I love my freeze drier. The problem is I've been freeze drying for long term storage since the day it arrived. We really haven't tried to rehydrate anything because I feel we're on a deadline and I'm a freeze drying maniac. So this video is a blessing. My husband even sat down and watched because he also has so many questions. Thank you for doing the leg work and I look forward to buying your book. Now to find the list and start watching the videos I've missed. This was a great idea for February.
I think you missed the instant pot/pressure cooker method to rehydrate. Imo, it's the best way for thick foods like lasagna or cake. The pressure helps force the water into the inside of the food.
@HomesteadingFamiIy. I wish I had more details for you. I've seen it done (and tasted the results), but I don't have specifics yet. Just received my freeze dryer, so I'm looking forward to some experimentation. Will let you know what I find...
@@PlowAndPantryHomestead Yes, you can rehydrate dense freeze-dried foods using an Instant Pot pressure cooker. The pressure and heat from the Instant Pot can accelerate the rehydration process, especially for dense or thick foods like meats or stews. Here’s how you can do it: 1. **Add the Freeze-Dried Food**: Place the freeze-dried food into the Instant Pot. 2. **Add Water or Broth**: Add enough water, broth, or other liquid to fully cover the food, as it will absorb moisture. You can adjust the liquid amount depending on the food density and your preference for consistency. 3. **Pressure Cook**: Set the Instant Pot to manual or pressure cook mode. Depending on the type of food, you might want to cook it for 5-15 minutes at high pressure. For very dense foods, you can go longer. 4. **Natural Release**: Let the pressure release naturally to avoid overcooking the food and allow for even rehydration. The time will vary depending on the type and size of the food you're rehydrating, but this method should work well for dense foods.
Thank you for not only trying all these ways with different foods, but sharing your process with us! Knowing how to preserve foods is only useful if you also know how to USE what you've preserved. What a great video!
Carolyn!! You are such a gifted teacher!! I can't hardly wait for your freeze drying cookbook to be available! Thank you for your contribution to Freeze Dried February 2024! You're a true blessing!
This video on how to BEST rehydrate the freeze dried products was much needed and appreciated by us. We've been saving up for a freeze dryer and will need this info for how to use/cook with the products after they've been freeze dried.
Thank you so much for this video. Freeze drying is the easy part. Rehydration or reconstitution have been difficult for me. Thanks for the information.
Thank you for this tutorial! We’ve rehydrated some of our FD’s food, but nothing structured like lasagna or cake. This gives me the information I need to fully utilize our stored FD’d foods.
I have been freeze drying everything I can for almost two years now but we have only eaten things dry, not rehydrated because I've been nervous about how to do it. We decided it was time to try so this video is perfect timing! Thank you.
We are researching all about freeze drying and considering buying one. It’s certainly not something to make an uninformed decision on. So much to learn. We are getting older and need an easier method to preserve our harvests. The health benefits are also impressive. Thank you for taking the time to do this video on freeze drying!
I know from experience that this is so much better for elderly. I help my Nana (80) she much rather prefers to freeze dry the harvest now than to freeze or can.
Thank you for sharing the other half of freeze drying, how to rehydrate the foods. I appreciate all the tips and information as to why certain methods aren't practical or just don't work for certain foods. Be patient and take your time. Thank you for participating in the Freeze Dried February 2024 collaboration and as always, I love watching and learning from your videos!!
I've wanted a freeze dryer since I found out about them about a year ago. But I had no idea so many things could be freeze dried! I had in mind fruits & vegetables, but when I learned about soup, broth, meat,etc, mind blown! And, I'm going to learn even more from all the videos in this collaboration. Thank you so much!
I’ve seen these freeze-drying videos for a while but have been uncertain about it. So glad I got to see the rehydration steps it takes. Thank you for doing these videos. So very helpful!
Caroline, this is so informational and educational. Especially since there really isn't reliable information out there on rehydration. Thank you so much! I'm so stoked for your book!! Looking forward to it!
I just love you and your beautiful family. I love how you and your husband are able to make and do Everything for your family. You are very through when you show what your doing. 😅
Thank you so much for the info! I have had my freeze dryer for almost two months and have been dabbling but not yet dove into using it. My big drawback was the how to use food once dehydrated lol. This video helped a bunch! Love all your other content as well and look forward to your upcoming book!
One More - Put the item in a jar with broth or water and vacuum seal it for a few minutes. It draws in the broth, perhaps into things like meats or fish
Very informative video! Steaming intuitively seems like a good way to rehydrate because the hot steam would slowly infuse into the food. Who would have thought the end product would be so disappointing? Wow! Thank you for doing all the experimenting for us. Great information as always. ❤
You’ve given really good advice with the raw food vs cooked food method for rehydration. I am amazed at all the things you freeze dry. You are so adventurous.
