Want to support this channel? Buy me a coffee :-) www.buymeacoffee.com/DanZm AFFILIATE LINKS & REFERRALS - I earn from qualifying purchases from the links provided ─────────────── As an Amazon Affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases from the links provided. By clicking on the links, you can explore the products and tools I use. www.amazon.com/shop/schoolreports --------------------------------------------------- PackFreshUSA We have been buying oxygen absorbers and 7 mil Mylar bags from PackFreshUSA since early 2018. During all that time (1000's of bag and oxygen absorbers, and about 6 year before before we added this affiliate link) we have been happy with the products and service we have received from them. I earn from qualifying purchases from the links provided. - packfreshusa.com/?rfsn=7877576.a54e2a Use the discount code "SchoolReports5" to get 10% off your first purchase when using the link. --------------------------------------------------- Harvest Right - If you are thinking of buying a freeze dryer, please consider supporting us by purchasing through our link. It helps us and costs you nothing! affiliates.harvestright.com/995.html ─────────────── Before buying a freeze dryer, perhaps research to find out more about the downside of the machine; some people have problems with their machine and it's big and heavy and hard to return!
IJBOL when you mentioned what happened to the previous impulse sealer! I’m glad I watched this all the way through before making comments or asking questions; you did a fine job of answering my questions about the Pippin apples with your coverage of the Golden. For example I was questioning why you had a jumbled mess with the Pippin trays but appeared to separate each apple out on the Golden, but your meanderings answered it. Your “bedside manner” (for my lack of being able to describe what I mean any better) has improved over your earlier videos. I can only hope mine come close to yours (considering no one will ever see my face on my channel; I am a “Mister E” after all). I hope to be able to send people to your channel and your amzn store, though I’m still trying to understand what I can and cannot do. I plan not to have any storefront links of my own.
🤣 The specs on the power relay says it can handle up to a 100 g shock, and I think that's the part that broke, so I'm guessing the sudden stop on the concrete from 3' gave it more than 100g shock. (My quick calculations said it would be. - But some of my assumptions may have been wrong) I really should try replacing the relay and see if that fixes it.
@@juliemaring6048 I hope you don't mind me asking, but in what way does yours not work well? I'm asking because I'm hoping to avoid any problems with mine in the future. Our old peeler wore out, so we got this new one and I'm hoping it'll keep working for a long time. Apple Peeler - Old vs New ruclips.net/video/rcBiXDWr98I/видео.htmlsi=fEG94HrQ916tZL5Q
Our old peeler wore out, so we got this new one and I'm hoping it'll keep working for a long time. Apple Peeler - Old vs New ruclips.net/video/rcBiXDWr98I/видео.htmlsi=fEG94HrQ916tZL5Q
The last time I ran a load of granny smith apples I piled the peels on top of the apple slices and ran through the freeze drier, I powdered the peels. I plan on adding the peel powder the next time I bake a pie, I think the powder should add additional filling thickness and flavor, not sure. And, yes on a five tray medium the top and bottom trays are still slightly cooler
Thanks for the tray info! I never even thought of keeping the peels and using them that way. That is a great idea. If I remember right, most of the pectin is in the peels and they should be great to keep and use. I'll have to try this if/when we get more apples. - All the ones we have have been processed.
Love my apple peeler. Wish I lived closer to some orchards, they are about 4 hours away. How long does it usually take, on average, for the apples to dry?
I'm so happy the orchard we go to is about 20 minutes away. These very full batches were slow, maybe 45+ hours. There are so many variables to the dry times; type of food, water content, sugar content, temperature of the food when loading, ambient temperature of the room, how much food in a batch, more than one kind of food in a batch, food volume, how tightly it's packed, thickness on the tray, how well it contacts the tray, how porous the food is, how the food was sliced (this made a huge difference with citrus and pineapple), how clean the vacuum oil is (if it's an oil pump), and I'm sure there are more including the ones you mentioned - the weather - temperature and humidity make a difference! Oh, and of course, which model, year, and firmware it is. The newer 5 tray medium machines loaded with the same amount of food are going to be a little faster. Even the batches of apples I did in my sister's newer 4 tray machine were faster than the ones in mine. (in the next apple video - coming soon) I've considered telling people, when asked "how long did that batch take?" that it was 32 hours. And then explain that if you adjust the conditions just right, that every batch COULD be run in 32 hours. 🤣
For most bags I print everything on the label, occasionally I hand write the last bits of info., e.g. food weight and water needed. (My sister still hand writes everything on pretty much every bag with a felt pen:) Trying Out My New Thermal Label Printer - ruclips.net/video/64uMWEFxOgA/видео.htmlsi=xG_lM8tJwoTKDj51
Hey Dan I often see in your videos that you get the chamber temperature down below minus 60*F. I have a new FD that I can't seem to get down past minus 40*F. And that takes hours. How are you getting such low temperatures? Is it the older version firmware? Or is it the acrylic disk and the bubble wrap insulation ring? What would you recommend for my newer machine?
