NESCO FD-75A Snackmaster Pro Food Dehydrator, For Snacks, Fruit, Beef Jerky, Gray

As I researched dehydrators, every instinct said get the ‘all metal’ type. A friend has one of those, and loves it. But I wasn’t sure I’d use mine much, and space was another issue. So, I decided to buy the Nesco. The trays can be removed so the storage height isn’t as much (but you do need to store those extra trays somewhere!). And it's less costly…I’ve had this 3-1/2 weeks now, have used it over 12 times, and can’t believe how much we love it! I would strongly recommend the use of a mandolin with any dehydrator. We prefer our fruit crisp, like a chip, rather than like a fruit leather. That means the thinnest slices possible unless you with to wait extra hours. Our favorite is apple, super-thin sliced (.75mm), peel left on, dehydrated at highest heat (yeah, the info says lower heat, which is great if you have 8 hours) for 4 hours (allow the fruit to cool a bit before checking crispness – you can always start it back up and add an hour). The apples are like a super-sweet chip! Sometimes I sprinkle a bit of cinnamon on half of them. On the next slice level up (1.5mm) I’ve dehydrated grapes, green and gold kiwi, pears, strawberries, bananas, oranges, lemons, and limes.For the juicier fruit (everything but apple) I put a bit of avocado oil on a paper towel and lightly rub each tray (helps keep the thin slices from sticking). The juicier fruits take me 6 hours at highest heat. I love the mixed fruit, and break apple rings up to bite size, keeping them in a large, air-tight container. Storing all in screw-top jars keeps them crisp for me. I do not pre-soak them in anything, and they do not discolor. Banana tends to break up so I hold the mandolin over the tray while slicing. Any leftover bits end up in a bowl and I enjoy that for a nice snack. The oranges are fantastic in hot teas, and my spouse loves them in his bourbon and coke. I also put lemons in my teas, and the dried lime slices are lovely in a gin and tonic.The flavor of dried fruits is intense, as it ups both the sugar and flavor level when removing the moisture. I ordered 2 extra trays, and found that I needed to add 1-2 hours to my dry times with those in place, but I get more done at once.Keep in mind, you will want to unplug this unit and rotate the trays (I do it once, maybe twice, every 2 hours at most, and have never had anything darken or burn). Also, there are to vent slits – when you first start up the unit, moisture will come out of those – so place it away from any wood it items you do not want wet! I put a couple towels beneath those two areas for the first hour. The trays are easy to clean, and if food get stuck on, just soak those trays.I don’t plan to upgrade – I love this unit. It’s a keeper!

When a neighbor gives you a basket of apples ... or pears. This is really easy - rinse the fruit and slice it thin. We did buy an inexpensive apple corer. You lay the fruit out and plug it in, that is all there is too it. Just make sure you have counter space for this - it will be running for many hours. We now have mason jars full of dried apple, pear, and tomato slices.

We are enjoying this amazing machine. It's so simple to use. It is helpful to have available counter space upon which to separate the trays while loading and unloading food items. Apples come out great and beef jerky is awesome. It takes a little practice, but once you get the idea it's so great! I'm pleased with my purchase. The size is like two small toaster ovens stacked atop each other in case that helps. ☺️

