Chris Quillen

Kaarina not vacuum packed - generally in Mason jar vacuum sealed for short term storage or in jars (stored in dark/dry spot) or in Mylar bags, both with oxygen absorbers for long term - hope this helps

Vicky - yes you can freeze dry raw meat and reconstitutes like fresh... some feel that cooking it while you have the means and then freeze drying helps on the other end I’d say no electricity, etc. Plus the more fat something has the less time it will stay preserved, so sometimes less fat post cooking - either way
Definitely a great way to preserve on or off grid!

I supposedly planted semi-bush acorn squash and these are what I ended up with! Are they gourds? Are they edible?

My first batch... tomatoes fire roasted in oven fresh with black garlic and adobo (no oil for freeze drying) then frozen, then freeze dried & jarred - SO delicious and will last up to 25yrs on the shelf - along with maintaining 97% of nutrients and flavor... I’m completely hooked!!

I did the bone broth in my crockpot on low for 30+hrs, bone & skin from rotisserie chicken along with carrots, celery, ACV to draw out the nutrients then stained and prefroze in silicone molds then into the freeze dryer, powdered and into vacuum sealed mason jar

Just got our HR freeze dryer and in the process of learning all sorts of new stuff - I absolutely love it! Only had it a month and so far I’ve done fire-roasted tomatoes, raw milk, herbs from my garden (so much better than reg drying!), apples, eggs, limes, kiwi, beets, rotisserie chicken and bone broth, potatoes, peppers, marigolds for the chickens, kielbasa & just starting to try whole meals - I’m addicted! I would love to talk with other folks on the freeze drying journey!

Welcome, welcome! Any cook who acknowledges that gravy is a beverage is kin to me! I’m just learning more about herbs and natural foraging - beyond identifying and preserving, I would love more ideas on how actually use them in my diet - I can only drink so much tea! Your book sounds delightful!