I hope you don't mind some guesses along with some facts. (I don't like to guess, but I don't have the background to know about all of this) I should start with that fact that when I'm quoting the display temperature, it may not be accurate because I don't know if it's properly calibrated, so who knows if the -60ºf is accurate! 🤣 My thermometers are showing well below -40. First the parts I know: the insulation makes very little (if any) difference in the final, lowest temperature. Next, the older version firmware doesn't make a difference (as far as I can tell) with the lowest _chamber wall_ temperature, but it does make a difference with how low the rack/tray temperature. With my sister's newer machine, the rack heaters actually come on and prevent the rack from getting as cold as mine even if the chamber wall temperature is the same. We would not have known the chamber wall temperature without the thermometers we add, because the machine's display shows the reading of the rack temperature probe. The only way I know to find out what the lowest temperature the newer machines can achieve would be to run it in the the testing mode so the rack heaters won't come on. Now for some of the guesses. As far as I can tell, the refrigerant used may have changed between the time my machine was made and my sister's machine was made. (5 years apart) (R404 vs R410?) The configuration of the cooling system is different, too. Again, assuming different refrigerants, the cooling profiles would be different. I read in a refrigeration post that, over time, R404 can break down somewhat can not cool as effectively, and I think that may be happening with mine. Mine seems to not be removing the heat as well as it did when I first got it. (I think I'm going to have it checked by a refrigeration person)
Have you ever had fruits go soft in the bag with o2 absorbers? I keep seeing people blame to big of an o2 absorbers being used as the cause. I am not sure I believe that. Thanks for the great videos.
Never. I'd like to see the math/science on that. I'll have to do some testing. We have never had anything that was properly dried and bagged get soft EXCEPT the one time we bought a batch of bad bags and had to re-dry everything we had put into those bags. The Freeze Dry Video I Never Wanted to Make - ruclips.net/video/B0KUfoHuCk4/видео.htmlsi=u6YEU3MRnZ54-FPO We have used up to 500cc size oxygen absorbers into bags as small as pint size with no problems. Way over-sized. The number one problem is that there are still a lot of people "guessing" if their food is dry. Most likely this is the real issue. Remember, I'm just another idiot on the internet. I could be wrong. The #1 joke at our house is "But, I saw it on the internet!" I look at what commercial companies are doing. If they can do it, we probably can too. (with method adjustments) "If you read it on the Internet, it's absolutely true!" - Abraham Lincoln
@@jerryfarr3175 🤣 Thanks! I'm a firm believer that I know very little, and the more I learn the less I seem to know, but I'm willing to learn. People make assertions that this or that will or won't work, but they seldom give the data to show it!
@jerryfarr3175 I have had Fruits go soft in the bag with an O2 absorber in them, but I’ve been able to narrow it down to one of two things: either there was too much humidity in the room afterwards (after bagging, sealing, waiting a day or two, but then leaving the bag in the room during another freeze dry run and the humidity getting really high), OR the fruit (Black Plums) just doesn’t get fully dry. I’ve had this fruit dry, go through the weighing process @SchoolReports suggests, confirming the trays aren’t losing more weight “and should be dry” only to press the flesh part of the fruit with my fingers and it “mushes” like there’s still water in there.. returning to the freeze dryer for several more hours, weighing again and there being no change other than getting the same mushy result as I press the fruit’s meat. Believing it must be me, I bag them up, the O2 absorbers do their work, and a week later I feel the bags and can feel all the fruit inside has a rubbery feeling to it. It hasn’t happened with any other fruit I’ve freeze dried, just the Black Plums I specifically bought the freeze dryer for (these particular black plums are only available for 1 month each year, there are several varieties of black plums).
@@MisterEMystery That sounds very interesting! You wouldn't happen to know the sugar levels of your Black Plums, would you? I've read that some varieties of very sweet black plums can have brix readings of 20+, which could put them up there with the sometimes hard-to-dry pineapple. Have you freeze dried ripe Comice pears? I wonder if your plums are any thing like Comice in texture; they never get "crunchy." They do dry completely, but remain very soft and have almost no structure. Freeze dried pieces just melt in your mouth like cotton candy.