I had the same results with #4 5, and 6. Thank you for demonstrating #’s 1-3. I use 1 and 2 all the time but the way you show them helped me see how to get better results.
@HomesteadingFamiIy. would love to talk with you as I'm trying to get my family on a healthier life. I don't have freezer space and I believe a freeze dryer would be best. Thank you
I am tucking away all of this knowledge for when I get a freeze-dryer. The hot vs. cold water with cooked or raw food is great information and I would have thought the steaming method would work. Thank you, Carolyn, you are such a great teacher!
I purchased a freeze-dryer in the fall and have not done very much because I can't find any good recipes except candy. I don't have anything except trays and would love to get more tips and tricks. I'm looking forward to your book coming out so I know I'm getting good advice! Thank you
My wife is loving the idea of a freeze dryer. We dehydrate a lot of things from our garden AND our yard(weeds)...mostly lambs quarters. We vacuum seal them with brake bleeder hand pump. thanks for your info.
That was a nice demonstration on reconstituting food. I'm so glad that you did that last method on the cake because I imagined it being a soggy mess and it wasn't.
Thank you Carolyn for this newest video on freeze drying. I have tossed many FD items because I didn't rehydrate the foods properly. I appreciate your showing us the right way. I'm excited to rehydrate some of the foods I have left. I'm looking forward to seeing your new cookbook as well!
I love my dogs and have had multiple problems with dogfood So I’ve ordered my freeze dryer to try to come up with a healthy alternative to keep it shelf stable. I’m so excited to start the process and the videos are a life saver. Thank you guys and God Bless you all!
I like the idea of adding in more flavor instead of reconstituting with water - using broth or miso for savory foods, and milk/cream/fruit juice to make sweet things even better ;)
Steaming brownies works perfectly. And ive had it work great dor enchiladas too - dont keep the lid on, and have the food higher up from the steam source.
We "rehydrate" because we are adding the water back into the foods that freeze drying has removed. Freeze dried foods are not "reconstituted" because we did not de-constitute the food to begin with. Terminology is important. Many foods take a Lot Longer to rehydrate than people think they should. . ... It took Many Hours to freeze dry, don't expect many foods to be rehydrate in just a few minutes or even a couple of hours. We've been freeze drying for about 6 1/2 years now and after many hundreds of freeze dryer loads we are sometimes still surprised at the time some things take to both freeze dry and rehydrate. RUclips keeps suggesting FDing creators for me to watch . . . Always, Keep having Fun Freeze Drying ❤
Hubby has given me the okay to seriously consider the purchase of a freeze dryer but I am terrified to mess up any of our harvest and hard work. When you brought out that CAKE😮 I knew I could do it! ❤ thank you for all this encouragement 💗
I love the video. It would be fantastic to win!! My son complained about going in with his dad two years ago to buy me a dehydrator for Christmas. A year ago he started talking about getting a freeze dryer. 😂
I have many quarts of dehydrated foods but I have only bought freezedried foods. I know Carolyn seems to just love the results. Hopefully one may be in my future😝
I’ve been freeze drying about a year and have only rehydrated raw eggs. I was surprised when you said the cake was shelf stable for months. I thought it was years. Guess I need the book. Great video.
I hope this enters me in to the contest! I love the freeze dried food option! I am wary of canning so I am excited to learn about other ways to preserve food. Thanks for this rehydrating video! 😀
Thanks for doing this video - i have the hardest time rehydrating. It is really great to see that methods didn’t work for you too, so it’s not just me.
I have been on the fence about getting a freeze dryer because it’s such a different concept of preserving food and the learning curve can be a bit daunting. Thank you so much for doing this video! It definitely helps take away some of that uncertainty and makes it look doable.
Finally someone is talking about the rehydrating process. Thank you so much. This part is what was stopping me.
I love my freeze drier. The problem is I've been freeze drying for long term storage since the day it arrived. We really haven't tried to rehydrate anything because I feel we're on a deadline and I'm a freeze drying maniac. So this video is a blessing. My husband even sat down and watched because he also has so many questions. Thank you for doing the leg work and I look forward to buying your book. Now to find the list and start watching the videos I've missed. This was a great idea for February.
I love my freeze *dryer (noun) too… it gets foods much *drier (comparative adjective) than a dehydrator👍
I am excited for your book to come out!
Awesome your hubby interested too!.
