Freeze dryers in the UK

What it does

A freeze dryer freezes the food, then pulls a vacuum so the ice turns straight to vapour without melting. That's different from a dehydrator, which dries food with warm air.

What's actually sold in the UK

The home machines we compare here are Harvest Right's Small and Medium Home Pro and the Leosmak LEO-004; the same specialist UK retailer also lists the larger Harvest Right models, from £3,700. They cost £2,500 to £4,999 when we checked. Before you buy, ask the seller in writing about stock, delivery, whether the price includes VAT, the warranty and who repairs it in the UK.

Harvest Right in the UK

Harvest Right also sells direct to the UK from its own site, in Medium, Large and XL sizes, from £2,199 for a Medium when we checked. Those prices exclude VAT: the site says orders ship from the EU, so "import VAT and duties are paid on delivery". Harvest Right now gives a two-year warranty on machines bought and delivered in the UK. The UK seller says it handles import duties and that VAT is added at checkout, so confirm the total including VAT before comparing prices. Harvest Right UK shop.

Space, weight and power

• Size: about the size of a small chest of drawers: 44 to 50 cm wide, 55 to 65 cm deep and 68 to 77 cm high, plus room for a separate vacuum pump with the Harvest Right machines.
• Weight: 41 to 70 kg. It needs a strong, level surface and two people to lift it.
• Power: the Harvest Right machines run on 230 V and come with a UK plug adaptor rather than a UK plug. Ask the seller whether that suits your socket and how much current it draws.

How long a batch takes, and the noise

The UK seller says a batch typically takes 20 to 40 hours, depending on the food and how much you load. So it runs through the night, more than once. The pump makes a steady noise: the Leosmak's seller gives about 60 dB, roughly a normal conversation, but no measured figure is published for the Harvest Right machines. Think about where you'd hear it.

What a batch costs to run

None of these UK machines comes with a measured figure for electricity per batch. Harvest Right does publish one for a different model, so we haven't used it. Here is what a batch would cost at today's price cap, for a range of energy use. Ask the seller for a measured figure for the machine you're considering, then read it off the table.

Upkeep

• The Harvest Right listings give a pump oil change every 20 to 30 batches.
• The seller lists cleaning and seal checks as routine maintenance.
• The seller's packaging is foil (Mylar) bags with oxygen absorbers, or vacuum-sealed jars: an ongoing cost.

How long does it keep?

The UK seller says freeze-dried food can last "up to 25 years" if stored properly, which is its best case rather than a date for every batch. How long yours keeps depends on the food, how dry it got, the packaging and where you store it.

Is it worth it for you?

Probably, if you regularly have more food than you can eat or freeze (an allotment, an orchard, a big garden), you have room for a heavy machine that runs for a day or more at a time, and you have a clear use for the results, such as lightweight food for walking or camping.

Probably not, if it's mainly for emergencies. £2,500 buys a great deal of tinned and dried food from the shop, which keeps for years with no machine at all. Whether a freeze dryer ever pays for itself depends on what you'd otherwise buy or throw away, and we haven't seen good evidence either way. To work it out, add up the machine, electricity per batch, bags and oil, and compare that with what the dried food would cost to buy, by its dried weight.

Cheaper ways to preserve a surplus come first: the freezer, and a dehydrator or vacuum sealer.