Just about anything can be freeze dried, but there are a few exceptions (scroll down for those)
Can be freeze dried:
For your own use– Only food you plan to use yourself (not for re-sale or any other distribution) can be processed here.
Fruits– All fruits can be freeze dried but some take more prep work than others. Once freeze dried, you can even grind them into a powder you can add to other foods, like strawberry icing, smoothies, desserts, etc. And of course you can eat them while still freeze dried as a snack or re-hydrate to use like you would fresh fruit.
Vegetables– Like fruits, all veg can be freeze dried, but some take extra prep. You can re-hydrate and use them in whole pieces or grind them to add extra nutrients to your meals. Have a picky eater that doesn’t like veggies? Add them in as a powder!
LEAN meats– Any lean meat can be dehydrated, but be aware that fat doesn’t freeze dry. So if the meat has fat on it or in it, it won’t last nearly as long no matter how you store it (you might get a couple years of storage for an 80/20 hamburger that has as much fat removed during cooking as possible). Meat can be freeze dried raw or cooked, but be aware that if it goes in the freeze dryer raw, it comes out still raw. Freeze drying does NOT cook foods! It only removes the moisture. It also does not kill pathogens, so any foods intended for human consumption must be cooked or blanched before delivery, and delivered either refrigerated or frozen.
Bone Broth– You can powder liquid bone broth, but the fat must be removed first. Put the broth in the fridge overnight, then remove the fat layer on top. Bring it refrigerated and I’ll pour it onto the trays to be pre-frozen.
Soup– A fully prepared soup can be freeze dried for fast re-hydration, but would spend a lot of time in the machine to remove the liquid. A better option for soup is to freeze dry all the cooked individual ingredients (can be done in the same batch) and then combine them in a pouch or pouches. Adding some cooked ground meat to freeze dry (that can be powdered) can add a lot of flavor when you add hot water/broth to the pouch or dump the contents into a pot of water. And you can mix all your spices into the cooked meat before it gets frozen.
Dairy (milk, cheese, yogurt, etc.)- Have extra milk from your cow, goat, etc.? Want to have powdered goat milk on hand for baby animals that is just as nutritious as fresh? Going camping and need lightweight, shelf stable milk for your coffee? Just add water and it is exactly like fresh! Note: Because of the fat in most dairy, it won’t have a long shelf life. But it should be good for a year in proper storage and low fat dairy products can be stored long term.
Eggs– Want eggs year round? Have an abundance right now that you want to preserve? Note that scrambled eggs (cooked) freeze dry the best for eating (can add seasoning, cheese, etc. if desired but no onions/chives/garlic/whole peppers please.)
Cooked pasta/rice– By freeze drying pasta or rice, it makes it ready to eat in about 2 minutes of re-hydrating time. Talk about fast food! Great for adding to soup mix pouches!
Complete meal ingredients/whole meals– You can prepare extra and freeze-dry meal ingredients to have on hand long term. Sometimes whole meals can be freeze dried like stews, scrambled eggs, pasta dishes, and casseroles.
Casseroles/pasta dishes– This would need to arrive cooked and refrigerated and get spread on the pans here for pre-freezing. Be sure it doesn’t have too much onion or fresh pepper in it (see below on what not to freeze dry here.)
Purees– When you want to make a powder out of any food, just puree the food and bring it refrigerated. I’ll spread it on the trays and pre-freeze it here. Once it is dried, it will be a powder. But any freeze dried food can be ground into a powder.
Smoothies– Allows long term storage, easy transport, and just add water to enjoy! Bring your prepared and refrigerated smoothie mix(es) and I’ll spread them on the trays for pre-freezing.
Dog Food/treats- Do you make your dog’s food from food grade ingredients? Want to be able to store it long term while preserving all the goodness? Or maybe your dog has a favorite treat that makes a mess in your pocket and you want a lightweight, easy way to deliver it.
Bread– This can be freeze dried for long term preservation, but you won’t get very much in the machine per batch. It can be a way to make croutons, but just vacuum sealing baked croutons in a jar will help them last a LONG time without the expense of freeze drying them.
Sourdough starter– Freeze drying doesn’t cook the items, so all the enzymes and good bacteria are preserved. You can make your starter into an easy to use powder and no longer need to babysit it every day! When you run low, use some powder to make some fresh batches to freeze dry!
Store Bought Candies– Candy is different than other freeze dried foods. It does NOT retain it’s original shape and it isn’t dried in the same way as other foods (so it can’t be mixed with a batch of freeze dried food). Moisture is not being removed from the candy. Instead, the sugars are heated and then vacuum pressure is applied, which causes the sugar in the candy to expand and creates a super dry puff. When the temp goes back to room temperature, the puff form sets. This turns chewy candies into crunchy, airy, delights that instantly melt-in-your-mouth. But unfortunately chocolate doesn’t have this effect, so the best candies for this are ones that are chewy, gummy, taffy, etc. Because of the expansion, you may not get very many candies per tray. The taste is a bit intensified and it makes the candy easier to eat (no longer sticky/chewy/gummy). Note that candies with a high corn starch content don’t change at all, like Hot Tamale, Swedish Fish, Sour Patch Kids, and Licorice.
CAN’T Freeze dry:
Pure fats or high fat/oily foods– Fat doesn’t release moisture, so it can’t be made shelf stable by freeze drying (it will cause foods to spoil faster). Meat with a lot of marbling/fat, cream, butter, edible oils, mayonnaise, peanut butter, hotdogs, etc. can’t be freeze dried. I have heard that freeze dried bacon is an awesome snack but it has to be stored in the freezer and eaten within a month. But it won’t ‘go bad’ in the time it takes to get to work and eat it as a snack there during the work shift. However, I also heard freeze dried hotdogs are completely disgusting both freeze dried and when re-hydrated.
Syrup– You can’t effectively freeze-dry syrup because its high sugar content prevents it from freezing solid and inhibits proper moisture removal, leading to a sticky, undesirable residue that is difficult to remove from the freeze-dryer trays.
Jams/Jellies– Same reason as with syrup
Honey– Same reason as syrup
Nuts– No worries about nut allergy issues because nuts don’t freeze dry.
Chocolate– While several things can be used as “freeze dried” candy, sadly chocolate isn’t one of them. It has both fat and a lot of sugar.
Smelly foods– While these items CAN be freeze dried, I do not accept them in my machine because it takes a full cleaning and oil change as well as doing a batch of disposable bread (to help absorb odors) to prevent the odor from transferring to future batches. You can mix a COMBINED TOTAL of 1/4 cup or less of these items per machine batch into food you want to dehydrate. If your food exceeds this amount, it will be refused.
– Onion
– Garlic
– Peppers (raw/blanched)
– Herbs/flowers
– Coffee is another item that has too strong of an odor for my machine
– Pickles– sorry pickle lovers
Drugs– Shouldn’t have to be said, but no, I won’t freeze dry your cannabis or any other drug even if it’s legal.
Use A Freeze Dryer 