I have a friend who has that freeze drier and she freezes all liquids in her trays in her regular freeze overnight before she puts them in the Harvest Right. Works every time.

@randallanthony6138

2 жыл бұрын

Wow. Sad to see you made the mistake of not freezing the liquid first. Very surprised this was not part of the instructions. Maybe you should have watched deep south homestead

@daphneraven6745

Жыл бұрын

@@randallanthony6138 : Your comment does have a bit of bite to it, but your point is an important one. The information is just not offered to new users from the factory, and every user needs to know what can happen, and what to do about it. It’ll take me a few minutes to make a contribution here, but your concerns are so important that I will take the time to do it: If you read the manual, it says that pre-freezing decreases the processing time. Nothing about this stuff happening. The other thing the manual has to say about pre-freezing is that if you choose to do it, it’s good to have things frozen and not overnight, but for 48 hours in advance. A discussion with actual factory personnel, and not so much of the outsourced-to-the-3rd world, offshore Customer Service Department, is that there are a few foods that will do this, and the list may be surprising, because they’re not all dairy, but can include eggs, and candy will do the same thing. If we work together to get some of this information out, fewer people will have to have major cleaning happen with their machines. For those who load their machines, and come back later to check on them, as statistically most people keep them either in a shed, or basement, it is possible to come back to find the machine frosted, and eggs expanded covering the window, and then blown back to where they turned ice in the back and clog the drain, and even the port on the inside of the back. The machines can actually then have the sensors confused, and they will try to sublimate the ice that’s forming as a result. If the machine goes more than three or four days in that case, it may have to be stopped just to defrost, clean up, and break the cycle. There are no instructions for clearing that, but if I get a chance later I’ll come back and make a contribution here, because food can get in there, and it can become be a rich food source for mould to colonize the system. And it can be far worse, because if a person doesn’t know this, and food ends up in the system and causes mold, everything that’s processed in that machine going forward could end up producing contaminated food, if it doesn’t actually compromise the mechanical function of the machine. The fact that this happens, for those who know what to expect, what to look for, and how to clean it up effectively, it’s just a minor inconvenience; but, since the manual doesn’t cover it, and the people manning the help lines don’t use the machines themselves, it can become a real problem. Thank you for bringing up this very important point.

@Elizabeth-tb5oh

Жыл бұрын

A gracious answer. And important you did post your mistake so others can learn. I’ve seen video of soup going in the drier and not frozen and came out. Maybe just filled to full? How awful that happened and you two were good sports about it. Kudos to husband there pitching in with clean up!!

@Elizabeth-tb5oh

Жыл бұрын

And Randall here has never made a mistake. Lol

@MISSTI_REAL

Жыл бұрын

Where i can buy this mechine???

Well that was a learning curve and yes it was a lot to clean up, but the pro's was we learnt from that too. I do not know if you follow Sarah and Kevin on Living tradition homestead, they too do freeze drying, maybe you can ask them question about freeze drying. I love Daisey's eyes they are huge and she has such a lovely face. Have a great week end.

@emiliajaime-mateo3487

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for showing us how to clean up the freeze dryer. Now I can give it try. Thanks.

Thats called a learning curve. You'll be freeze drying all kinds of good food like a pro soon. You all have such a beautiful place. You are living your dreams and blessed. I love your foggy morning feed time and music Zack.

It’s okay, Jen. This video will help a lot people who also have a mishap with their freeze dryer.

OH NO, YOUR CREAM!!! 😭 Looks like you've gotten a lot of tips on freeze drying here. I'll toss my 2¢ too, take it or leave it... When I do liquids I make sure to measure out 4 cups per medium tray. The one time I didn't I had veggie broth foam up, yeah, veggie broth. Also make sure you select that Not Frozen setting and have your trays in from the very beginning when when you push the start button. Prefreezing will also help, but I don't have the best setup to do that so most of the time I let the machine do the freezing for me. Anywho, Happy freeze drying!

So sorry that your freeze drying project didn't go as planned. You both are always positive and always smiling. Thank you 😍

Daisy sure does have the most beautiful, softest, loving eyes ever. We had a few Jersey's on our farm growing up. their so dang sweet.

Wow, how disheartening and messy. Glad it could be cleaned out fairly easy. Love seeing my dear friend Karen 🥰 God bless the mama for being there for such a fun day😉 The mug looks great 💕 Take care❤🙏

Thank you for sharing your mistake. Nice to see people not afraid to share the oops moments. I am grateful because I may have done the same thing.

