What do city-folk use a dehydrator for anyway?
Written: Dec 31 '02 (Updated Dec 31 '02)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Price, 500 Watt, Accessories, Good construction
Cons: Time consuming, Bulky, No auto shut off
The Bottom Line: This is a sure thing for Jerky, great for fruit leathers, but it's not so cut and dry for fruit and vegetables -- so to speak.
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| xyzwyatt's Full Review: Nesco Snackmaster Express Food Dehydrator and Jerk... |
What is the first thing that comes to mind when you say food dehydrator? That's right! Jerky and banana chips. I have wanted a dehydrator forever, but would never consider 100 dollars for one. I ran across one at Wal-mart for $40 and thought I'd give it a whirl. I have dreamed of making my very own banana chips all my life. Come to find out, the good banana chips in trail mixes aren't dehydrated, they're dipped and goo and deep fried. Oh well, there's still beef jerky!
What's this all about and why would you want to do it?
Let's be realistic, I'm from the city and there's not much reason to dehydrate since the grocery store is a block away and we don't even have grass let alone fresh vegetables! I didn't know the first thing about dehydrating and you can't just buy a dehydrator, plug it in and start using it then toss the dehydrated items into the pantry for a year. There's basic food laws you need to know to keep yourself from getting yucky sick and to preserve the nutrients. There are some books and websites that can help educate you on the basics of dehydrating. For instance, if you don't blanch fruit to kill the enzymes, it will continue to ripen even after it is dehydrated and eventually spoil. If the food comes into contact with moisture due to improper storage, it will spoil. The dehydrator itself is simple to use, it's the knowledge for before and after preparation that's a little more complicated.
Didn't know I was getting myself into!
Let me just start by saying, dehydrating is a HUGE pain in the rump. This isn't the dehydrators fault, you should just know what your up against before you get excited about buying one. The picture on the front shows all types of fresh vegetables and fruits lying on the trays. Well let me tell you, when they come off the trays they look like....like you left them in the fridge 8 weeks too long. So any hope of getting your children to eat a healthy snack is a far-fetched idea. I assumed the fruit would be crunchy (like mixes you'd purchase from the store) but they're not. They're a bit soggy so again, not too enjoyable to snack on. Furthermore, it takes a FULL 8 hour day to dehydrate most things which yields a handful. I dehydrated a pint of strawberries and had a handful to show for it. Once the item is dehydrated, it has a different taste to it. Sometimes better, sometimes worse. Watermelon... yucky! Apples...yummy! I do not like to eat an apple,
but I love them dehydrated. And I don't even bother peeling them because they have a better presentation with the skin on and eats the same. Fruit is a lot better dipped in some kind of mix before dehydrating if you plan on eating dehydrated. The fruit roll ups are excellent (also called fruit leather) are excellent and easy to make! Whatever you're making smells up your home so if you're making fruit
that's good for you, but watch out with onions and other stinky items! The bottom line is this is going to be a lot of work! You're going to have to try lots of things to get your items the way you like it which mean cutting it differently, dipping it in something, coating with colored sugar, or not dehydrating it at all! Sometimes the taste is
altered when re-hydrating which is another trial and error thing you'll have to experiment with.
Another problem is that I thought I would spend $40 on a dehydrator and be on my way. Well it has turned out to be a major purchase now that I have bought the Jerky Works Kit (jerky gun), jerky mixes, cookbooks, a slicer, special bags and storage containers, and probably more trays or accessories in due time. Hopefully I don't talk myself into the vacuum foodsaver!
How to operate the dehydrator
Assembly is very basic, put the bottom down, add the trays, and put the lid on top. Plug the machine in to start and stop. Turn the dial to the appropriate heating level. This purchase includes 4 trays (you can buy more trays and expand it to 12 trays tall), 1 fruit roll sheet, and some sample packets of beef jerky seasonings. There is a user guide
which provides an overview, probably less than the minimum you will need to know about dehydrating.
Preparing your items
You will have to cut and prepare all of the items you want to dehydrate. It will take 5 minutes to an hour for preparation. You will need to cut the items according to your need from slices to chunks. The plates have a wide weave so you will need to avoid small pieces. You may want to add ascorbic acid, syrup, soak in juice, blanch, etc.
before you dehydrate.
What you can make!
Oh the possibilities! Pretty much anything in the produce can be dehydrated. You can dehydrate fruits for snacks and trail mixes, vegetables for soup starters and ingredients for recipes. Drying meats, herbs, crafts, and whatever else you can think of!
Listen up Jerky fans!
My husband approved the purchase of this item instantly because it makes Jerky! He loves Slim Jim's and Beef Jerky. It has a few packages of jerky spice and cure for you to try. If you you like it, they also sell it separately. You can also make your own spices for it, there are many different recipes and types of meats you can use (round steak, flank steak, hamburger). Jerky is the easiest
thing there is to make (if you have the seasoning packets and the jerky gun). The dehydrator and smells SOOO good cooking.
You can make your own Jerky without the spice packets too. There's tons of recipes on-line. Some flavors to consider are: Beef Jerky, Hot 'n Spicy, Teriyaki, Pepperoni, Fajita, and Cajun.
If you hunt, you may enjoy dehydrating and would certainly be worth it. I've read that pork and game need to be frozen for 30 days prior to dehydrating to kill the bacteria, items hunted frozen for 60 days before dehydrating. There's all kinds of articles on-line about it if you're in to that type of thing.
