I honestly think putting a thermometer inside the unit is an excellent idea. I sent the following note off to Harvest Right Support in an effort to gain a little better understanding of the process.

In truth, I was also really worried my son would be cross contaminated and end up being sick for a week. The hostess was insistent on making something he could eat and I finally relented. Needless to say, he ended up being very sick from the food.

We have to face one hard fact when shopping for home freeze dryers. That fact is, unlike many other purchases, freeze dryers aren't cheap. However, unlike many other purchases, a freeze dryer can provide a lifetime of cost savings that ultimately pay for itself.

Many times, you can still freeze dry something if you mix it in. For instance, if there’s a meal that has butter in it, it’s fine to freeze dry. It may just reduce the shelf life a little. So instead of 25 year shelf life, it might have a 10 year shelf life.

Raymond Shipka My freeze drier arrived perfectly and professionallly packaged and it works like a charm.

How does freeze drying work? To put it simply, it freezes the food then goes through a sublimation process where it dries the food.

I've also added an oil catch can that does a wonderful job of trapping oil vapor exiting the exhaust of the pump. Now instead of coating the area in a fine oil mist, the oil settles into the can. The clear tube on the side of the can lets you know how full the can is.

Freeze dried yogurt bites Yogurt tastes great freeze dried, but know that Greek yogurt doesn’t do as well. We Buy Freeze Dryer like to make yogurt bites by freezing yogurt in molds, removing from molds, and then freeze drying. They are fun and easy to eat no matter where you are.

AN8 male fittings are 3/4 X 16tpi. Should be able to get one that will work in this application. Also, there filters that use metric threads, might be easier to deal with.

Another emerging trend is the production of environmentally friendly and energy saving freeze dryers. Manufacturers are trying to lower the carbon footprint of their machines by introducing more energy efficient and sustainable devices.

Thirdly, I like to know what is in my food. When I process my own food, I know what is going in it. Also, I like to grow my own produce so when I freeze dry that, I know exactly where my food came from and how it was grown. Some commercially freeze dried foods contain preservatives.

The only way I know to filter the water vapor out would be a cold trap. They usually use liquid nitrogen or dry ice to keep the temperature low enough that all the water condenses out. Obviously you would need a supply of the liquid nitrogen or dry ice that would probably not be cost effective for most of us. The other option to get that cold would be to use a cryocooler and build a cold trap around it. It could website be done, but would be pretty expensive. I've been watching some electronics on ebay that have cryocoolers in them, but the cheapest I've seen is around $600. Still not a cheap option, but you wouldn't need dry ice or liquid nitrogen to feed it.

Control of the amount of time a material is held at the ultimate freeze temperature before the drying cycle is started.

If you have gluten sensitivity and not Celiac or a gluten allergy, you might be ok with gluten and gluten-free in the same machine.