I've done whole milk and it works great. Always prefreeze liquids. Anything like ice cream must also be frozen when putting it in. I even make sure the temp in the FD is already cold before adding them.

Thank you! Your grace during that was much better then my reaction would have been appropriate you guys showing deep cleaning. Your blessed to have a network to make teamwork possible 🥰

What is great about this as in all life it is a lesson and when have than good outcomes we clean and try again... Thank you so much for your journey with us..

The laughter of these two are so contagious

Harvest right makes silicon liners for the freezer pans. Makes removing the dried items so much easier

Y'all make me laugh, even when things go wrong you still have a smile. May God bless you.

Learning curves are the pits but now ya' know!! Great progress!!!🙏💕🙏

Hi. I watched a video a couple of weeks ago, and they said to never put a high fat content item in the freeze dryer. They said it was not worth the risk of a mess. Another thing that might help: they would place the empty tray slightly in the dryer and then pour the liquids in them. That way you don't have to try to carry them across the room. Love your videos. Have a wonderful day.

Such a beautiful place..it just says peace and tranquility to me. I sure enjoy your videos and your wonderful family..and I've learned so much from watching..thank ya'll and God Bless

You both work together so well.Especially cleaning the freeze dryer. Good information 👍😊😊

Check out Living Traditions Homestead. They have some good videos on using a freeze dryer. They said they pre freeze there stuff before putting it in the machine. Love y'all. Keep up the good work. God bless y'all.

@terrashandmadegifts9578

2 жыл бұрын

One of their last videos they said fatty stuff doesn't freeze dry right. Milk okay, cream... no

Thank goodness for you all! That will be 💯 me ( but with much more colorful language) someday, and now I know how to clean the darn thing. Love that you guys have no problem showing the bad with the good. On my way to check out new merch now! 💕

@Ansset0

10 ай бұрын

FFS, they messed up. It happens. Why thanking god or any other thing for them all?

This video is a great teaching moment for everyone who wants to freeze dry liquids. I have seen many comments saying the liquids do better when frozen before placing them in the freeze dryer. And several other channels I have seen actually freeze almost all trays of foods before they place them in their freeze dryers, and maybe this is one reason? I have heard that it reduces the work on the machine itself, too. Thank you for sharing your experience, as it is a valuable thing to learn (and kind of entertaining, as well!).

Thank you for being so real yall. I appreciate this video very much.

Oh my goodness! I feel for you....we've all had train wrecks on the farm. God Bless you for showing that we're all human. AND we got to see how to clean the freeze dryer.

I always pre-freeze my food trays in the conventional freezer before I put them in my freeze-drier too. Almost works every time. But Don't try freeze-drying Marie's Blue Cheese Dressing. The oil content is way too high and you will have a mess on your hands.

Those blueberries would be great in some home made trail mix

@stephaniebogart726

2 жыл бұрын

And im glad you can laugh through that disaster, I would have straight up cried 😢

It is so beautiful to see the video of the property and him out feeding the animals early morning with the fog. It is so picturesque.

Mornin Stivers Family 👋. Nice way to start the day watching y'all making memories. Appreciate y'all keeping it real. Have a great Labor Day Weekend. Stay safe beautiful people. God Bless y'all and the homestead 🙏✌❤😊🇺🇸

I can tell you from 4 years experience. Place a tray in the freezer, fill with liquid, put spacer and put next tray on top.I lay small kabob sticks across each end and it keeps the trays seperated. Unless you are a pro, you will spill everytime. Completely prefreeze all liquids( I do everything) in your freezer before you put in freeze dryer. It will not foam, things wont expand so much that are not suppose to. I sent you a link for my group if you ever need help.

@rhondaalbrecht

2 жыл бұрын

Or you put your trays in that you're going to fill with liquid, BEFORE you add the liquid to the trays. Just pull them out far enough to add the liquid, so it doesn't spill while you're sliding the tray back in, as invariably, it will catch somewhere, so do it SLOWLY! But this IS an alternative if you can't get it pre-frozen in the trays in the freezer ahead of time. Yep, it's a learning curve.

@AndyKrayenhagen

2 жыл бұрын

Can I have a link too? We just bought one too.

@amandaytx

2 жыл бұрын

@@AndyKrayenhagen If you search my name on facebook groups, its there.

@lindalockhart1266

2 жыл бұрын

Where do you find level space in the freezer? (Sincere question; I’ve heard people saying this often, but I don’t know where in my freezer I’d put them.)

