Harvest Right Home Freeze Dryer Owner's Manual page 29

4
. Possible moisture in the drain valve
or in the oil. Verify that the food has
been adequately frozen and the oil is
not milky or opaque in appearance.
When the process is complete,
sometimes the shelves are warm
and sometimes they are cold. Why?
The final step of the freeze dry
process is a post-dry. The shelf
heaters will turn off for the last hour
of the freeze drying process. This is
so the trays are not hot when pulled
out. When the process finishes, the
heaters turn off and the vacuum
pump turns off. The condensing unit
(freezer) stays on.
If the food is removed immediately
after the process is completed, the
trays will be hot from the heaters
that are on during the post dry. If
you take the food out a few minutes
after it beeps, the trays will be cold.
If you don't get the food out within
a few hours, the trays will be very
cold. In all cases, the trays should be
removed with a glove because they
will either be warm or cold.
Although the trays are at -40
F, because there is no water in
the food to freeze and make the
food cold, the food will be room
temperature on -40 F trays.
A good way to test that the food is
100% complete is to break or bite
the thickest piece. If it is cold or wet
in the middle, there may be a bit
of moisture left in the food, and it
should be put through the vacuum-

dry cycle one more time. While rare,
this may occasionally happen. In sum:
Sometimes the trays will be warm,
sometimes they will be cold. This
depends on when the food is taken
out. Either way, the food will be dry.
I packaged my food and it was very
dry when it came out, but now it is
not dry. Why?
1.
Properly packaging the food is
vital. It is important to promptly
package your freeze-dried product in
Mylar bags with an oxygen absorber
(in order to seal thoroughly, we
recommend you seal the bags at least
twice to be safe), in a #10 can with an
oxygen absorber, or a mason jar with
an oxygen absorber. To ensure long
shelf life, store in a cool, dry location.
2.
Occasionally all of the food will
be perfectly freeze dried with the
exception of a couple of pieces. This
can happen if you cut a few pieces of
your product much thicker than the
rest. If packaged, one wet piece will
re-hydrate the whole batch. When
a batch is complete, it is a good idea
to break the thickest piece of food
on your trays in half and taste it in
order to be sure that the product has
completed the drying process. If you
find that the food is not completely
dry, simply put the food back in
the freeze dryer and press "More
dry time" to get right back into
the vacuum pump/drying portion
of the freeze dry cycle. The freeze
dryer will then finish the pieces that
weren't quite complete.
29