I've always wondered which spelling to use 😂 many thanks @@rrbb36(NB not being sarcastic, I am genuinely grateful ❤)
Why do you feel like your on a deadline? Because of how long it takes to put how many years storage you want up?
I think you missed the instant pot/pressure cooker method to rehydrate. Imo, it's the best way for thick foods like lasagna or cake. The pressure helps force the water into the inside of the food.
@HomesteadingFamiIy. I wish I had more details for you. I've seen it done (and tasted the results), but I don't have specifics yet. Just received my freeze dryer, so I'm looking forward to some experimentation. Will let you know what I find...
I need more info! Do you use the Instant Pot steam feature or the pressure cook feature?
@@PlowAndPantryHomestead Yes, you can rehydrate dense freeze-dried foods using an Instant Pot pressure cooker. The pressure and heat from the Instant Pot can accelerate the rehydration process, especially for dense or thick foods like meats or stews. Here’s how you can do it:
1. **Add the Freeze-Dried Food**: Place the freeze-dried food into the Instant Pot.
2. **Add Water or Broth**: Add enough water, broth, or other liquid to fully cover the food, as it will absorb moisture. You can adjust the liquid amount depending on the food density and your preference for consistency.
3. **Pressure Cook**: Set the Instant Pot to manual or pressure cook mode. Depending on the type of food, you might want to cook it for 5-15 minutes at high pressure. For very dense foods, you can go longer.
4. **Natural Release**: Let the pressure release naturally to avoid overcooking the food and allow for even rehydration.
The time will vary depending on the type and size of the food you're rehydrating, but this method should work well for dense foods.
@@PlowAndPantryHomestead Lasagna works well. I wouldn't recommend doing cake in the instant pot.
I hope you do more rehydrating videos...that's a fuzzy yet IMPORTANT step in the whole process!
Yes so true! It's the part of freeze drying that is the hardest for me for sure
Someday I'll own a freeze dryer. Until then I'll just keep watching videos and dreaming of that day.
They have a monthly drawing that someone wins a freeze drier every month. You can't win if you don't play.
Thank you for not only trying all these ways with different foods, but sharing your process with us! Knowing how to preserve foods is only useful if you also know how to USE what you've preserved. What a great video!
I love freeze drying eggs...and now I'm seasoning and adding ingredients for omelets before freezing. Works great!
I think rehydrating/using your freeze dried items isn't shared enough. Thanks for joining and choosing this topic.
Carolyn!! You are such a gifted teacher!! I can't hardly wait for your freeze drying cookbook to be available! Thank you for your contribution to Freeze Dried February 2024! You're a true blessing!
Thank you for doing this video! So helpful to see the difference between each method and which is better with each kind of foods.
This video on how to BEST rehydrate the freeze dried products was much needed and appreciated by us. We've been saving up for a freeze dryer and will need this info for how to use/cook with the products after they've been freeze dried.
' ! ❤️ ! " Responsibility Matters for ALL Lives " ! USA ! '
Thank you so much for this video. Freeze drying is the easy part. Rehydration or reconstitution have been difficult for me. Thanks for the information.
Thank you for this tutorial! We’ve rehydrated some of our FD’s food, but nothing structured like lasagna or cake. This gives me the information I need to fully utilize our stored FD’d foods.
I have been freeze drying everything I can for almost two years now but we have only eaten things dry, not rehydrated because I've been nervous about how to do it. We decided it was time to try so this video is perfect timing! Thank you.
I agree please do more Freezedryer videos.😊
I can’t wait for your book. This month will be such a learning experience watching all the videos and being put in the drawing is icing on the cake!
I love my freeze dryer too! Thanks for these awesome videos!
We are researching all about freeze drying and considering buying one. It’s certainly not something to make an uninformed decision on. So much to learn. We are getting older and need an easier method to preserve our harvests. The health benefits are also impressive. Thank you for taking the time to do this video on freeze drying!
I know from experience that this is so much better for elderly. I help my Nana (80) she much rather prefers to freeze dry the harvest now than to freeze or can.
Same here!
Love your videos. I would love to be able to get a freeze dryer. Have a great day!
Thank you for sharing the other half of freeze drying, how to rehydrate the foods. I appreciate all the tips and information as to why certain methods aren't practical or just don't work for certain foods. Be patient and take your time. Thank you for participating in the Freeze Dried February 2024 collaboration and as always, I love watching and learning from your videos!!
Great video! I've been freeze drying organ meats and making my own powdered organ supplements in pill form.
