Food preservation is one of the most widespread uses of freeze dryer equipment. The food materials that has undergone this kind of preservation process can be stored for longer durations and also remains free from any harmful effects of artificial preservatives or sweeteners. For any person who is starting to learn food preservation, Yatherm freeze dryer is simple and easy to use machine that can deliver great results with minimal investment in financial terms and efforts involved. Below are a few of the most important considerations that must be observed when a freeze dryer is to be used for food preservation.
- Do not mix meat with any other kind of food. Meat should always be freeze dried on its own. Any kind of cross contamination can lead to growth of e coli or other harmful bacteria in the food an must be prevented in all situations.
- Do not try to freeze dry large size meat cuts and pieces. The freeze-drying process while very effective has its own speed and limitations. If rather large pieces of meat are processed, they might not be preserved properly and there is also the risk of rehydration not working which means when food is to be consumed, meat will have a leathery taste and texture which is rather unpleasant.
- Do not try to dry food items with high fat content. Food with high fat content will always react adversely to any attempts to freeze dry. Something like butter or cheese has very high fat content and any attempt to freeze dry it will cause layers of fat to accumulate on the chamber which will take hours upon hours to be cleaned.
- Check before your try to freeze dry high sugar foods. Freeze drying food items which are naturally sweet, like fruits and berries can be easily processed though larger food items will take longer. That is why pineapple slices are freeze dried instead of full pineapple. On the other hand, fruit juices and jams, even if derived using no artificial sugar or additives will not freeze dry well because of the very high concentration of sugar which causes adverse chemical reactions when exposed to low temperatures.
- Ensure foods with similar tastes are freeze dried together. Mixing food items with different tastes is a cardinal sin with regard to food preservation. Simply because the taste of different items can only be locked with different levels of processing. Mixing the items will cause taste crash with some items completely losing their taste while others are freeze dried inadequately and risk early spoilage.
- Overfilling the freeze dryer must be avoided. The machine has its stated capacity and if any attempt is made to over stuff it with items for whatever reason, the results can be from anywhere like improper preservation to total item spoilage and even equipment damage. Always ensure that machine is only loaded to its stated capacity and multiple cycles should be used if large amount of food items need to be preserved. Patience is the key in such cases!
Read more about Air Shower and Hot Air Oven by Yatherm scientific manufacturer of scientific equipment.
