Freeze drying fruits and vegetables can help you to preserve your own healthy, organic foods from your garden. However, if you own a Harvest Right freeze dryer you can also freeze dry some fun treats for those days when you’re ready for a little splurge.
One of our favorite freeze dried treats that’s also popular with many of our customers is freeze dried ice cream sandwiches. 
We love the Fat Boy brand, but we also loved trying the Skinny Cow brand because it tastes like full-fat ice cream without all the calories (so you can eat more of them, wink). Freeze dried ice cream sandwiches come out like a crunchy snack that you can store on your pantry shelf or pack up and take anywhere – camping, road trips, hiking, to school or work. For best results, we like to start our freeze dryer without anything in it to let it get nice and cold (generally a half an hour). We also customize our freeze time to 12 hours instead of the standard 9 hours. Then, simply snip one side of the plastic packaging and place ice cream sandwiches on freeze dryer trays and process normally. When the process is complete, store them in Mylar bags with an oxygen absorber and they’ll be ready to eat in 25 years or simply put in an air tight jar on your counter and snack away over the next several weeks (if they will last that long).
We also experimented with freeze drying dessert toppers such as whipped cream and homemade marshmallows. Trust us, once you’ve had freeze dried whipped cream or marshmallows, you won’t go back to the original version on your hot chocolate. Plus, these snacks are just as fun to eat all by themselves. To freeze dry whipped cream, spread in a layer or spoon dollops on the freeze dryer trays and process (again, it may help to start your freeze dryer up about a half an hour beforehand). For marshmallows, just dump on the trays and process. Store both in airtight containers.
Freeze dried marshmallows, especially flavored marshmallows, like these gingerbread ones are a fun improvement on spongy marshmallows. They have that crunch like the marshmallows you had in cereal when you were little. Leave them in your hot chocolate and they start to slowly rehydrate, or eat them while they’re crunchy and you’ll love the nostalgic feeling.
I’ve tried freeze drying icecream sandwiches twice now and every time I do , they have essentially exploded in my freeze dryer leaving a huge mess! My machine is brand new, my software was updated, what am I doing wrong?
Here is a link to a video that will help: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAL0BUmdtvg
Some brands of ice cream has air pumped into it and because of this it will bubble up or explode. Also, we like to pre-freeze our ice cream on the trays so that it is very cold when we put it in our freeze dryer. Next time, try running one or two pieces of ice cream with a batch of other foods and see how it turns out.
You have to leave them in the wrapper. I use great valve brand cut them in half with the wrapper on and put them in. No issue. You can remove the paper at the end.
yeah my first time was a failure as well.. they blew up. but I have been successful twice since then. I hope these can help.
1) first lets address the explosion.. must be dang cold and not allowed to remelt while you prep to run. I start my machine and let it run to below 32F before I insert the trays. I do not start at 15 minutes most of the time it is still 50 plus degrees in there.
2) I ensure cold before I start working them. You cannot come home from store then start. they are too soft. I set my freezer for 2 degrees now and ensure they go in freezer night before.
3} cut into your favorite size quickly and once you fill a try put that tray right back in the freezer. I only have enough sandwiches out to fill a tray at a time. I cut them quickly and back in the freezer that tray goes. then do the subsequent trays. If they melt they explode so work quickly
4) I have had the best success with fat boys.. Generic walmart and nestle ones seemed to do the worse
I hope that helps you achieve success.
How do you increase the freeze time?
Add extra dry time by touching the “Customize” button on the menu pad before starting your load.
Not dry time. Freeze time.
For heavy whipping cream do you whip it up or just pour the pint on the tray?
Hi ,can i freeze dry heavy cream
Yes. I have done it several times. It has some oil in it, tho, so it won’t store for a long period of time.
How does freeze dried whipped cream work? Does it reconstitute on your drink or are you supposed to just let it melt?
Can the Fat Boys ice cream sandwiches touch the top of row above it?
My marshmallows I have been freeze drying are very airy and seem to be the right amount of everything. I put them In the maylar candy bags because I sell freeze dried candy however the marshmallows go soggy in about 4 days even with an oxygen absorber.
My settings are
0f
1.00
Temp 145
Dry time 9 hrs
What am I doing wrong please help!
Immediately bag them
Also wondering how to set extra FREEZE time? This is useful when processing batches of raw egg. Would be very nice to be able to freeze in the freeze dryer and not have to find level freezer space in my chest freezer.