I've wanted a freeze dryer since I found out about them about a year ago. But I had no idea so many things could be freeze dried! I had in mind fruits & vegetables, but when I learned about soup, broth, meat,etc, mind blown! And, I'm going to learn even more from all the videos in this collaboration. Thank you so much!
Thinking of getting a freeze drier and this is so helpful to understand how to reconstitute them.
Love your willingness to share all of your knowledge with others! Your family is truly a blessing to so many!
Great information! I love your videos.
Thank you Carolyn for participating in the freeze drying collaboration. You gave us some very valuable tips. I’m always learning something new.
Thank you so much for making this video…needed it🥰
I’ve seen these freeze-drying videos for a while but have been uncertain about it. So glad I got to see the rehydration steps it takes. Thank you for doing these videos. So very helpful!
I love that the example was cake. I have done pumpkin roll and it did great. It seems a lot of recommendations are not realistic. This helped.
Have watched you all for years. Love the information always provided. God Bless!
Caroline, this is so informational and educational. Especially since there really isn't reliable information out there on rehydration. Thank you so much! I'm so stoked for your book!! Looking forward to it!
Glad it was helpful!
I just love you and your beautiful family. I love how you and your husband are able to make and do Everything for your family. You are very through when you show what your doing. 😅
Excellent guidelines, thanks.
We've had our our freeze dryer for two years now. It's paid for itself with being able to preserve sale foods, left overs, and all our garden produce.
Mind blown!!!! I would never think you could freeze dry lasagna or cake. What an amazing machine. Having one of these would be a game changer.
Thank you so much for the info! I have had my freeze dryer for almost two months and have been dabbling but not yet dove into using it. My big drawback was the how to use food once dehydrated lol. This video helped a bunch! Love all your other content as well and look forward to your upcoming book!
My mom and I want to get a freeze dryer! Can't wait until we can use the amazing tips and tricks you give us!
This is the video I was waiting for.
So glad to see something on rehydrating. Thanks for the information and suggestions for success. I hope you do more of this.
Thank you so much you this. Your explanation on the different methods of rehydrating was very informative. I can't wait for your book to come out.
Thank you! Very helpful information.
One More - Put the item in a jar with broth or water and vacuum seal it for a few minutes. It draws in the broth, perhaps into things like meats or fish
Recently tried some dehydrated apples. Amazing! So much better than dehydrated. Would love to get a half price dehydrator!
Very informative video! Steaming intuitively seems like a good way to rehydrate because the hot steam would slowly infuse into the food. Who would have thought the end product would be so disappointing? Wow! Thank you for doing all the experimenting for us. Great information as always. ❤
Thank you for this very informative video! I had a problem rehydrating asparagus. The cold-water method worked.
Congratulations on your book!
A freeze dryer is only a dream for me.
Have wanted to freeze dry for a long time. Your videos provide so much useful information from start to finish. Thank you.
I’m in for the Grand Prize! Good luck everyone!
You’ve given really good advice with the raw food vs cooked food method for rehydration. I am amazed at all the things you freeze dry. You are so adventurous.
Love the info. Thanks for entering me in the grand prize drawing!
I had the same results with #4 5, and 6. Thank you for demonstrating #’s 1-3. I use 1 and 2 all the time but the way you show them helped me see how to get better results.
I'VE BEEN WANTING A FREEZE DRYER BUT THE PRICE IS HIGH. THANK YOU FOR ALL THE INFO YOU SHARE.
@HomesteadingFamiIy. would love to talk with you as I'm trying to get my family on a healthier life. I don't have freezer space and I believe a freeze dryer would be best. Thank you
This has been very helpful, as I am considering adding a freeze dryer to my arsenal of kitchen "toys". ❤
I am tucking away all of this knowledge for when I get a freeze-dryer. The hot vs. cold water with cooked or raw food is great information and I would have thought the steaming method would work. Thank you, Carolyn, you are such a great teacher!
Winning a freeze drier would be so amazing! I would save so much space storing food. Canning food takes so much storage space.
I’d love to be entered into the giveaway coming up in early march. Thanks you for your video’s, I’ve learned so much and love them!!
I purchased a freeze-dryer in the fall and have not done very much because I can't find any good recipes except candy. I don't have anything except trays and would love to get more tips and tricks. I'm looking forward to your book coming out so I know I'm getting good advice! Thank you
Awesome info!! Love how simple you broke it down to.
I am just getting my freeze dryer. Can’t wait
Very helpful.thanks for all the tips. Been freeze drying for a few years now
Thanks for sharing. I am still looking into buying a freeze dryer this year. Im researching it as much as possible 😊
My wife is loving the idea of a freeze dryer. We dehydrate a lot of things from our garden AND our yard(weeds)...mostly lambs quarters. We vacuum seal them with brake bleeder hand pump. thanks for your info.
