Freeze Dried Girl Scout Cookies

[TjckTock]

A friend gave me a GSC clone a while back and I just harvested day before yesterday. Decided to try using my HarvestRight freeze dryer instead of hanging the plant since humidity is really high here lately and I was afraid of mold, etc. Short story, it turned out great. Did some research first. The default settings heat the trays too much and you lose most of the terpenes. The trick appears to be to use the custom menu to lower the trays temp to 30F. Takes longer to dry but you keep more of the volatile compounds. Took 20 hours to dry, then another day in an open jar to cure and reabsorb some moisture. Tried it this afternoon with my dry herb pen and am very pleased with the taste and nose. Might do it this way again next time even if the humidity isn't too high.

 

[DW2]

Howdy TjckTock, nice looking buds You have there. Good job. How cold does the freeze dryer get? The only information that I have read about freeze drying (used for 'taxidermy of small animals) mentioned temperatures below -100° F. Just curious.

 

[TjckTock]

It runs at -40F and about 250mTorr pressure (near perfect vacuum) . The vacuum is the key - allows you to remove the water at very low temperatures. The unit is designed for food but is configurable enough that you can do a lot more with it.

 

[DW2]

Great information, thanks.