On that point, I was first introduced to home freeze dryers while overseeing the guard force at the Embassy in Baghdad.

Raw eggs freeze dry very well. I like to crack them into a bowl, whisk them, and then freeze them solid before freeze drying. To reconstitute, use 2 tablespoons of egg powder and 2 tablespoons water to equal one egg. Use them in an recipe or scramble them up. They taste delicious.

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What type of oil does the vacuum pump use? Harvest Right freeze dryers use food-grade vacuum pump oil, which is available for purchase. One gallon typically lasts several months with proper filtering and maintenance.

Most foods can be freeze dried; however, items with high fat content like avocados may not preserve as well as low-fat foods like fruits or vegetables.

I've run the system in countless tests including over filling the pump and running the pump without a load (both result in lots of oil spitting out the exhaust port of the pump). I've drained the catch can twice, once with over 5 oz of oil in it, but have not collected any oil downstream in the jar so the system is performing well.

We also like to freeze dry gluten-free sweet breads and muffins. Slice bread or muffins and freeze dry it. Then to reconstitute, simply wrap it in a wet paper towel and leave it in the fridge overnight or put it in the microwave for up to 30 seconds.

Once we got into the groove of freeze-drying food, we have been extremely pleased with the purchase. But know this going in if you’re thinking this is an “easy button.” It’s not. In fact, in many ways it has changed our lifestyle. For example, we now often cook for a family of 8 even though it’s just us and the two kids.

•The system records and maintains a log more info of the pressure and temperature during all parts of the freeze-dry cycle.

Freeze drying definitely saves my family money. We have a lot less food waste because leftover food can be freeze dried for later use.

It appears that the ice build up inside the chamber sublimates as well as the ice in the food. Eliminate the ice and the process is faster, and less water ends up in your oil.

You can freeze dry soy and almond milk as well as most non-dairy yogurt, sour cream, and cream cheese substitutes. This has been especially helpful in avoiding food waste, as my son is the only one who uses the non-dairy substitutes, and he rarely is able to finish them before they go bad. I just throw them in the freeze dryer for him to eat later.

Forgive me for the extremely long post but I thought other southerners may also face this problem and could use this information.

Slight delay at customs but my head was spinning at how fast this was resolved for something that was out of there control! Bravo!