Since getting the freeze dryer about 1-1/2 years ago, I’ve freeze dried just about everything I could possibly freeze dry. My favorites are the fruits. Apples, bananas, jackfruit, pears, peaches, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries . . that’s all the fruit I can remember having freeze dried but those are so very good.
I always look for fruit that’s on sale and it’s been fairly easy during their seasons to find peaches, raspberries, blueberries and strawberries on sale but I hadn’t seen bananas on sale in ages and they run from 59 to 65 cents/pound in the stores here. Aldi may be about 49 cents but I don’t always have good luck with their fresh fruits and veggies.
Brookshire’s had bananas for 29 or 39 cents a pound last week so I bought enough to fill the freeze dryer because I don’t like to run it if it’s not full. It costs more to run it than most people think. It takes about 23 average size bananas to fill it. The first time I went to Brookshire’s, I bought enough bananas to fill it and a couple extra for us to eat. The second time, which was just a couple of days later, I did the same thing but bought bananas that were a bit green because I knew it would be a few days before I got them in the freeze dryer. As they were beginning to get ripe, we ate a few too many and I had to peel and slice four apples to fill the last tray before starting the freeze dryer.
The jar on the back right has the apples. Otherwise, it’s all bananas.
There are 4 pints and 5 half pints of bananas, along with a salsa jar of bananas. That’s what I got from 19 bananas. It’s great that jars like salsa jars, pasta sauce jars – any glass jar that has a vacuum sealed twist off metal lid can be re-used with freeze dried foods in my vacuum chamber (pressure cooker Vince fixed up for me).
Freeze dried fruit is such a great snack for Addie. I keep a few jars in my car. In fact, there are still two pints of cantaloupe and one pint of jackfruit in my car from my last trip there. The fruit does have sugar but it’s a heck of a lot better than a piece of candy.
Pat says
I keep freeze died fruit in the car far snack all the time. We can start out far a thirty minute errand and end up being gone for hours. My stomach need a snack every so many hours are it feels like it trying to eat itself. I don’t have to worry with freeze dried fruit going bad when left in the car in the heat or cold. Love it.
Rebecca says
I love fruit so much that it’s a good thing I’m not diabetic. I would love to have fruit in my car! I would think that yours would be road snacks on the long drive up.
Nelle Coursey says
I love your banana chips! I can attest to how good they are.
Susan says
Great thing they were on sale. That seems a good price because around here they haven’t been on sale in ages, either. I like my bananas on the green side. Once the first brown spot shows up, I’m not touching them!