I imported this Nesco 75PR dehydrator to Brazil, so I can tell you how it behaves in very humid climates like we have here, where we get normally 90% air humidity, specially in the summer. I bought a power consumption measuring device to attach between the dehydrator and my power source to check how much power it drains. I guess this data possibly may interest you. Many people say the power consumption is not high, but how high/low it is? I have done some tests and I think I have the answer for different situations. Energy in Brazil is not cheap so this is an important topic for us to discuss. And, of course, nobody likes to shred money and the environment, regardless of energy taxes.First, lets talk about performance:Only in a few ocasions I could dry something with less than 12 hours using a moderate temperature and thin slices. This is why I give this product a 4 instead of a 5 stars. But a 4,5 or 4,7 stars would be more fair, since this dehydrator has a lot of good points and we live in a very humid area, in the sea coast. And, the manual covers the "worst drying period possible" as being coincident to ours. In other words, they are not lying when they affirm that something can dry between "6 and 18 hours". We sit right in the 18 hours extreme. Be aware that this may be your case. Evaluate this point before buying a unit. Fruits: unsliced bananas can take 24-30 hours to dry to a flexible texture (we call this "banana passa" in Brazil, that are made in an industrial scale using gas dehydrators and constant 70 Celsius). The drying temperature is between 60 and 70 Celsius. Thin apple slices can take between 12 and 18 hours to get a leathery texture. Maybe if you let it more time it can eventually be crunchy, but be very aware that crunchiness is NOT an easy thing to achieve using dehydrators, because commercial fruit chips normally are made using fried fruits in coconut oil. I also had the fantasy of making homemade banana chips. Well, they get to a chewy point and taste quite good, anyway. (If that serves as a solace...). Meat: Didn't try it yet. Peppers: dried Jalapeños got an undesirable brownish color. I think the temperature cicles got some peaks that cooked the pepper instead of only drying its remaining water. I think if you are willing to put some peppers in a dehydrator, you should use very low temperatures, those used to dry herbs and other fragile stuff. I followed the 135F and it was a bit high, possibly.Now, about the sound and physical attributes:This unit is QUIET. VERY quiet. I can not believe some people say this dehydrator makes some undesirable noise to the point that they need to put them in a room far from their bedroom otherwise they couldn't sleep! I am VERY sound sensitive and I can assure you, the sound will not bother you. I can even watch TV close to the dehydrator and I only hear its noise if I mute the TV. Not an exaggeration. A fact.Weight, appearance, height: Very discreet. Very light. Did I say VERY light? The gray and white marble finish fits incredibly well in any room, like it's camouflaged, hard to explain. It just looks like another generic thing or pan or tupperware that you have in the kitchen, not a thing that a boring friend or neighbor will come and say "WOW, WHAT'S THAT THING?" You know how boring is that kind of people, but they won't bother you, I assure you. I bought 4 more trays (9 in total) and it still feels light. I can carry it with 9 trays full of bananas with ease. (if that matters: 67 bananas).Cleaning: easy to clean. Dehydrated fruits leave virtually no residue, they stick very lightly to the trays and can be easily pulled out. Not a single banana or any other fruit like apples got stuck in the trays to the point that they couldnt be removed easily with the fingers, and entire, not in fragments.Power consumption: Ok, here we go. (Room temperature: 28 Celsius) With 9 trays full of fruits: 1st hour: 650 Watts (average). 2nd to 5th hour: 380 watts (average). After 6 hours: 360 Watts (average). Total consumption per run long: 31 hours, 7,16 KWH (average: 231 watts). Temperature set: 145F (63 Celsius). With 5 trays full of fruits and/or fruit rolls, in a temperature set of 135F: 1st hour: 301 Watts (average). After a few hours, it dropped to below 200 watts average. Explanation: the first hours take more power because the machine is heating the trays so the thermostat rarely turns off. After a few hours, the thermostat only activates ocasionally to refresh the temperature, since the trays are already heated and only need a maintenance to keep the warm air flow. When the electric resistance turns off, the measure of wattage reads 28 watts, that's the power consumption of the fan (negligible). Conclusion: the shorter the run, less efficient it will be, because whenever it warms up the trays, you are removing the foods from them. Long runs are more efficient, so I guess its better to make a full charged dehydrator rather than little runs with little quantity of food. Just an opinion without any scientific claim.I can not say anything about durability of this Nesco dehydrator, since I bought it recently. I will update this review if anything unexpected occurs, or if I have any important thing to add, like new food experiences, et cetera.To finish this review, I'd like to apologize for my awful English, I had a hard time writting this because I am not a native speaker, so tell me if something sounds odd or particularly unusual, I can clarify your questions in the comments section. I hope this humble review can be useful for you. Thank you very much for the attention.