Freeze Dryer Trays - Large (Set of 5)

Five spare freeze dryer trays for the Blue Alpine Large. Each one is a 13 x 18 in half-sheet in 304 stainless steel, and the set costs $93.52, which works out to about $18.70 a tray. They’re warp-resistant. Mats aren’t included; those are sold separately.

What’s in this set of freeze dryer trays

• 5 half-sheet trays, 13 x 18 in
• 304 stainless steel, warp-resistant
• Fit the Blue Alpine Large
• No mats included

Why keep a second set of freeze dryer trays

A cycle averages 12 to 20 hours. With only the five trays that came with the machine, you’re waiting on the dryer before you can even lay out the next load. A spare set breaks that bottleneck.

Here’s how it tends to go. While one batch runs, you slice and spread the next one on the spare trays, and put them in the freezer if you like to pre-freeze. When the cycle ends, you bag the finished food, slide the waiting trays in, and start again. The machine sits idle for minutes instead of hours.

Freeze dried food pulls moisture back out of the air, so you want to bag it soon after the cycle. Having the next set of freeze dryer trays already loaded makes that switch quick.

What 304 stainless means here

Type 304 is the most common grade of stainless steel, roughly 18% chromium and 8% nickel, which is why you’ll also see it sold as 18/8. It’s used all over food service because it resists corrosion and doesn’t react with ordinary foods. Inside a freeze dryer, trays go from very cold to warm every cycle and spend time around melting ice. Plain steel would rust. Stainless holds up.

Warp resistance matters more than it sounds. A tray that bows can rock on the shelf, and a rocking tray full of liquid makes a mess before it ever freezes.

Standard half-sheet size

13 x 18 in is a standard half-sheet, one of the most common baking-sheet sizes in US kitchens (Wikipedia’s sheet pan article lists the standard sizes). That means extra pans are easy to find at kitchen stores if you want more than five. Before buying a stack locally, hold one up against a tray from your machine and compare the rim height.

Mats for your freeze dryer trays

Silicone mats make sticky foods easier to lift off, and they save some scrubbing. Our large mats are 13 x 18 in to match. One catch: they fit Blue Alpine’s current tray model only and won’t fit trays shipped before December 2024. If you’re buying mats for older trays you already own, check when those trays shipped first.

Running a Medium instead? You need the 9 x 13 in medium freeze dryer trays. These 13 x 18 trays are for the Large.

Loading and washing freeze dryer trays

• Cut pieces to about the same thickness so they finish together.
• Spread food in an even layer and don’t heap it above the rim.
• For soups, purées and other liquids, fill the tray where it can sit level, or pre-freeze it flat in your freezer so nothing slops over on the way in.
• Wash with warm, soapy water and a soft sponge or nylon brush.
• Skip steel wool and chlorine bleach. Steel wool scratches the finish, and chlorides can pit stainless.
• Dry them fully before you stack them away.

Soak dried-on fruit sugar in warm water for a few minutes rather than scraping it. It usually lets go without a fight.

Questions about trays

If you can’t tell which freeze dryer trays your machine takes, measure one across the top and send us the numbers on our contact page, or ring +1 (443) 514-5708. The rest of our freeze dryer accessories are listed together.