How To Freeze Dry Apple Pie Filling
Jul 6, 2023
Buttermilk is cultured milk through the use of beneficial bacteria. It’s mostly used in baking, batters, soups, and salad dressings. Not only is it versatile, but it’s also rich in benefits like promoting strong bones and improving dental health, and it has the potential to lower cholesterol levels. Here’s how to freeze dry buttermilk so you can always have it with you, no matter the situation.
Yes! Buttermilk is included in the list of food that you can freeze dry. It doesn’t have a lot of fat as heavy cream does, so you don’t have to do a lot to freeze-dry it. It would be even better to get low-fat buttermilk to make freeze-drying efficient.
Here’s what you need to freeze dry buttermilk
What you need to do is to get the wet and dry weights per batch of buttermilk. This is important because when you reconstitute, you’ll add water by weight, not by volume.
Get the wet weight before freezing for a more accurate measurement. And after freeze-drying, make sure to weigh and record it for comparison. Remember to set the weighing
Freeze-drying buttermilk is the same as freeze-drying breastmilk. Since we’re dealing with dairy, it’s important that you keep your hands clean at all times. Clean all surfaces and sanitize as necessary, using precautionary measures.
Pre-freezing is an option, but it’s highly recommended for liquids. Not only does pre-freezing helps your freeze dryer, but it also helps keep you safe and save on buttermilk. You never know when spills can happen when you transfer liquid. Since you’re handling frozen buttermilk, you don’t have to worry about spills you can slip on.
You can freeze them using your freeze dryer trays to make it easier. Or you can use different pans that are easy to take out frozen buttermilk.
Freeze-dried buttermilk should have a dry, airy crusty feel to it. When you break it, it will have a flakey appearance similar to mica flakes. The flakes are so delicate, you can easily crumble them between your fingers.
If you feel any moist, soft, or cold parts on the buttermilk, put the trays back. Add 1-3 hours of freeze-drying time to fully dehydrate the dairy.
Freeze drying can take up to 24-38 hours or more, depending on certain conditions. The hotter the room where your freeze-dryer’s located, the longer the freeze-drying will take. If you’re also freeze-drying other food with buttermilk, their freeze-drying time can prolong the process.
Mylar bags will always be our top choice for storing freeze-dried food, especially diaries. They’re non-porous, so water and air can’t easily get in. They’re also lightweight and don’t take up much space.
Another is Mason jars, so you can easily see how much buttermilk you have left. What’s good about mason jars is that glass is impermeable. Keeping water away from your freeze dried butter milk is vital to help it last longer.
Whatever you choose, make sure to seal them well. You can vacuum seal Mylar bags by attaching a straw to your Food Saver. Mason jars also have automatic or manual vacuum sealers to help you get rid of excess air.
Don’t forget oxygen absorbers! Even if you seal your container, there’s still some air left inside. Use 1-2 pieces of 300cc oxygen absorbers for every gallon of container size. Food volume isn’t considered because it’s the empty space in the bag you should focus on. Using too many oxygen absorbers is better than having very little to take out excess oxygen.
General rule is you reconstitute 1 part buttermilk to 1 part water by weight. And keep in mind that 1mL of water is equal to 1 gram. So, if you have 30 grams of freeze-dried buttermilk, you should add to it 30 grams of water.
Add the water a bit at a time because reconstituting can also depend on humidity. If the room is too dry, you might need to add more. If you’re having a humid day, you might need to add less.
You can use any temperature of water you prefer. Some use warm water because it helps dissolve the powdered buttermilk easily. But if you know the consistency of your buttermilk by heart, you can play with this.
Depending on storage conditions, freeze-dried buttermilk can last for 10-25 years. Storage temperature shouldn’t be warmer than 72°F (22 °C). Keep your stash away from heat, moisture, and sunlight as well.
What do you plan to do with your freeze-dried buttermilk? Let us know in the comment section.
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