Thanks for doing the hard work and sharing all the tips! I don't have a freeze dryer, they seem very expensive, but maybe someday!
That was a nice demonstration on reconstituting food. I'm so glad that you did that last method on the cake because I imagined it being a soggy mess and it wasn't.
Thank you Carolyn for this newest video on freeze drying. I have tossed many FD items because I didn't rehydrate the foods properly. I appreciate your showing us the right way. I'm excited to rehydrate some of the foods I have left. I'm looking forward to seeing your new cookbook as well!
I love my dogs and have had multiple problems with dogfood
So I’ve ordered my freeze dryer to try to come up with a healthy alternative to keep it shelf stable.
I’m so excited to start the process and the videos are a life saver. Thank you guys and God Bless you all!
I am getting one after 15 years or so of wanting a freeze dryer! I love your videos, thank you!
Great to see you in this collaboration. Reconstituting freeze dried food.
I wasn't sure when to use room-temperature water vs. boiling. Now I know. Thank you!
I’m researching whether a freeze dryer would be a good fit for our family. Thanks for all the information!
I like the idea of adding in more flavor instead of reconstituting with water - using broth or miso for savory foods, and milk/cream/fruit juice to make sweet things even better ;)
Steaming brownies works perfectly. And ive had it work great dor enchiladas too - dont keep the lid on, and have the food higher up from the steam source.
We "rehydrate" because we are adding the water back into the foods that freeze drying has removed.
Freeze dried foods are not "reconstituted" because we did not de-constitute the food to begin with.
Terminology is important.
Many foods take a Lot Longer to rehydrate than people think they should. . ... It took Many Hours to freeze dry, don't expect many foods to be rehydrate in just a few minutes or even a couple of hours. We've been freeze drying for about 6 1/2 years now and after many hundreds of freeze dryer loads we are sometimes still surprised at the time some things take to both freeze dry and rehydrate.
RUclips keeps suggesting FDing creators for me to watch . . .
Always, Keep having Fun Freeze Drying ❤
Hubby has given me the okay to seriously consider the purchase of a freeze dryer but I am terrified to mess up any of our harvest and hard work. When you brought out that CAKE😮 I knew I could do it! ❤ thank you for all this encouragement 💗
You can do it!
One of my goals for next year! Saving money a little bit every months towards it!
So excited for my preordered book! Can't wait to get started!!
We hope you love it!
Very interesting to see what to do with it once it's been freeze dried!😊
super cool that even raw meat items can be preserved like this!
I’m glad you show how to rehydrate the food.
I have been stalking freeze dryers for years. I hope to have saved enough soon to finally get one.
First timer here. Freeze dryer on the way 😊. Been watching all your videos to prepare!
I love the video. It would be fantastic to win!! My son complained about going in with his dad two years ago to buy me a dehydrator for Christmas. A year ago he started talking about getting a freeze dryer. 😂
Thank you for going into great detail on how to rehydrate foods that are freeze dried.
Glad it was helpful!
This is great to cover rehydration. Love you tried so many.
We were skeptical at first, but now we hope to purchase a freeze-drier before next season's harvest.
I have many quarts of dehydrated foods but I have only bought freezedried foods. I know Carolyn seems to just love the results. Hopefully one may be in my future😝
What a great way to avoid waste
@HomesteadingFamiIy chicken feed, pig feed etc:)
I’ve been freeze drying about a year and have only rehydrated raw eggs. I was surprised when you said the cake was shelf stable for months. I thought it was years. Guess I need the book.
Great video.
I really want to have a freeze dryer for our family!
I am almost convinced I need a freeze drier.😊
I hope this enters me in to the contest!
I love the freeze dried food option! I am wary of canning so I am excited to learn about other ways to preserve food. Thanks for this rehydrating video! 😀
I love the Homesteading Family videos! I have learned so much from you!
Glad you like them!
Thanks for doing this video - i have the hardest time rehydrating. It is really great to see that methods didn’t work for you too, so it’s not just me.
Great information. Thank you so much for taking the time to share it!!
I have been on the fence about getting a freeze dryer because it’s such a different concept of preserving food and the learning curve can be a bit daunting. Thank you so much for doing this video! It definitely helps take away some of that uncertainty and makes it look doable.
That's great information. This is the 1st video I have seen on rehydration.
Have to remember these things when I get a freeze dryer. Thanks
I so interested in freeze drying & learning more about the rehydration process. Thank you for videos like this one.