Freeze Dried Candy?

Terry has been eager to try out the new Harvest Right freeze dryer I got her for her birthday and has been doing a lot of reading and watching videos about the freeze drying process. From what she tells me, it’s a great way to save food for future use and she can freeze dry anything from meats and produce to prepared meals like lasagna. As it turns out, she can also freeze dry candy!

Tiffany and Kenny brought over some Skittles, Lemonheads, and watermelon flavored Haribo candies for her to experiment with. The first step was to lay all the candies out on the trays provided with the freeze dryer, which was made somewhat more difficult because Kenny and I kept snatching pieces to pop into our mouths.

With the trays put in the freeze dryer, it took a little over nine hours for the complete process. That sounds like a long time, but according to Terry, some of the foods that she will be processing can take up to 48 hours. I guess that’s nothing compared to the 25 year shelf life they’re supposed to have after they come out of the machine. I don’t think I’ll be around to see what they’re like after 25 years.

But I can tell you that after 9+ hours, the candy was delicious. The texture was completely different, they were a larger size than when they went in, and there’s no way they’re going to last more than a day or two, let alone 25 years. Tiffany, Kenney and their kids will see to that. Possibly with a little help from me. 😊

The machine came with some heavy duty reusable storage bags and a heat sealer to keep everything from getting stale.

Now that she’s got the feel for the machine Terry can’t wait to start experimenting with some other food, including kale from the greenhouse, some strawberries and bananas, and whatever catches her eye. I’ll keep you posted on her progress.

It’s Thursday, so it’s time for a new Free Drawing. This week’s prize is a hardcover copy of I Will Find You, by former detective Lieutenant Joe Kenda, a name familiar with true crime fans from his television show Homicide Hunter, where he shared some of the cases from his 23 years in the Colorado Springs Police Department, helping solve nearly 400 homicide investigations. His book tells about cases that are too gruesome for television and some that still haunt him.

To enter, click on this Free Drawing link or the tab at the top of this page and enter your name (first and last) in the comments section at the bottom of that page (not this one). Only one entry per person per drawing please, and you must enter with your real name. To prevent spam or multiple entries, the names of cartoon or movie characters are not allowed. The winner will be drawn Sunday evening. Note: Due to the high shipping cost of printed books and Amazon restrictions on e-books to foreign countries, only entries with US addresses and e-mail addresses are allowed.

And finally, here’s a chuckle to start your day from the collection of funny signs we see in our travels and that our readers share with us.

Thought For The Day – We sleep peaceably in our beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on our behalf. – George Orwell