@amandaytx

2 жыл бұрын

@@lindalockhart1266 I have a wire rack in the freezer above the refrigerator. I can put trays on it and have room under and around for other things I want to keep in there.

You learn by doing and ya’ll are learning every day in the best way. ♥️

I use parchment paper on my Freeze Dryer trays. I'm so sorry as I saw ya'll putting the trays in I was screaming in my head, this isn't going to end well. :(

What a beautiful farm you have, so relaxing☺️ and the animals are amazing

So cool you hit a freeze dryer! I’m excited to see how you use the dried food!

You can freeze dry your elderberry plants when they mature

@jenniferr2057

2 жыл бұрын

Why would you freeze dry a plant?

I know that was sad to lose all that cream. But glad it could be cleaned up easily.

Oh so sorry for your mess!! As you will have noticed now, liquids or everything really, does better if prefrozen for 24hrs or so. My cream from my jersey did not fd well. It was a fail. Very very oily. If you figure it out, let me know. Full fat milk does fine as does the skimmed milk, but only after it is frozen. Have fun on your fd journey!

@gingerhawkinshills

2 жыл бұрын

I've done store bought cream (prefrozen to -20 in my deep freeze prior to putting it in the machine)and it FD well but I've never done fresh.

@rhondaalbrecht

2 жыл бұрын

You can't freeze-dry cream as it is a high-fat content item... just like Harvest Right states... butter, oily, high sugar content (such as honey, syrup, et al)... do not freeze dry at all. The extreme heat in the drying cycle, as well as the low water content of the high fat items, is not doable. That's why they say not to do bacon, or hamburger, because both have a high fat content, unless you pre-cook the bacon and then drain it, pat it dry with paper towels. Ground beef isn't doable very well, either, unless you pre-cook and drain the fat off. Ground chuck, ground round, ground sirloin (80/20, 86/14, 93/7%, respectively) do much better because there's a higher ratio of meat to fat.

You both are so funny. Go with the flow attitude. Love ya all. Might want to do a blooper series. Lol

Here's a tip I got from the company I bought my milker from. A little baking soda in the water helps to break up the protein of the milk and makes it easier to clean.

THANK YOU for mentioning Green Stalk I just went and ordered my system using your code!! The Sale + saving $10 with your code and free shipping too made it a GREAT DEAL!!! I'm just going to say it was my birthday present to myself!!! so again THANK YOU and I'm sorry for the snide remarks some have said about the cream gone wrong incident. Everything has a learning curve, others need to remember that and show some grace! I'm newer to your channel but love what I see. Much love and respect!!

@ 2.50. U wasn’t lieing wow what a beautiful mornin that was. Wow I love times like that

Oh my…I was waiting for the freeze dryer to start spewing cream all over the kitchen! That would’ve been my luck! 🤣 I can’t wait to get the salves I ordered! I’m so excited about it! 🥰

Looks like some thing that I would do. Thank you for showing how to clean it up.

Jenn, I always prefreeze everything thing prior to FDing it. Costs less in energy and you end up with a better product. FDing is a huge learning curve. Retired at 40 has a great channel on freeze drying. Ive learned a lot. ❤️ Oh btw: when doing blueberries, I use a meat tenderizer. The kind with needles. If you puncture the berries, They dry faster and with less error. 😁

@drummerlovesbookworm9738

2 жыл бұрын

A jaccard?

@Eyes2C.

2 жыл бұрын

@@drummerlovesbookworm9738 Yes!!! Thats it, THANK YOU!!! ❤️

@drummerlovesbookworm9738

2 жыл бұрын

@@Eyes2C. I love ours. Use on everything that doesn’t behave. 😂

@rhondadavis1483

2 жыл бұрын

@@drummerlovesbookworm9738 😂😂😂

Glad you are enjoying the freeze dryer! There is truly a huge difference between the quality of dehydrated and freeze-dried foods. I don't have the budget or the space, unfortunately. But I have been happy with the bulk foods I have purchased. I am using more freeze dried foods versus GMO produce that has very low nutrition. And am converting all my camping meals to home-packed freeze dried versus the expensive $10 to $15 store-bought junk! Thanks The Great Out There

Oh my goodness!!! That would have been so overwhelming to have that cream overflowing. My Grannie always said you can't learn anything unless you try new things. Chalk that up as lesson learned for awhile and don't need anymore lessons.

