by: Susan Gast / Author, Blogger at Beesville Books, Bored Boomers, and a Food Dehydrating Fanatic!
The Nesco food dehydrator company has been making food dehydrators
for over thirty years, and according to them, their patented food dehydrators feature
technology that "dries your food faster and evenly." And it's true!
I've had my dehydrator since 2010... and love it! I like being able to stack as many trays as needed... more on that in the FAQ section below.
Shown in the image are 5 trays, but the starter model comes with 4 trays. A while back I purchased extra.
Nesco food dehydrator beef jerky?
Yes, you can make beef jerky with a Nesco dehydrator. That "beef jerky" link takes you to our "How to Dehydrate Meat" overview page, and at the bottom is a recipe for yes, you guessed it... Beef Jerky!
Nesco food dehydrator trays?
The neat thing about Nesco dehydrators is that you can stack as many trays as you need. The minimum is FOUR - for proper air circulation. And maximum? It varies from 7 to 20. TWENTY? Wow.
Can you imagine what would happen if the dog's tail knocked over that tower of trays? Just sayin'. I would have to put it on the floor for 20 trays to be able to reach the top (I'm a shortie!)...
Nesco food dehydrator recipes?
Check out my 20 Taste-Tested Easy Recipes with Dehydrated Food. Available as an eBook or paperback. Don't forget, your Nesco food dehydrator owners manual will have Jerky recipes and suchlike in it.
Use our Fahrenheit to Celsius converter here on our site!
Nesco FD-80A Food + Jerky Dehydrator
This is a square-shaped food dehydrator, perfect for snacks, fruit, and beef jerky. White with a top black tray edge, with a white lid.
Nesco FD-61WHC Snackmaster Encore Food Dehydrator
This round Nesco Snackmaster comes with a jerky gun kit and 5 trays. It has a very light grey body with a darker grey lid.
Nesco FD-60 Snackmaster Express Food Dehydrator
This is the new version of mine as it has an updated lid. It's a light grey body with a darker grey lid.
As an Amazon Associate, I earn commission from qualifying purchases. The price you pay does not increase. Read disclosure here.
According to Nesco, you get even-drying from top to bottom because of their Converge-A-Flow® air-flow design. This is supposed to eliminate the tray rotation, but I still rotate the trays, anyway.
They also have a Snackmaster Square Dehydrator and Jerky Maker as mentioned in the "Nesco Dehydrators at Amazon" area further up the page.
Check out this FD-75A model over on Amazon.
The Nesco food dehydrator models have a temperature selector on the lid and are easy to read and use. But they're NOT digital.
The dehydrator fan is located on the top inside the lid,
There isn't an on/off switch on this Nesco food dehydrator - you just have to
plug the dehydrator in and unplug it when you're done. More on that below.
See our Podcast Page here on this site, or here on Buzzsprout.
You can buy a
'timer-switch' from hardware stores if you want to have the luxury of
the Nesco food dehydrator turning off, say after ten hours, if you know you
won't be home to shut it off.
A neat feature of a Nesco food dehydrator is that you can stack as many trays as you want, within reason!
NOTE: You MUST have a minimum of four trays in use; see additional comments coming up.
As an Amazon Associate, I earn commission from qualifying purchases. The price you pay does not increase. Read disclosure here.
I feel good about being able to use as many dehydrator trays as needed. Sometimes I'll have just four trays going, and some days seven!
I began with the Nesco four-tray model and purchased additional
trays as mentioned earlier.
The additional trays come in sets of two - at a very reasonable price.
I was pleased that the new Nesco food dehydrator trays color-matched perfectly with the old(er) trays for a seamless stacking experience!
I also have solid fruit roll sheets too, more on these coming up!
NOTE: Nesco states you must use a minimum of four trays, whether you've got food on all four trays or not, for the fan to create even drying.
The only time I ever need to run the
dehydrator with less than four trays is when I make fruit roll-ups—I
only have two Fruit Roll Sheets that came with the dehydrator so only
two trays are actually being used! To have the minimum of four trays, I insert an empty tray at the top and bottom. (One below and one above my fruit roll trays).
Keep on scrolling to read more about screens to keep your Nesco food dehydrator clean!
So for now, when only using TWO trays for the roll-ups until you have purchased more fruit roll sheets to make the stack of trays add up to four, add an empty tray (without Clean-a-Screens, more on those coming up) in-between the fruit roll trays and one more on top, so that you have the 'four tray minimum' for drying.
The Nesco food dehydrator company also sell "Clean-a-Screens" which are circular plastic mesh flexible screens. They have little half-round cutouts for your fingers for easy removal of the sheets—and that's great!
They fit neatly into the dehydrator trays and this keeps small foods from falling through to the trays below (as foods
shrink when they dry out!) Plus it really helps in the tray clean-up department (as intended)!
Nesco LSS-2-6 Round clear plastic 13-1/2" diameter Fruit Roll Sheets, white.
Nesco LM-2-6 Round plastic mesh 13-1/2" diameter Clean-A-Screens, white.
Nesco WT-2SG Round Speckled Plastic 13-1/2" diameter Add-A-Tray.
