Freeze Drying Batch Log
Build your own run-time and yield figures, which after twenty batches beat anybody else's.
HP-04 1 page
Food preservation and pantry · HP-08
Dehydrator Batch Log
A free printable dehydrator log — batch, produce, how it was prepared, trays used, hours run, how it finished when cool, and where it went into storage.
Download Free · no sign-up
One page. Choose your paper size — both versions are laid out identically, so neither one gets shrunk to fit.
Print it and write on it
Fill it in type and save
The fillable versions have real form fields — open them in any PDF reader, type into them and save. Printing help.
What this sheet is for
Build up a picture of what your own machine actually does, so you stop guessing at loads and times you have already worked out once.
Who it is for
Anyone drying fruit, vegetables, herbs or jerky at home, and smallholders drying a harvest in quantity.
How to use it
- Write the make and model of the machine in once at the top.
- Number each load and record the produce and how you prepared it.
- Note the tray count — it is the thing that changes drying time most.
- Write the hours run as timed, not as intended.
- Describe how it finished once it had cooled, and where it was stored.
What is on the sheet
One page, top to bottom:
Printed under the title: Every load through the dehydrator — the produce, how it was prepared, how many trays it took, how long it ran and how it came out when it cooled.
Your machine, your times. Drying times and settings depend on your machine, your slices and the weather in your kitchen, so none are printed here. Log what you ran and how it finished, and after a season this sheet tells you what works in your own dehydrator better than any general table could.
Write-on lines: Dehydrator make & model · Season or year · Run by
Table, 13 rows: Batch · Date · Produce · Preparation · Trays · Hours run · How it finished · Stored in / where
Questions
Why no drying times or settings?
Because they depend on your machine, how thickly you sliced, how full the trays were and the humidity in the room. This log is how you find your own, and after a season it will be more use than any general table.
Why record how it finished after cooling?
Because warm produce always feels drier than it is, and a batch that seemed done coming off the tray can be tacky an hour later. Writing it down after it cools is what makes the log honest.
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