Want to support this channel? Buy me a coffee :-) www.buymeacoffee.com/DanZm
AFFILIATE LINKS & REFERRALS - I earn from qualifying purchases from the links provided
───────────────
As an Amazon Affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases from the links provided. By clicking on the links, you can explore the products and tools I use.
www.amazon.com/shop/schoolreports
---------------------------------------------------
PackFreshUSA
We have been buying oxygen absorbers and 7 mil Mylar bags from PackFreshUSA since early 2018. During all that time (1000's of bag and oxygen absorbers, and about 6 year before before we added this affiliate link) we have been happy with the products and service we have received from them.
I earn from qualifying purchases from the links provided. - packfreshusa.com/?rfsn=7877576.a54e2a
Use the discount code "SchoolReports5" to get 10% off your first purchase when using the link.
---------------------------------------------------
Harvest Right - If you are thinking of buying a freeze dryer, please consider supporting us by purchasing through our link. It helps us and costs you nothing!
affiliates.harvestright.com/995.html
───────────────
Before buying a freeze dryer, perhaps research to find out more about the downside of the machine; some people have problems with their machine and it's big and heavy and hard to return!
IJBOL when you mentioned what happened to the previous impulse sealer! I’m glad I watched this all the way through before making comments or asking questions; you did a fine job of answering my questions about the Pippin apples with your coverage of the Golden. For example I was questioning why you had a jumbled mess with the Pippin trays but appeared to separate each apple out on the Golden, but your meanderings answered it.
Your “bedside manner” (for my lack of being able to describe what I mean any better) has improved over your earlier videos. I can only hope mine come close to yours (considering no one will ever see my face on my channel; I am a “Mister E” after all). I hope to be able to send people to your channel and your amzn store, though I’m still trying to understand what I can and cannot do. I plan not to have any storefront links of my own.
🤣 The specs on the power relay says it can handle up to a 100 g shock, and I think that's the part that broke, so I'm guessing the sudden stop on the concrete from 3' gave it more than 100g shock. (My quick calculations said it would be. - But some of my assumptions may have been wrong) I really should try replacing the relay and see if that fixes it.
I enjoy the scientific approach with the information, leaving no room for the what if or other ridiculous scenarios. Great content thanks
Thanks!
wow. i didn't know how well apple corers worked. i'll have to get one.
I have the same one and can’t get it to work correctly to save my life!😩
@@juliemaring6048 I hope you don't mind me asking, but in what way does yours not work well? I'm asking because I'm hoping to avoid any problems with mine in the future. Our old peeler wore out, so we got this new one and I'm hoping it'll keep working for a long time.
Apple Peeler - Old vs New ruclips.net/video/rcBiXDWr98I/видео.htmlsi=fEG94HrQ916tZL5Q
Our old peeler wore out, so we got this new one and I'm hoping it'll keep working for a long time.
Apple Peeler - Old vs New ruclips.net/video/rcBiXDWr98I/видео.htmlsi=fEG94HrQ916tZL5Q
👍👍👍👍👍
Great info thanks for sharing
The last time I ran a load of granny smith apples I piled the peels on top of the apple slices and ran through the freeze drier, I powdered the peels. I plan on adding the peel powder the next time I bake a pie, I think the powder should add additional filling thickness and flavor, not sure.
And, yes on a five tray medium the top and bottom trays are still slightly cooler
Thanks for the tray info!
I never even thought of keeping the peels and using them that way. That is a great idea. If I remember right, most of the pectin is in the peels and they should be great to keep and use. I'll have to try this if/when we get more apples. - All the ones we have have been processed.
Love my apple peeler. Wish I lived closer to some orchards, they are about 4 hours away. How long does it usually take, on average, for the apples to dry?
I'm so happy the orchard we go to is about 20 minutes away.
These very full batches were slow, maybe 45+ hours.
There are so many variables to the dry times; type of food, water content, sugar content, temperature of the food when loading, ambient temperature of the room, how much food in a batch, more than one kind of food in a batch, food volume, how tightly it's packed, thickness on the tray, how well it contacts the tray, how porous the food is, how the food was sliced (this made a huge difference with citrus and pineapple), how clean the vacuum oil is (if it's an oil pump), and I'm sure there are more including the ones you mentioned - the weather - temperature and humidity make a difference! Oh, and of course, which model, year, and firmware it is. The newer 5 tray medium machines loaded with the same amount of food are going to be a little faster. Even the batches of apples I did in my sister's newer 4 tray machine were faster than the ones in mine. (in the next apple video - coming soon)
I've considered telling people, when asked "how long did that batch take?" that it was 32 hours. And then explain that if you adjust the conditions just right, that every batch COULD be run in 32 hours. 🤣
Sir, what kind of labels do you use and do you hand complete them? TY in advance.
For most bags I print everything on the label, occasionally I hand write the last bits of info., e.g. food weight and water needed.
