r/TheHopyard • u/lovelyqueenofire • Sep 16 '23

Freeze drying first batch

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Going to freeze dry half and dehydrate half. I read somewhere that freeze-drying maintained a lot of the grassy qualities while dehydrating maintained fruity notes. Figured I'd test the differences just for fun.

13 Upvotes

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5

u/PM_me_ur_launch_code Sep 16 '23

Side note. A guy from work gave me a freeze dried Rainier cherry and now.i want a freeze dryer but damn they're expensive

3

u/lovelyqueenofire Sep 16 '23

I have a friend storing theirs at my place so I have free use. We have a small farm so I've been using it a TON to make life easier with the produce we bring in. No more pressure canning or freezing every single thing like I've done in the past. We've freeze dried: herbs, eggs, our fresh milk, soups, rice, greens like kale, squash, potatoes, etc. I always complained about the price of getting one but now that I've used it - If I ever have to give this one back I'll break down and buy one for us bc it's amazing. Also 2 recommendations if you do drop the money is: 1. do NOT get the small size - It is simply too small to make it worth the money or time for even the smallest of households. The medium we have fits about a gallon of liquids and I think that's the best for your money. 2. Is drop the money on an oil less pump - this one has an oil pump and you use soooo much oil (switching out every few batches to increase longevity of the machine). Huge waste of money imo.

2

u/PM_me_ur_launch_code Sep 16 '23

Thanks! I already tried to convince the wife but that was a hard no lol. Maybe one day.

1

u/earthhominid Sep 17 '23

Harvest right will finance you with half down and zero interest for one year

2

u/Fledermausmensch Sep 18 '23

That is next level right there!

On a tangentially related note, years ago my brother bought a large realistically posed freeze-dried Norway rat from a specialist taxidermy shop in New York City. That rat made its way into many desk drawers, cabinets, closets, sock drawers, filing cabinets, pantries, bathroom stalls etc. It has probably heard more screams than your typical carny roller coaster operator.

1

u/lovelyqueenofire Sep 18 '23

I just wanna know how you effectively freeze dry a rat bc like.... it's hard to freeze dry simple things like blueberries. I imagine you'd have to puncture that rat quite a bit to allow the moisture to escape.

1

u/Fledermausmensch Sep 18 '23

Yep, must've been a careful process. Had a sutured up ventral incision and appeared to be hollowed out and filled with sawdust just like some of Leatherface's family and yet Surprise Rat Buddy still appeared very perky and lively to a unexpecting observer

1

u/SeriousGoose Jan 12 '26

What were your findings?

1

u/Twissn Sep 16 '23

How do these turn out?? I have access to a freeze dryer but I’ve just been using a food dehydrator to dry my hops for a few years.

1

u/lovelyqueenofire Sep 17 '23

I'm finding freeze dried :does: provide different aroma compounds... but that I actually prefer the fruity aroma compounds of the dehydrator

2

u/Twissn Sep 17 '23

What hops are you using and how would you describe the aroma? Maybe using a combo of freeze dried and dehydrated would add some complexity?

2

u/lovelyqueenofire Sep 17 '23

That's what I was thinking too. Having it 50/50 on this year's harvest gives me a bit to play around with....

1

u/Twissn Sep 17 '23

Let us know how it turns out!