Results of first freeze-dryer run!

Success!

When I got home from work Wednesday I checked the freeze-dryer load I had started the night before.  I had placed in fruit from the farm.  Strawberries, blackberries, a apple, a peach, and grapes.

Katherine had done the laundry that day so there was plenty of humidity in the basement (where I have the FD).  Also, she said she had bumped the machines front panel and wasn't sure what happened.  When I checked the machine it was still at -9F and the vacuum was almost gone.  The machine had a prompt on the screen asking if it should continue drying for 2 hours?  I hit yes and hoped for the best!

I went down to check on it in 15 mins or so and the vacuum was down to 22 mTorr (!) and the temperature was up to 120F!  Wow.  After about 1.5 hours I got too impatient and decided to stop the cycle there.  After opening the drain vale to drop the pressure (slowly!) I was able to open the door. Everything looked good.  I was surprised at how well certain things stuck to the pans though.  Teflon liners are on order already.  The grapes weren't cut in half (they were so small) and they were still just a little bit "undry" - not chewy though. Everything was crunchy!  However, due to the high humidity I rushed to get everything in a mason jar and sealed up.  I had brought a quart jar thinking that was big enough - but it wasn't so I just took the tray of strawberries up to show Katherine (along with the jar of goodies, of course!)

They don't even look dry do they?  They are - crunchy and good!

They blackberries stuck to the tray pretty bad - but again - they don't look dry do they? They are!  Blackberries on top, then grapes, then  peach and apple (peach and apple look identical - must have been a white peach)

I didn't vacuum seal the jar as i want to see if this is ok for "snack storage".  It's the next day now and the stuff in the jar is still "easy flow" - not stuck together - and its a very humid day so it looks like this will be ok storage for snacking purposes!  Katherine and I are looking to try something fun to FD today - maybe marshmallows?  Gummy bears are supposed to do neat things too!  lol