Cream Cheese

You can fit about six 8 oz blocks on a 6 cup tray

Directions:

1. Add parchment paper to your trays
2. Cut the cream cheese into cubes OR  place full 8 oz bricks on the trays OR fill the tray evenly with cream cheese (you can do this by slightly flattening/pressing each block of cream cheese with your hands until you have the blocks spread out evenly on the tray) We prefer to use whole blocks or full trays rather than smaller cubes
3. If you fill the tray, consider adding dividers for easy portioning
4. Pre Freeze when possible
5. Freeze dry (my cycle time was 23 hours)
6. You can powder it after freeze-drying or leave it in chunks or 8 oz bricks. 
7. Store in jars for short-term use or in mylar bags for long-term storage

Rehydration: 

Add 4-5oz of warm or hot water to 1 cup of freeze-dried cream cheese powder. Let it sit for a few minutes, and then stir it. Let it sit out in a warm room for 10-15 minutes, then store it in the refrigerator to chill. Allowing this to sit overnight is ideal. The amount of water you add depends on your desired consistency.

Note:

Cream cheese is very delicate after it is freeze-dried.  You can powder it or crumble it between your fingers before rehydration. It is essential to use warm or hot water to break down the fat and rehydrate without being gritty

Nutritional Value Per ¼ cup serving

Calories: 195 Protein: 3 g Fat: 20 g Carbohydrates: 2 g Sugar: 2 g Fiber: 0 g

Cycle times & rehydration for reference only. Your results may vary.