You guys are so real!

I am so happy I strolled into your videos.

Loved the video I love that you show real life even the fails

I haven't tried this myself yet, but I read of one woman who successfully freeze dried her cream by first whipping it until it was just like whipped cream, then she spread it in her trays and pre-froze it. She claimed it freeze dried just fine and was easy to powder because it had been whipped first. I may try doing it eventually but will only do one tray of it, just in case!

blueberries and cream oatmeal. YUMM YUMM

Congratulations on your new freeze dryer! Awesome machine - I have the same model and have been experimenting with many things since last Christmas. Liquids definately do better pre-frozen. (place the tray in the freezer before filling. Find a system that works for you to stack the trays) Your cream looks delicious! Unfortunatley, the freeze dryer doesn't feel the same way. :( I have freezedried whole milk but haven't seen anyone have success with a higher fat cream. Sure wish it was possible though. Enjoy!

Use parchment paper for easier cleanup!

Hi lovely Stiver family.

@karenreaves3650

2 жыл бұрын

I ordered my Green Stalk today. 💞

Happy to have discovered your channel!

It's a good learning experience for all of us.

I am about to pull zucchini out of my freeze dryer. I didn’t have success with half and half due to the fat content. It is usable but not how I wanted lol. We just tried a spaghetti type dish we freeze dried, noodles and all. It tasted just like it did fresh off the stove. After zucchini is another batch of salsa lol.

I love this! I want freeze dry blueberries now.

lol, We had vanilla bean ice cream explode in ours and I still can't figure out why that one exploded and the strawberry ice cream didn't! 😆

Love seeing the freeze dryer content. I want one so bad. Thanks for sharing the real side of new equipment. Can’t wait to see how y’all are able to preserve more with it.

I highly recommend getting the silicone freeze dryer mats, totally helps with the sticking. I would also recommend freezing all liquids before putting in the machine.

We appreciate the leaening experiences as well as the successes

Just love your videos! Y`all are so down to earth friendly and real. Thank you for all you do.

Love this video. ❤

Don’t let it discourage you. These are great lessons that you will appreciate learning. We have all been there. If I could even list the mistakes I have made with my freeze dryer you would have a great laugh. You guys have such a great attitude and I love how you are always smiling. Super glad I found your channel.

Hey you two. Take a look at this channel. Retired at 40. Live.live.Simple. he has lots of freeze drying videos. He has done lots of helpfull hits. Plus he has a freeze dry store where you can buy accessories to help with the process. I have ordered his parchment paper and tray dividers and stray stackers...from Harvest Right I ordered the silicone mates to fit my medium trays. Good luck. As a side note, I love watching your channel. Keep up the great videos.

LOVE YOU STIVERS ❤💙💙💜

Next time you use it I'd start over with bread again incase there is any cleaner taste left in it. That goodness it could be cleaned though. Have a good weekend. 😊

Thanks for sharing a very exciting video, hope the next freeze dry attempt turns out great, 😊👍💕💕💕

living traditions channel has down some good how to videos with the same freeze dryer. they also mentioned what not to use it for in one of the recent videos. it might be good for you to watch a few of those videos…hope all goes well next time

Being a Native Tennessean, I love that "Tennessee Is For Shiners" Mug.

Wow, your place in the mornings looks so serene and peaceful, gorgeous! Am super excited as I got notification my calendula shipped!!! woo hoo!!!! Try and try again! Kevin and Sarah at LVT have some fun experiments using their Harvest Right...have a great weekend! Blessings

Looking forward to the salves. You all have a good weekend

When you freeze dry liquids you must freeze it before you but in the dryer, put your trays in a freezer and fill then let it freeze, and then put in the dryer, and if you freeze things first the dryer does not have to do that step, good luck, and thanks now i know how to clean my dryer SMILES

I have to say one more time, I love your place. The Turkeys lol and yes what goes wrong are Lessons learned.

We have one. Freeze in freezer, start FD as pre frozen then when ready add frozen liquid trays then cancel and restart as not frozen. It'll are it to a deep cold before the vacuum kicks in.

Red Rose Homestead does great freeze drying if you need help.

I’ve had my freeze dryer for 2 months. Thanks for the lesson in cleaning. Sorry for your mess.

Those blueberries do make a mess without the paper

Learning experiences for all of us!

