cheese Mom always included it so I did as well. Thank you so much for watching and your questions!

Looks delicious! It was fun to see the difference between fresh & FD! Watching video 3.6.21 lasagna expires 4.4.21?

@JohnInBibs

3 жыл бұрын

doh, did i write the wrong date on my package LOL

Looks great! I would have just added more time to the first dehydrated one, maybe 20 more minutes instead of another 45.

Love it

Wow !

Hey John, Make Lasagna soup with the other one. 😃

@JohnInBibs

3 жыл бұрын

The first try certainly was soupy, LOL

I wonder if there would be any issue with re-hydrating over night in the fridge? The only noodle I've ever done was some mac and cheese. Some of the Macaroni didn't re-hydrate very well and I was thinking might work better if left overnight before warming up. Gonna try something similar to this lasagna soon but was thinking about the smaller single serve aluminum trays.

@Angel283

3 жыл бұрын

That sounds like a good idea, I would appreciate it if you let me know how it turns out.

@foxharold1053

2 жыл бұрын

Instablaster.

Lasagna soup for that one with to much water! I bet that would be delicious @JohninBibs

Hey John, any thoughts on doing some cooked single meal lasagna in a pouch? I would imagine you would still need to separate the layers after it's cooked to FD it.

@JohnInBibs

3 жыл бұрын

interesting idea

Hi John! I was searching to see if you did any chicken parmesan freeze dried videos. Could that possibly be next? (Hint and please??)🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼

@JohnInBibs

2 жыл бұрын

It's not next but it is VERY close!!!

I ordered my freeze dyer and can't wait till it gets here just a couple more weeks. May I ask where did you purchase the dividers from?

@JohnInBibs

3 жыл бұрын

frozenright.com

Ok question for a solution. You need the water to go higher but have empty spaces on the sides which allows it to spread out. What can you add to the empty spaces on the side of the baking pan when you bake to force the water up where you need it and not have it spread out to the sides? Also ever considering adding vitamins to the sauce since this is for shtf or figuring out the nutritional value and adding what’s missing? Can you fix these up to be a super food and work in the vitamins since you can’t freeze dry them?

Been binge watching your videos John as I am considering buying a HR. I would really like to know not only the taste but the texture changes ( or not ) in the things you cook. THANKS!!!!!!

@JohnInBibs

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching, I will try to remember to talk about texture a little more

@Angel283

3 жыл бұрын

@@JohnInBibs Thank you!! I am really enjoying and learning a lot watching your videos. I am anxious to learn more!! I am hesitant to buy an expensive gadget only to do fruits and veg. Your videos encourage me that there is much more to be done besides that, Thanks for the great work and keep em coming :)

Your freeze dried lasagna was slightly smaller than the fresh one. I believe that is the difference in the water requirements.

It seems to us that freeze Dried foods are always a bit tastier and the flavor is condensed!

You needed to weigh the lasagna before and after dehydration. Not use the wet weight from the un dehydrated one. They were different sizes.

Now that you have solved the noodle issue with the mac and cheese.... would you use the same process for your lasagne noodles?

What would happen if you put hot water in and then vacuum sealed it for awhile?

Have you ever done eggplant parmigiana? I have a lot of egg plant from my garden I’d like to freeze dry

@JohnInBibs

Жыл бұрын

I have not. That brings back memories of childhood, I don't think I have had it since then. I am always looking for ideas and this is a great one that I am sure can be turned in to a freeze drying success!

How long did you keep it in the freeze dryer

I have a food saver im jw what size bags you get?

well done Your write Crispy is well nice Them things always taste better the next day Well done mate The more I watch the better the machines look s

@JohnInBibs

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks 👍

We have s med FD. It always stops and beeps when done freezing. It says to check plug in. So we take out the trays and disconnect plug in back of trays. Then plug back in and then it dries.we bought it 2 years ago. Please help us with ideas of what is wrong with it. Plus your channel is great. Thank you.

@JohnInBibs

2 жыл бұрын

If it were my machine and this was happening I would buy some contact/switch cleaner. It is a spray and can be purchased in most hardware or automotive stores or on Amazon, just search for contact cleaner spray. I would spray the contacts where they plug together. I would also pull off the back panel from the tray rack and check that all the wires are firmly in place and not loose. Hope that helps

I took your idea and applied it to a layered Green Enchilada Dish. I sealed it in plastic and it looked good, but a few hours later, it was obvious that the seal was broken. I don't have the roll of mylar that you recommended, but curious if your lasagnas stayed sealed with the mylar covering. If not, how did you deal with that? Just leave it?

@JohnInBibs

Жыл бұрын

The plastic alone will not work for long term storage. You need the mylar outer as well. If the vacuum is not holding you must reseal until you get a good seal that holds. I also put an O2 absorber between the layers as well as in the product

Did you freeze them before freez drying them?

I'm wondering if the freeze drying process didn't marry the ingredients together more. 🤔 You know how leftover tuna casserole (WITH PEAS) Always seems to taste better than fresh.

John, what was the time in the freeze dryer?

@JohnInBibs

3 жыл бұрын

About 50 hours. BUT that is with a lot of added time due to work schedule

Is there a book where you give times and temps on how long these took to FD??

@JohnInBibs

2 ай бұрын

I use factory settings, I have never changed them in the 5 years of freeze drying. I always run my loads 40+ hours

Can you re-freeze dry something after you have reconstituted it? You made the comment that that is way more lasagna than you will eat. Very interested

So what you want to say is it test same or changed.