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Product Description
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Product Description
The Gardenmaster digital food dehydrator comes with 4 trays and accessories. Easily dries fruit, vegetables and jerky quickly and evenly. Dries food in hours not days. Unit disassembles easily and all parts are dishwasher safe except the power head. The Opaque Vita-Save exterior helps block harmful lights which destroys nutritional content of food being dehydrated. The Patented fan flow radial air action forces air down the center of the unit and horizontally across each tray for fast, even-drying. No need to rotate. 1000 watts of power.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
111 of 111 people found the following review helpful
Amazon Verified Purchase
I feel confident in saying this Nesco Gardenmaster is a better quality product than the Excalibur 9 tray, both of which I have used. I first tried the Excalibur and quickly realized it took too long and was too cumbersome to be effective and needed a new thermostat after just three weeks. I found myself babysitting the unit, switching trays and drying only during the day when I could turn it off manually. The 9 tray I had did not have an automatic timer and was just a pain in the neck. I sold it on Ebay after two months. I ventured out into the world of dehydrating again after two long years of resentment. I tried the Nesco and was so happy I did. The digital controls offer exact results every time, the automatic shut-off allow you to dry at night without waking to adjust trays or check results.
The capacity is huge with the add on trays offered and the powerful fan dries the bottom tray equally as fast as the top. The top mounted motor keeps drips from causing a clean-up nightmare and the quality of food is excellent. I've dried fruits, vegetables, made pounds and pounds of jerkey and have experimented with some raw food "baking" which all turned out perfect.
I love the Nesco Gardenmaster and suggest you seriously consider it whether a novice or pro. If you are considering an Excalibur, I highly recommend the Nesco as I found it performed substantially better than the Ex,has design features to make your drying easy and fun, and costs about $50.00 less.
The capacity is huge with the add on trays offered and the powerful fan dries the bottom tray equally as fast as the top. The top mounted motor keeps drips from causing a clean-up nightmare and the quality of food is excellent. I've dried fruits, vegetables, made pounds and pounds of jerkey and have experimented with some raw food "baking" which all turned out perfect.
I love the Nesco Gardenmaster and suggest you seriously consider it whether a novice or pro. If you are considering an Excalibur, I highly recommend the Nesco as I found it performed substantially better than the Ex,has design features to make your drying easy and fun, and costs about $50.00 less.
58 of 58 people found the following review helpful
I bought 2 Nesco American Harvest Food Dehydrators in 1974. One for me and one for my grandmother. They were used extensively for drying fruits and vegetables as well as making jerky. After 24 years, the plastic became brittle so I thought it was time to replace them. Because the original dryers worked so well for so long, I immediately looked for the same brand. I bought the Gardenmaster plus 6 extra trays because it is the largest model and I dry large quantities. Within the past 2 weeks - how long I've had my new dryer - I have dried about 8 bushels of apples. Since the tree is still full, I will probably dry that many more before moving into jerky season.
The only complaints I have seen on this dryer have related to concerns regarding "recipies" not listing exact drying times. As an experienced food dryer, I can tell you this is the same no matter which dryer you use. I would be concerned about any dehydrator that stated otherwise - drying time depends on the moisture in the item your drying, humidity in the room where you have your dryer, and the amount of food placed on trays to dry. The apples I'm drying right now are VERY juicy so it is taking about 18 hours to dry 10 trays of them to perfection. After you have dried food for a while, you will be able to guess about how long it will take to dry a pariculy batch of food.
The only complaints I have seen on this dryer have related to concerns regarding "recipies" not listing exact drying times. As an experienced food dryer, I can tell you this is the same no matter which dryer you use. I would be concerned about any dehydrator that stated otherwise - drying time depends on the moisture in the item your drying, humidity in the room where you have your dryer, and the amount of food placed on trays to dry. The apples I'm drying right now are VERY juicy so it is taking about 18 hours to dry 10 trays of them to perfection. After you have dried food for a while, you will be able to guess about how long it will take to dry a pariculy batch of food.
42 of 42 people found the following review helpful
This is a high quality food dehydrator that is simple to use because of the digital control and the top heater and fan. I wouldn't even consider a food dehydrator that does not have the top heater/fan. This one does not need to have the trays rotated during use and also heats to the recommended 160*.
I have had my Nesco American Harvest FD-1020 for a year and have used it so far only to make ground beef jerky, but I've given it extensive use for that. I cook the meat at the 160* setting for approximately 6 1/2 hours, but the amount of time varies by the ambient humidity. I set it outdoors to use and when in southern Arizona, if the meat slices are thin, 6 hours was sufficient. In Texas, I have needed to leave the meat cooking for 7 hours. I don't care for the smell of the cooking meat, necessitating the outdoor use.