How good is the machine?
The Nesco American Harvest is a name brand that's been around for 30 years and I ~think~ this model might be made exclusively for Wal-mart. You can buy it at www.walmart.com if there's not a Wal-mart near you. This has a 500 watt fan. This is better than their FD-50 model because it goes up to 155 degrees (Jerky mode) and has a fruit leather insert plate with it, otherwise just the same. The FD-1010 model offers the same but is 1000 watts so would cut your drying time in half.
This brand gives you a lot more than other brands at the same price. This is the first product that I've seen in a store that I shop in that's under $100 and on the shelf. Other similar priced items do not have the higher heat (if adjustable at all) and has much lower wattage so takes days to dehydrate an item.
This is just a heating element with a fan. There is only a white noise when operating like any other fan would make. The product uses a patented coverga-flow action which is down the side and then up the middle. I have found that my layers dry about the same, but not evenly on the trays. (the results are the same if I use fruit or vegetables or if I use one item or mix items) I usually flip the pieces midway becuase sometimes they're dryer on one side and to make sure they're not sticking. I usually remove half of the product that is dry an hour before the other half is finished drying. It's not a big deal but you have to be around and paying attention to it. My drying also takes just as long if not longer than the charts indicate but that's probably because I live in Florida although others may experience the same in the summer.
I really hate how long it takes to dry things, but you get what you pay for. If you want a faster dryer, it costs twice as much. The appearance is pleasant, and construction is sturdy. It is easy to clean once you find the right scrubber to do the job. Even if you do happen to break a tray by prying something off, you can replace them easily.
Product Information
Model: FD-60
10 square feet of drying space
2,1000 rpm motor
500 watts
Adjustable thermostat from 95-155 degrees
Wash with warm soppy water or on the top rack of dishwasher if removing before heat cycle.
Who will enjoy the Dehydrator?
- Jerky fans!
- If you take lunches to work or school, particularly those
who don't have access to a fridge
- If you go camping or hiking
- If you have kids that are always hungry
- If you are on a diet
- If you buy in bulk
- If you have a garden
- If you do a lot of baking
- If you like to make crafts that require drying
- If you make baby food
- If you grow or enjoy fresh herbs
- If you like food packed with flavor
Who may not enjoy the dehydrator?
- If you are not home often
- If you do not want to spend $40 on the appliance
- If you don't have room to store the appliance
- If you don't have room on your counter top to run the
appliance all day
- If you can't stomach the smell of it cooking all day
- If you don't have time to rehydrate items before you cook
- If you don't want the hassle, it is time consuming to cut
and prepare the items and wait for them to dry
- If you only want dehydrated items occasionally
- If you have tons of stuff on a regular basis to dehydrate
you may want a more powerful dehydrator
- If you need the sure thing this is not for you, this takes
a lot of trial and error
- Eating too much dehydrated food can cause gas
How often are you home?
I know that some people are often away from home so that will be the first thing to affect your purchase. For the most part, you have to be home for many hours if you want to safely dehydrate. Depending on what you have in the machine, it will take 4-14 hours to dehydrate.
The first question is, do you want to leave it cooking when you're not home? If you have animals they could knock it off the counter. It could malfunction, or you could get tied up and not make it home in time or the list goes on. I simply can not leave something cooking when I'm gone (or sleeping for that matter).
Secondly, the times are approximate. It may take you 6 hours to dehydrate bananas one day and 8 the next so you will need to be around to check them.
Accessories you may need or want
From Nesco / American Harvest:
- Add-a-tray (set of 2)
- Clean-a-screen (set of 2) ideal for herbs and sticky items
- Fruit roll sheets (set of 2) lip that allows you to dry
liquids and semi-liquids.
- Jerky making kids (jerky gun with attachments and spice
packs)
- Jerky spice packs
- How to Dry Foods book (160 pages including 174 photos)
-- other cool wants --
- paring knife
- fancy slicer (such as crinkles or to make everything same
size)
- air tight containers and zip locks to store
- vacuum bag sealer
- special foods and spices
- a timer for the socket since it doesn't have auto shut off
- recipe books
Recipes
The following recipes are listed in the Nesco American Harvest Care/Use & Recipe Guide that comes with the machine. Once you read through these recipes you'll start having ideas for your own recipes.
Craft: Bread and glue ornaments, dough ornaments, dried apple,roses, dried apple wreaths, potpourri
Food:Banana bread, waffles, bran muffins, dried apple pastry squares, fruit carmel corn, apricot cream cheese coffee cake, oatmeal cookies, crispy pinwheels, dried fruit filling, strawberry yogurt ice-cream, dried tomatoes in olive oil, dried tomato spaghetti sauce, tomato paste supreme, herb stuffing, salad crunchies, homemade chili
powder, savory rice salad, tangy dressing, vegetable soup, cheesy corn chips, harvest granola, energy bars, energy nibbles.
Bottom Line
This is a nice safe way to dehydrate food and will produce great jerky if nothing else! If you've never dehydrated before, I would suggest dehydrating what your choice food is in your oven or microwave first to be sure that you like it dehydrated. If you are a serious gardener or farmer or hunter you may need something bigger and faster. If you have time to be frugal, you're going to love Nesco FD-60!
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
xyzwyatt
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Location: Nashville, TN
Reviews written: 530
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Be a coffee-drinking individual - espresso yourself!
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