(My sister still hand writes everything on pretty much every bag with a felt pen:)
Trying Out My New Thermal Label Printer - ruclips.net/video/64uMWEFxOgA/видео.htmlsi=xG_lM8tJwoTKDj51
Hey Dan I often see in your videos that you get the chamber temperature down below minus 60*F. I have a new FD that I can't seem to get down past minus 40*F. And that takes hours. How are you getting such low temperatures? Is it the older version firmware? Or is it the acrylic disk and the bubble wrap insulation ring? What would you recommend for my newer machine?
I hope you don't mind some guesses along with some facts. (I don't like to guess, but I don't have the background to know about all of this) I should start with that fact that when I'm quoting the display temperature, it may not be accurate because I don't know if it's properly calibrated, so who knows if the -60ºf is accurate! 🤣 My thermometers are showing well below -40.
First the parts I know: the insulation makes very little (if any) difference in the final, lowest temperature. Next, the older version firmware doesn't make a difference (as far as I can tell) with the lowest _chamber wall_ temperature, but it does make a difference with how low the rack/tray temperature. With my sister's newer machine, the rack heaters actually come on and prevent the rack from getting as cold as mine even if the chamber wall temperature is the same. We would not have known the chamber wall temperature without the thermometers we add, because the machine's display shows the reading of the rack temperature probe. The only way I know to find out what the lowest temperature the newer machines can achieve would be to run it in the the testing mode so the rack heaters won't come on.
Now for some of the guesses. As far as I can tell, the refrigerant used may have changed between the time my machine was made and my sister's machine was made. (5 years apart) (R404 vs R410?) The configuration of the cooling system is different, too. Again, assuming different refrigerants, the cooling profiles would be different. I read in a refrigeration post that, over time, R404 can break down somewhat can not cool as effectively, and I think that may be happening with mine. Mine seems to not be removing the heat as well as it did when I first got it. (I think I'm going to have it checked by a refrigeration person)
Have you ever had fruits go soft in the bag with o2 absorbers? I keep seeing people blame to big of an o2 absorbers being used as the cause. I am not sure I believe that. Thanks for the great videos.
Never. I'd like to see the math/science on that. I'll have to do some testing.
We have never had anything that was properly dried and bagged get soft EXCEPT the one time we bought a batch of bad bags and had to re-dry everything we had put into those bags. The Freeze Dry Video I Never Wanted to Make - ruclips.net/video/B0KUfoHuCk4/видео.htmlsi=u6YEU3MRnZ54-FPO
We have used up to 500cc size oxygen absorbers into bags as small as pint size with no problems. Way over-sized.
The number one problem is that there are still a lot of people "guessing" if their food is dry. Most likely this is the real issue.
Remember, I'm just another idiot on the internet. I could be wrong. The #1 joke at our house is "But, I saw it on the internet!" I look at what commercial companies are doing. If they can do it, we probably can too. (with method adjustments)
"If you read it on the Internet, it's absolutely true!" - Abraham Lincoln
@SchoolReports After watching a ton of your videos, I have more faith in you than the internet. Lol
@@jerryfarr3175 🤣 Thanks!
I'm a firm believer that I know very little, and the more I learn the less I seem to know, but I'm willing to learn. People make assertions that this or that will or won't work, but they seldom give the data to show it!
@jerryfarr3175 I have had Fruits go soft in the bag with an O2 absorber in them, but I’ve been able to narrow it down to one of two things: either there was too much humidity in the room afterwards (after bagging, sealing, waiting a day or two, but then leaving the bag in the room during another freeze dry run and the humidity getting really high), OR the fruit (Black Plums) just doesn’t get fully dry. I’ve had this fruit dry, go through the weighing process @SchoolReports suggests, confirming the trays aren’t losing more weight “and should be dry” only to press the flesh part of the fruit with my fingers and it “mushes” like there’s still water in there.. returning to the freeze dryer for several more hours, weighing again and there being no change other than getting the same mushy result as I press the fruit’s meat. Believing it must be me, I bag them up, the O2 absorbers do their work, and a week later I feel the bags and can feel all the fruit inside has a rubbery feeling to it.
It hasn’t happened with any other fruit I’ve freeze dried, just the Black Plums I specifically bought the freeze dryer for (these particular black plums are only available for 1 month each year, there are several varieties of black plums).
@@MisterEMystery That sounds very interesting! You wouldn't happen to know the sugar levels of your Black Plums, would you? I've read that some varieties of very sweet black plums can have brix readings of 20+, which could put them up there with the sometimes hard-to-dry pineapple.
Have you freeze dried ripe Comice pears? I wonder if your plums are any thing like Comice in texture; they never get "crunchy." They do dry completely, but remain very soft and have almost no structure. Freeze dried pieces just melt in your mouth like cotton candy.