I have never used a dehydrator before, but grew up watching my mother use hers and hearing my sister rave about hers. So I was on a mission to find a good one that was easy to use for first time users. I looked at many dehydrators and reviews and settled on this one. When I opened the box and began to wonder what to do it became intimidating, but I was determined to figure it out and start using it.
I am very excited to report that the manual was a breeze to understand and I had the dehydrator together and was ready to use it. I went out and bought a bag of oranges, since that was my favorite from my sisters dehydrator and cut them as thin as I could manage and placed them on the racks like the manual said to do. I then set the temperature and plugged it in to start it. It was not exactly quiet, but it was not overly loud either. It was just a mid sounding hum. I check on them after about 3 hours just to see where they were in the drying process and they still looked like they had quite a while to go. I ended up having to run it for about 10 hours to get them to the proper dehydration for storing. But it said it could take anywhere from 8 to 12 hours depending on the humidity level in your house. I was very pleased with the end results. I did find a couple of slices that I had not managed to get quite thin enough and were still just a little chewy but only a few, so I just put those few back in and finished them up separately. I didn't have to store them long because my family wouldn't stop eating them. I'm just glad I got a few.
The next thing I attempted was jerky. First off let me tell you that the seasoning that comes with it is very good. My kids and husband were very impressed with its flavor. Of course, tastes are a matter of personal opinion, so you will have to decide for yourself. But here is a tip, the spice is very strong for the salt. The first batch I made I did with a very lean roast. I followed the directions to the letter and the jerky was delicious, but a little heavy on the salty side. I like salty jerky, but this was even a little to much for a salt aholic like myself. So I made another batch with burger that was 98% lean. But this time I used only 3/4 of the package of seasoning and followed the rest of the directions to the letter again using the tool for making flat strips. My husband and I loved the second batch, but my kids preferred the first batch made with the roast. So it just goes to show how different palettes prefer different flavors and consistancy. Also, I am not a experienced dehydrator user and recipe maker, so I don't know if it is actually ok to use only 3/4 of the package for 1 pound of meat, but I did and we ate it all and we did not get sick. We ate it up within about 4 days though. Now as far as the attachment goes, it worked perfectly. I did have a little meat left in the bottom, but I simply took the press apart and (after washing my hands) molded the remaining meat into a strip and placed it in the dehydrator. I guess if you are the type of person that doesn't like to get your hands dirty or touch meat, that might not appeal to you, but I am fine doing it that way and I didn't lose any meat. I was very pleased with just how fast it drys the meat. After only 4 1/2 hours per each of my batches, one batch being the roast and the second being my ground beef, they were both done and dried completely. I had checked on both of them after 2 hours and dabbed off the excess oil like it says to, but there just wasn't much oil in the first place. Then after checking again 2 hours later they actually looked done at that point, but I left them for another 1/2 hour anyway.
Over all it has been working great and has performed extremely well. I have had it for 4 months now and use it almost every week for so many different foods from drying herbs, fruit, vegies and meat. I would recommend this dehydrator for anyone starting out or even for those who have lots of experience drying food. As long as you follow the manual and all its tips and advice and recipes for drying times, you can't go wrong.
There is a newer model of this item:
Similar items that ship from close to you
Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
From the manufacturer
Patented Converga-Flow system ensures even drying
The Best Food Dehydrators in the World.
NESCO/American Harvest has been the leader in food dehydrators for over 30 years! These units feature patented technologies that dry your food faster and more evenly than any of the competing models available, we know, because we've tried them all! Our Converge-a-Flow air flow assures even drying from top to bottom, without the tray rotation required by others.
Whether you're a beginner or an experienced 'pro', making beef jerky, drying fruits, vegetables, herbs, or flowers, NESCO/American Harvest offers the best units available.
Nesco Snackmaster Express Dehydrator with Jerky Gun
Model FD-61WHC
Introducing the Snackmaster Express All-In-One Kit. It's sleek, contemporary design features 500 watts of drying power, and generates maximum speed and quality for dehydrating fruits, vegetables, beef jerky, and venison jerky.
Helps dry food in hours, not days like ordinary food dehydrators. The top mounted fan eliminates the worry of liquids dripping into the the heating chamber!
It contains everything needed to dry all types of food including top mounted fan, 5 trays, 5 jerky spices and cures, a jerky gun with 3 tips, 2 Fruit Roll Sheets, 2 Clean-A-Screens, and a recipe book/care use guide.
- Patented Converga-Flow drying system
- No need to rotate trays
- Dries food in hours, not days
- 500 watts of drying power with top mounted fan
- Adjustable thermostat to dry foods at proper temperature
- Dishwasher safe (except powerhead)
Videos
Page 1 of 1Start OverPage 1 of 1
A perfect way to preserve herbs
Owning this dehydrator is like making a slower, less exciting (but certainly more fruitful) episode of “Will It Blend?” You will root through your produce wondering to yourself “Can I dehydrate this?” The answer is yes. The answer is always yes. Even if your whole reason for buying this is to decrease the amount produce in your kitchen by dehydrating your garden harvest, you’ll soon find yourself at the store buying even more things to dehydrate.From my own garden, I dehydrated: chili peppers, tomatoes (Roma, beefsteak, and cherry), herbs (mint, basil, oregano, sage), squash (yellow and zucchini), and beans. I also bought apples, sweet potatoes, and eggplant to slice and dehydrate.Some tips:1. You may benefit from a mandolin slicer. Test your slicing thickness on only a few pieces first, though. I sliced zucchini as thin as I could, but the dehydrating process essentially disintegrated them. I tried again with a thicker slice and was rewarded with beautiful zucchini chips.2. Dehydrate herbs and veggies on a lower temp than is recommended. This isn’t necessary at all, but lower temps mean brighter colors. I included a photo of some chili pepper flakes. The brighter red ones on the left were dehydrated at 95 deg F, and the darker ones on the right were dehydrated at the suggested 135 deg F. They taste the same, but the ones dried on the lower temp are more colorful. The trade-off is that it takes substantially longer to dry things at lower temps. One way around this is to dehydrate at the higher temp for a few hours and then lower it.3. Keep things spaced out. Airflow is key. All the trays have a gap in the center that lines up with the fan, but leaving some gaps does help speed up the drying process.4. For herbs with many small leaves on each large stem (like oregano), remove the leaves after they’re dry. It’s much easier to just run your finger down the stem and push the leaves off into a container than it is to remove them from the stem, put them on the trays, and move them to a container one by one.
Top reviews from the United States
There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.
Top reviews from other countries
Sionainn
A great dehydrator for beginners!
Reviewed in Canada on January 10, 2017Style: DehydratorVerified Purchase
R P
Perfect starter dehydrator
Reviewed in Canada on April 16, 2021Style: DehydratorVerified Purchase
