We had some friends come over last weekend, and I remember her saying she really wanted me to freeze-dried Charleston Chews. She had some on a vacation a while back and really liked them, so I figured I would surprise her. Then, while my wife and I were at Costco, I spotted some Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, shaped as trees, and because I’m a sucker for everything chocolate, I swiped a bag.
We paid $5 for four small packs of mini Charleston Chews at the grocery store, and $10.99 for the Reese’s at Costco:
I laid out the Charleston Chew’s, giving them enough space to expand:
And did the same for the Reese’s:
I only ended up using about two-thirds of the bag of Reese’s, though I could’ve easily added more, but I also wanted to keep some in their original state because I like them that way and because I didn’t want to waste all of the bag in case something went wrong.
After about nine hours (if memory serves), the freeze dryer was done. The Charleston Chew’s came out mostly like I’d expected, all puffy:
They might not look appetizing, but they tasted good. The Reese’s, however, turned out to be a big mess:
Yeah, I basically melted them, lol. I even put them in for more dry time over night and they didn’t turn out any better. Ultimately, I ended up tossing the lot.
My wife reminded me that the chocolate M&Ms didn’t turn out well either, so we’re assuming that anything which is mostly chocolate doesn’t freeze dry. Lesson learned, I guess.
I didn’t bother to weigh or store the Charleston Chews because I gave most of them away to our friends. I’m not sure I would’ve stored them anyway considering the chocolate content. In any case, everyone seemed to enjoy the Charleston Chews, and I apparently get to make more as a Christmas gift for my friend. Speaking of which, her husband really liked the freeze-dried Skittles, so it seems I’ll be making more of those as well.
Next week I’ll get away from candy and back to actual food. Stay tuned!
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