As an Amazon Associate, I earn commission from qualifying purchases. The price you pay does not increase. Read disclosure here.
Also, any sticky fruits/foods clean off really easily from these dehydrator screens—which is their intended purpose. I just soak mine in the sink, then gently scrub away any stubborn particles, but honestly, it's rare that I have to put that much elbow grease into cleaning them.
My 4-tray model came complete with two Fruit Roll Sheets as mentioned above, and these are like the Clean-a-Screens because they fit neatly into the trays, but these are solid so that the tray's contents CAN'T spill or seep through! Important when pouring puréed fruits to make the fruit roll-ups!
The Nesco dehydrator company also offers cookbooks and Jerky Gun Kits.
NOTE: Some of you have written in saying that you've been using plastic
wrap instead of the Nesco Fruit Roll sheets—word of caution here!
Make SURE you DO NOT cover the center hole in the trays—if you do,
you won't get GOOD air circulation and you'll mess with the
motor and thermostat's ability to hold a constant temperature.
I'd err on the safe
side and get more Fruit Roll Sheets - and they're quite affordable and are easier to use than messin' around with cling wrap...
Do you already have a Nesco food dehydrator? Use our easy-to-fill-in-form, directly below, to leave YOUR review for all to see, AND you'll have your very own web-page on this website auto-magically!
Do you have a comment you need to share with us about your NESCO dehydrator?
Simply fill out the form, and leave your review. List your likes (and dislikes) -- it will be helpful to our readers!
Click below to see contributions from other visitors to this page...
Which Dehydrator Lasts?
How long does a Nesco dehydrator last? I haven't bought one yet.
4 tray model
Best Dehydrator on the market. I dry mangoes and the Nesco - does it perfectly. I liked it so much I have 2 now.
I have tried other machines and they …
nesco fd 75A
I love my dehydrator and been drying everything my family will eat. I bought new trays and screens recently from Amazon but they were a little too big. …
Nesco Professional
Fantastic kitchen appliance. It works great on fruit meat and whatever you want to dry. Fast quiet and efficient. I recommend spraying the trays for easier …
Ancient - But Still Works!
I have a model so old that they do not make it anymore, and I have no idea of the model. I think it was a early version of the Snackmaster but I cannot …
FD-75A
Love my dehydrator. I have my favorite fruits of course. One being Granny Smith apple rings.
I have noticed I eat more fruit and have less wasted …
FD-60
I bought my Nesco American Harvest Dehydrator & Jerky Maker today, after using my old Mr. Coffee model for about a week or so. I felt I needed a second …
NESCO FD61P 500 Watt Dehydrator
Best dehydrator I have ever owned. I never have to rotate trays. I have dried jalapeno peppers, okra, potatoes and onions at the same time without flavors …
FD*35
used it twice and now it started up and worked for about 10 minutes stopped working and won't start back up...
Nesco with seven trays
I have the seven tray Nesco and I bought some of those non-stick sheets, they are very handy and have little finger cut-outs on the edges so you can lift …
Don't forget to get your free "Six Simple Steps" eBook where I share how to dehydrate food safely!
If you like the content, please give me some love by clicking on the 🩷 in the lower right hand corner (on just about all my pages). This signals to me that you find it enjoyable and useful. Thank you so much!
Dec 20, 24 08:36 PM
Dec 20, 24 07:51 PM
Dec 17, 24 04:18 PM
CONNECT WITH ME
Hi, I'm Susan Gast and I've been making food preservation simple since 2010.
Let me show you how to keep your food pantry full, whatever the reason or season!
While you're here, get my 6 Simple Steps eBook - for Free! 🔻🔻🔻
Hi, I'm Susan Gast and I've been making food preservation simple since 2010. Let me show you how to keep your food pantry full, whatever the reason or season!
AFFILIATE DISCLOSURE: I am an Affiliate for Amazon, and other sellers of quality merchandise.
Should you purchase an item through their links, I may receive compensation. The price you pay does not increase.
THANKS for your support! Read full disclosure here.
easy FOOD DEHYDRATING: Making food preservation simple since 2010.
I show you how to keep your food pantry full, whatever the reason or season!
AFFILIATE DISCLOSURE: I am an Affiliate for Amazon, and other sellers of quality merchandise.
Should you purchase an item through their links, I may receive compensation. The price you pay does not increase.
THANKS for your support! Read full disclosure here.
POWERED BY SBI! (SOLO BUILD IT!)
easy FOOD DEHYDRATING: Making food preservation simple since 2010. I show you how to keep your food pantry full, whatever the reason or season!
HOME ARTICLES CONTACT DMCA DISCLAIMER FAQ PRIVACY SITEMAP TERMS TESTIMONIALS
ALL CONTENT COPYRIGHT © 2010-2024 • ALL RIGHTS RESERVED REGARDLESS OF LINKS OR ATTRIBUTIONS.
POWERED BY SBI! (SOLO BUILD IT!)
ALL CONTENT COPYRIGHT © 2010-2024 • ALL RIGHTS RESERVED REGARDLESS OF LINKS OR ATTRIBUTIONS.