For ease of cleaning, I recommend purchasing the clean-a-screen mesh sheets for each tray, Nesco American Harvest MS-2-6 Clean-A-Screen Plastic-Mesh Dehydrator Screens, Set of 2. Also, buy at least one additional set of trays, Nesco American Harvest Add-A-Tray for FD-1000, Set of 2. Buy a set of the mesh screens for each set of trays. Only a single mesh screen comes with the dehydrator. Do be careful to order the correct trays and screens for the specific model of Nesco deyhdrator.
I'm the type who wants detailed instructions, and the included instructions are poor. I finally had to dive in and give it a try when I didn't know exactly what to do. After experimentation, for the ground beef jerky, I use one packet of the Nesco Jerky Spice Works, hot and spicy flavor, plus a teaspoon of ground cayenne pepper to 1 1/2 pounds of 96% lean ground beef. It is easy to make the jerky strips using the Nesco BJX-5 American Harvest Jumbo Jerky Works Kit. For 6 lbs of meat, I needed 8 trays, and they were totally filled. Perhaps it would be better not to crowd the slices, but mine has worked OK and I want to make lots of jerky when I'm going through the trouble of making it. I store the jerky is an airtight container in the fridge or in sealed bags in the freezer.
I have had my Nesco American Harvest FD-1020 for a year and have used it so far only to make ground beef jerky, but I've given it extensive use for that. I cook the meat at the 160* setting for approximately 6 1/2 hours, but the amount of time varies by the ambient humidity. I set it outdoors to use and when in southern Arizona, if the meat slices are thin, 6 hours was sufficient. In Texas, I have needed to leave the meat cooking for 7 hours. I don't care for the smell of the cooking meat, necessitating the outdoor use.
For ease of cleaning, I recommend purchasing the clean-a-screen mesh sheets for each tray, Nesco American Harvest MS-2-6 Clean-A-Screen Plastic-Mesh Dehydrator Screens, Set of 2. Also, buy at least one additional set of trays, Nesco American Harvest Add-A-Tray for FD-1000, Set of 2. Buy a set of the mesh screens for each set of trays. Only a single mesh screen comes with the dehydrator. Do be careful to order the correct trays and screens for the specific model of Nesco deyhdrator.
I'm the type who wants detailed instructions, and the included instructions are poor. I finally had to dive in and give it a try when I didn't know exactly what to do. After experimentation, for the ground beef jerky, I use one packet of the Nesco Jerky Spice Works, hot and spicy flavor, plus a teaspoon of ground cayenne pepper to 1 1/2 pounds of 96% lean ground beef. It is easy to make the jerky strips using the Nesco BJX-5 American Harvest Jumbo Jerky Works Kit. For 6 lbs of meat, I needed 8 trays, and they were totally filled. Perhaps it would be better not to crowd the slices, but mine has worked OK and I want to make lots of jerky when I'm going through the trouble of making it. I store the jerky is an airtight container in the fridge or in sealed bags in the freezer.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
recall
I did not purchase this unit but feel obligated to post the information for the buyers.
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Food Dehydrator Recalled by NESCO American... Read more
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Food Dehydrator Recalled by NESCO American... Read more
Published 13 months ago by Caroline
Preserve your produce like a frugal vegan should!
The first summer after moving into our new home, the husband and I found ourselves buried under a deluge of fresh produce. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Kelly Garbato
This is the cat's meow!
Just before investing in a dehydrator I did some online research. The general concenus was never get something under 500watts. Read more
Published 16 months ago by K. Parris
Fantastic Deal!
I ordered this product with supersaver shipping and received it within 3 days! That night I dehydrated apples and onions for items I was baking. We've since done jerky too! Read more
Published 16 months ago by Chihuahua Mom
Great purchase
After many days of reading reviews, I chose this model over the one with 8 trays. The timer allows me to begin the dehydrating process at any time and not worry about being there... Read more
Published 16 months ago by CompareB4Ubuy
Overheated, nearly caught on fire!
I purchased the dehydrator 12 months ago. Used it about 10 times, mostly for drying peppers and herbs. Then I tried to dry some thyme at 90 degrees. Read more
Published 17 months ago by T. Russ
Wanted BRAND NEW item - updated - it's all good now.
This item seems to have been returned before. There was no instruction book in the box. The cardboard "protection" for the top of the unit also shows evidence that it has been... Read more
Published 18 months ago by Lake Woman
must rotate trays
This machine works reasonably well but if you have more than 4 trays you must rotate them so the trays on the bottom dry at the same rate as the top ones. Read more
Published 18 months ago by woodturners wife
Dehydrator
I love our Nesco Gardenmaster. The digital temperature goes to 160 which you need for meat. The low 95 degrees is good for drying seeds from your garden. Read more
Published 18 months ago by WStilson
Neat product
It was somewhat hard for me to decide if I wanted the smaller model or the Harvest FD 1020. I decided to go with the Harvest FD 1020. I am glad that I did. Read more
Published 19 months ago by stickkens
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