Freeze-drying is a powerful preservation technique that removes moisture or water content from the food to preserve it for longer. By removing the moisture from the food, the freeze-drying approach helps sustain the food’s nutritional value and increases the shelf life without sacrificing the taste. Let’s learn the science behind freeze-drying and how a mini freeze dryer machine works.
The Basics of Freeze-Drying
Freeze-drying involves a three-step process including:
Freezing:
In the freezing par,t the food is cooled between -30°C and -50°C to solidify it. Usually, a blast freezer or a liquid nitrogen freezer does the job of freezing the materials.
Sublimation:
During sublimation, frozen material/food gets heated in a vacuum chamber, changing the ice to water vapors. Low pressure in the vacuum chamber facilitates the removal of water from the food.
Desorption:
This final step removes water vapor from the vacuum chamber; it includes doing it through a condenser or a vacuum pump.
How Mini Freeze Dryer Machines Work
Suppose you want to have the facility of home-based freeze drying. In that case, you can have mini freeze-dryer machines for domestic uses, consisting of a vacuum chamber, a heating element, and a condenser.
You can dry small batches of food by preparing the materials, including dry fruits, vegetables, meat, coffee, or tea. This material is kept in the vacuum chamber of the mini freeze dryer machine, which freezes the food by using the built-in refrigeration system. Once the food is frozen, the vacuum chamber gets activated and reduces pressure.
Later on, the heating system turns on, which causes the food to sublimate and change to water vapors collected by the condenser to cool it and turn it back to a liquid form.
The whole process of freeze drying in the mini freeze dryer can take several hours to even days depending on the material or food.
Once the food is freeze-dried, you can store it in airtight containers for future use.
Benefits of Mini Freeze Dryer Machines
- The most authentic use of a mini freeze dryer machine for home is preserving the food and maintaining its nutritional value.
- The second benefit is that the food keeps its original texture, flavor, and nutrients, which is ideal for long-term consumption.
- The third benefit is that it reduces food waste; by freeze-drying, you can save the extra fruits and vegetables you can’t use now. The food can go rotten if not used, so a mini freeze dryer machine can save you bucks by saving not overspending on nutrition and can also aid food preservation.
- Mini freeze dryer machines can also preserve flowers by creating unique crafts, making them versatile tools for many.
Limitations of Mini Freeze Dryer Machines
As the name implies, the mini freeze dryer machines are “mini”; due to their size limitations, you cannot process considerable quantities in one go. But still, you can manage smaller batches which are ideal for any domestic scale. The size of the mini freeze dryer machine is suitable for a household to freeze dry the food well in advance times to enjoy it later in the season when it is not available.
