This is a subject I looked into when we got our dehydrator. The dehydrator does work as advertised, but compared to freeze dried products it leaves much to be desired. There are no homeowner type appliances out there for this process. The closest I could get was a counter top model made for labs and the price was way out of range. Seems like it should not be that difficult to mass produce. The vacuum sealer is common place and easy to find, refrigerators come in all sorts of shapes and sizes - heck, a dehumidifier is usually just a small refrigeration unit.

There are a variety of products on the market that contain freeze dried fruit - breakfast cereals come to mind. The reconstituted fruit bears a much closer resemblance to the original than the dehydrated version. Most MREs contain freeze dried fruit. The storage requirements and shelf life far surpass dehydrated products.

Keep us posted on your efforts and results.

Regards,
Pat

Been giving some serious consideration to freeze drying food, since it far surpasses the quality of regular dehydrating. There is a great deal of information on the net about the topic. For example, ancient Incas freeze dried food by taking into the mountains, where it was both frozen and subjected to lower atmospheric pressures.

The big advantage of freeze drying is moisture is removed with far less effect on the end product than would be had by heat dehydration. The fruit and vegetables tend to keep their size and shape, as well as taste and nutriments. This is accomplished by removing the water without taking it through the liquid stage. In other words, it is converted directly from ice to gas.

Crude means of freeze drying may be available that are useful to those of us not operating on large scale or commercial basis. I hope to play some in that realm, to include building a small, insulated vacuum box, to which could be affixed a condenser (e.g., my dehydrator). I will let you know my [slow] progress, as it develops.