Freeze Drying Your First 500 lbs of Food - Batch 17 - Hashbrown Potatoes, Dehydrated

Freeze dryer batch #17 - 16 lbs of dehydrated potatoes. Started freeze drying this batch May 26th.
While these dehydrated potatoes started out "dry" they lost about 4.5% of their weight during freeze drying.

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First 500 lbs data spreadsheet link: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ieekdk5aH_2OWLUealeOLurU9_zl03BfFEg_qhAgcaA/edit?usp=sharing
Batch worksheet link: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/13DCB2hXo9_ZYrhIUicLk2IrEaQGszwbaJTcEH8wJxk4/edit?usp=sharing

Cost of the HashBrown potatoes: $14.78 for 16 lbs (wet weight)
Total batch time: 21 hours 30 minutes
Weight before: 1921 grams as bought (16 lbs wet) - Weight after drying: 1834 grams (a loss of 87 grams while freeze drying; about 4.5%)
Power use: 11.95 kWh
Bagged into: 10 quart 7 mil Mylar bags with 300cc oxygen absorbers.

If I knew then what I know, I would have freeze dried things in a different order. Maybe not, because I started freeze drying was because we had 3 full freezers, I was thinking of getting another one, and I decided I should buy a walk-in freezer instead. I started looking into walk-ins and realized they were expensive to buy (even used ones) AND expensive to own and operate. Then I found out Harvest Right was making home sized freeze dryers. One of my first thoughts was "I like Mountain House!" I have used their food for backpacking almost 45 years and we even kept some in our travel trailer, for just in case.

This list is about getting started on a 500 lb mixed pantry of freeze dried foods in 100 days.
(This may be a bit optimistic and perhaps it'll only be 400 lbs)
Goal of about 85 lbs per category. (100 lbs per category if we don't do the Meals/Dishes)
1) Meats:
2) Vegetables:
3) Fruits:
5) Grain / Starch
6) Meals / Dishes

Freeze dried food will stay fresh for many years and be ready and waiting when you need it.
We do videos showing how we are using our Harvest Right Freeze Dryer to freeze dry food for long term storage. (We have the medium size machine that we got in August of 2017) We talk about how to load and unload the freeze dryer, how to know if the food is dry, is it better to freeze dry raw food or cooked food, and do a few taste tests. Freeze dried food is also great for prepping or just for camping and snacking!

AFFILIATES & REFERRALS
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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! https://affiliates.harvestright.com/995.html
We have the medium freeze dryer with the original vacuum pump.
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Amazon affiliate links to some of the things we have been using; it helps us and costs you nothing.
• Escali Primo Kitchen Scale https://amzn.to/3r8VqRe
• Etekcity Kitchen Scale11lb/5kg https://amzn.to/3K3ajhY
• Power meter https://amzn.to/3s4RVOr
• The New Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: https://amzn.to/33NTPtt
• This is the scoop I "adjusted" (see video) for bagging https://amzn.to/3pdTB4J​
• Silicone Square Cake Pan - Set of 2 https://amzn.to/2YvAp6L
• Teflon Tape for Impulse Sealers https://amzn.to/3pt2nMd​
• Dial Thermometer -40 to 160 F 1-Inch https://amzn.to/3pvAfIm
• Parchment paper - We usually get our at Costco, but they also have it on Amazon https://amzn.to/3owy5qC or https://amzn.to/3Cw1WXL​
• Corrugated Plastic Sheets we use in our freezer https://amzn.to/2YqAM2A​
• Drill Bit 5/32" x 10" Extra Length https://amzn.to/3tEOvRx
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We are participants in the Amazon Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for sites to earn fees by linking to amazon.com. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

For the 7 x 7 pans try the Dollar Store, that's where we got ours. (They were labeled 8 x 8 because they measure the top)

Music: Morning Mood by Grieg