Dehydrated Food to Freeze Dried

[TxPoe]

Over the years I have collected dehydrated fruits for my emergency supplies. I now have a freeze dryer. Has anyone taken their dehydrated fruits and freeze dried them? If so, how did that work out. I need to preserve what I have for longer term.
Thanks.

 

[Ethan N]

@grubworm

 

[grubworm]

kilemi...freeze drying works so well on fresh fruits because of the water content for sublimation to occur. i did a thread on here about freeze drying if you want to read thru it. with dehydrated fruit being so low in moisture, you might have to run it on candy mode or wait until you dried a batch of something and then stick the dehydrated fruit in the dryer and add more dry time...that way you miss the deep freeze cycle which i dont think would help since there isnt much water left for the fruit to hit sublimation. i have freeze dried fruits and vegetables that turned out great and were left out and absorbed moisture and got gummy...i ran those in the dryer immediately after finishing a batch so i could dry the items without going thru the freeze cycle and that worked, but it was items that were already freeze dried, NOT dehydrated. the cell structure of the fruit is changed to the point where it probably wont work to freeze dry it.
let me know how you make out with it

Freeze Drying Food

the wife has been canning a lot over the years and we figured we need to take food storage to the next level, so i set up an area to do freeze drying. works great for long term storage and works exceptionally well for making homemade MREs that are not chocked full of crap ingredients and...

www.overlandbound.com

 

[Walterwilkinson]

Yes, you can take your dehydrated fruits and freeze-dry them to extend their shelf life significantly. Freeze-drying removes more moisture than traditional dehydration, which helps preserve the food's texture, flavor, and nutritional value over the long term. However, the process can be more time-consuming, and the fruits may need to be pre-frozen for best results. Think of it like upgrading your emergency supplies, much like discovering the jack in the box secret menu a step up to enhance what you already have!

 

[grubworm]

Yes, you can take your dehydrated fruits and freeze-dry them to extend their shelf life significantly. Freeze-drying removes more moisture than traditional dehydration, which helps preserve the food's texture, flavor, and nutritional value over the long term. However, the process can be more time-consuming, and the fruits may need to be pre-frozen for best results. Think of it like upgrading your emergency supplies, much like discovering the jack in the box secret menu a step up to enhance what you already have!

glad you showed up...
i have a freeze dryer and i have dehydrated fruits, but i cant get the dehydrated fruit to "freeze dry" since they dont have any moisture that allows for sublimation to occur. please tell me step by step how you got that to occur since it is beyond my current understanding...
thanks!