Just a thought on what you place your freeze dryer on. I wouldn't recommend putting it on a wooden surface. We had a wooden table and put a vinyl table cloth over it. However, we had issue with water getting under the cover and had mold. So, we remedied that with vinyl floor covering, that was the most cost effective solution that worked for us. Also, we always prefreeze everything first, that seems to work out very well. Congratulations on this new venture, you will love it!

Those kind of lessons are hard to learn. Huge Hugs 🤗🤗. 💕💕

Omg what a mess! Making those cups is amazing. Will you have online sales from your store when it opens?

I bought 2 xl freeze dryers for $7800. Im loving it wish i had these years ago.

Oh gosh! I had no idea this would happen. 😭 Thanks to your experiment I won’t do it. You saved me and countless others a huge mess to clean up. Thank you! And I’m sorry this happened to y’all.

One of my favorite you tube chanels. I allways look forward to watching your videos. I just love you all. Prayers Hugs 🥰❤

Retired at 40 is a good KZread channel to learn about Harvest Right. I pre-freeze everything before putting it in the freeze dryer.

Put your trays in freeze dryer. Put liquid in pitcher. Pull out slightly to fill from pitcher, then very carefully push trays in fd. I learned the hard way

If Freeze drying isn't working so well, try dehydrating. I did that with tomatoes and a few other vegies! I also have bruise salve that I made for family!

@rhondaalbrecht

2 жыл бұрын

It's not that the freeze drying didn't go well... they tried to put in liquid into the trays and then carry the trays over to the machine to insert them into the machine. That's when the spillage happened. Either put the liquid in the trays, with the trays IN the freeze dryer already, or put the trays empty flat into a freezer, and then add the liquid to the trays. That's the trick to getting it done without spillage. This is just a part of the learning curve for everyone... trust me, I know.

@angelamarie79

10 ай бұрын

Freeze drying is definitely preferable over dehydrating both in nutrient quality and palatability of all foods. Lessons learned only help fewer future mistakes.

Please show more freeze drying successes. Want to learn more about what you do with your freeze dryer.

You guys are busy as 🐝 bee's love the video🤷‍♀️🤣🤣👍❤💯

Practice makes perfect. Hope your next batch of freeze drying goes well.

Do you watch Living Traditions Homestead KZread channel? They have had the same Freeze dryer same size and all. They have had a couple different videos on it. They said that you can not do cream but you can do milk. Nothing that is real sugary. Can’t do honey because they are things that don’t have much of a water content so they said not to. Not sure if they tried it or was told that? Maybe you can email Kevin or Sarah they are super nice people and I’m sure they would give you any information about it that they have learned. Jason Brook at Coghill Homestead also has one. Just a thought can’t hurt to talk to someone that has had it and tried a lot of different things and can tell you what is good and what isn’t. Like they done green beans and it changed the texture of them when they added water to them and tried them but the flavor was good they said. Maybe watch there videos they show a good bit of stuff on it and the food also. God Bless

@rhondaalbrecht

2 жыл бұрын

Harvest Right says not to put high sugar liquid content into the unit, as it has a very low water content, so not much is going to happen to it. Cream has a high-fat content in it, so it's not recommended. High-fat items like butter, bacon, ground beef (uncooked), etc., are also not recommended.

@ritamccartt-kordon283

2 жыл бұрын

@@rhondaalbrecht How about cooked ground beef?

@rhondaalbrecht

2 жыл бұрын

@@ritamccartt-kordon283 Yes, you can freeze-dry cooked ground beef. Just remove as MUCH fat as you possibly can... drain it well, pat it dry with paper towels. A little prep work, but doable.

@leynaabbey

2 жыл бұрын

I watch them too, and I'm saving up for my freeze drier.

Yes on the pouring it on the trays while the trays are in slide each one out enough to fill them slide back in… Living Traditions homestead does it that same way and they have had pretty good luck

We just love your little homestead! So picturesque! How many acres do you have there? Sorry about the freeze drying disaster 😕 everything is a learning experience it seems

Also, take a look at Rose Red Homestead for freeze drying😊💕

Live and learn, love and light to you all #swpg

God bless y'all. We just survived COVID so we kind of know where your're standind!!!!

I appreciate you sharing failures as well as successes! One of the many reasons I enjoy your channel. Retired at 40 you tube channel has 3 years of freeze drying videos. Lots of mistakes he made and successes. Lots of recipes as well. You might find some inspirations from Brian. God Bless you all!

I love watching your videos you are so real

My dogs love freeze dried blueberries! I toss them up to see them catch them midair a favorite game! lol