Another good question about the freeze dryer: So if you get something on sale to freeze dry and you have to pay for the electricity to freeze dry it how much are you really saving?
First, we use solar panels so about 90% of our electricity used during the daylight is free. I figure that the cost per batch for the entire cycle, start to finish, for us for the freeze dryer would never be more than about $3. We do pay for power after the sun goes down but the electric company buys back our extra generated power and we rarely owe anything so in the end, the freeze dryer doesn’t cost us anything to run.
Harvest Right has an article about the cost of running a freeze dryer. Several Harvest Right users have measured the power they use and their findings are in line with Harvest Right’s claim.
Just supposing someone with the highest electric costs runs the freeze dryer every day, it could cost an additional $84 per month in electricity (30 x $2.80). I use my freeze dryer probably close to as much as anyone and it probably only runs about 20 days per month so 20 x $2.80 is $56. That cost is less than two meals out. And, that cost is only if I’m paying the highest amount for power and, of course, I’m pretty much paying nothing for power.
Second, if you’re putting food in the freezer or canning it, electricity is required for powering the freezer and electricity or gas/propane for canning.
I’m not a fan of freezing anything. If the power goes out for an extended period (over three days), keeping generators fueled can be a pain. Even with a whole house generator that runs on natural gas (which isn’t available for us), that’s very expensive and the cost of freeze drying pales in comparison to the cost of installation and running a whole house automatic generator.
Additionally, there are some things that just do not freeze or can well. Frozen figs or canned figs just don’t do it for me but freeze dried figs are amazing. Same with fresh fruit like raspberries, blueberries, apples, etc. Canned are nothing like fresh, frozen don’t thrill me. Freeze dried are so good – easy and portable to eat when on the run, not sticky, not messy and quite tasty. In fact, I think I could run my freeze dryer non-stop with bananas and be happy. Those are so good!
Also, we’ve moved enough that I know that no matter how hard I try, when it’s at least 7 days from the time the movers disconnect my freezer at the old home, til the freezer is delivered and set up at the new home, staying in a hotel and dealing with dry ice . . I’m not going to be able to save much. The last time we moved, I was so determined to save my frozen cherries but I didn’t. 🙁
Another way I look at it: If I’m making lasagna for dinner and I want to make four trays of lasagna instead of one, the prep work isn’t a whole lot more for four vs. one; they’re all cooking at the same time. When I freeze dry the extra, we have at least 12 lasagna dinners that will last at least 10 years. If every time Vince wants lasagna, instead of starting from scratch, I grab a bag of lasagna and reconstitute it, I’ve saved power by not having to cook a new batch.
Another consideration . . when I buy mushrooms, I usually buy them specifically for a recipe. If a recipe pops up that I want to make and I don’t have mushrooms, it’s over 20 miles round trip to a store so either I spend gas and time going to the store, or I don’t make the recipe today. With a nice supply of freeze dried mushrooms, I just grab a jar, take out what I need, re-seal the jar and I have my mushrooms.
And, there’s another consideration . . just in the short time we’ve had the freeze dryer, I will be sitting and thinking that I’m really too tired to cook, or nothing I can defrost easily sounds good. Then I remember that I have pizza casserole, or crack chicken, or roast beef and gravy or something else and those things sound really yummy so, instead of going out to eat, we have a home cooked, freeze dried meal. We rarely go out to eat that we don’t spend at least $30 plus gas and considering that I can freeze dry 12 meals worth of lasagna for $3.00, I’ll always think running the freeze dryer is a cost saving appliance for us.
When we go to my uncle’s lakehouse, we always have an issue with trash. Ever notice how much trash you generate when making lasagna? At the lake, he takes his trash to the landfill but the one closest to him, you have to be a Louisiana resident to use. We are not Louisiana residents so we have to drive at least 30 miles to the next closest landfill. Being able to take meals in jars is a huge convenience for us. Also, I buy groceries when we get there and there are always things left over that we end up tossing instead of bringing home. If I take freeze dried foods, anything we don’t eat, we bring it back with us . . in the jars not needing refrigeration.
Before presenting my argument to Vince about why we needed a freeze dryer, I had my list of cost savings vs. cost of running because I also didn’t want to buy one if it was going to be expensive to use.
Without a doubt, the freeze dryer isn’t right for everyone. For those who rarely cook and don’t mind eating out, it probably wouldn’t get much use. I think even if I was the only one living here, I’d still use it a lot because I would rather have a cheese sandwich than go out to eat.
It all depends on what you want, how you would use it and your lifestyle. It can definitely be expensive to run and each person considering getting a freeze dryer needs to evaluate the value of the freeze dryer for their own family.
Sherrill Pecere says
That’s really amazing and you always have something in the freeze dryer. It’s such a great fit for you!
Susan says
This sounds really interesting. But I’ve missed the first entries on the freeze dryer. What do you store the dried product in? It sounds like glass jars. Could you use those seal-a-meal type bags? I was thinking of being able to pack these in for camping.
Rhonda L Russell says
The more I read, the more I want one! 🙂 This sounds like an awesome item to have. I don’t like frozen meals either. I can do frozen fruits and veggies, but they are definitely not the same as fresh. I’m thinking of starting a savings account… 🙂
Liz says
I also use freeze dried foods a lot (Thrive Life) for many of the same reasons as Judy. I don’t like to keep a lot of frozen foods since I was not organized and always forgot what was in there, freezer burn anyone? And, if the electricity went out, I didn’t have a way to save the stuff. I don’t can foods and I’ve moved away from using a lot of canned foods for health reasons. And, a lot of cans are 2-4 servings. So, as a single person, I either eat a lot of the same foods in a row or I toss it out.
But, there is another reason to eat fresh or freeze-dried foods – added chemicals! I did the Whole 30 program to find out what was bothering me and the answer seems to be the chemicals. Read a can to find out what is really in the frozen or canned foods. Freeze-dried sounds & tastes much better! And, fresh foods are not always good if you cook and then refrigerate the leftovers since histamines will continue to be formed. That’s one of the things I am reacting to – hives anyone?!?
If you do try the Thrive foods (or another brand), start small in your selection of items and try cooking with the foods. The MRE-style meals in a bag might be ok for emergencies, but over time, it is more fun to cook up your own entries. Having a supply of FD mushrooms, carrots, onions, celery, corn, peas, chicken, beef, rice, etc. makes it real easy to cook up a nice soup or meal in a bowl for one. I’m not cleaning & cutting up a small portion of foods, just shaking out a tablespoon or 1/3 cup of the foods.
Also get the Fresh Saver jar sealer and some mason jars. Depending on the food, humidity in the air can re-hydrate the foods over time. When I open a large #10 can, I store most of it in a half-gallon jar & reseal it. The “daily use” jar is a smaller pint or quart jar with a plastic lid.
dezertsuz says
I can’t believe it, but I actually followed your link and checked these out. =) I don’t think it’s in my future, but you never know. It could be like the canner – shared with Stacey!