Nesco FD-61WHC Snackmaster Encore Food Dehydrator with Jerky Gun Kit for Great Snacks and Jerky, 5 Trays, Gray

I live alone but like to save money. So I will buy produce on sale in big bags and dry the rest. I make apple chips, and other things just to dry so I am not throwing away food.

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.

I was in the market for a dehydrator mainly for making beef jerky, as I am a jerky lover. I visited frequent local chains such as Walmart (in 4 different cities). All stores seemed to be out of the base Nesco FD-61 model. I reluctantly ordered this kit from [...] as it contained all the 'extras.'When it arrived I opened the box to see:o) Nesco American Harvest FD-61 Food Dehydrator. One base, 4 large trays, and a power head rated at 500 watts, variable climate control (~95-155 temp range for various things). Most of the accessories that came with the kit were located inside the trays. Made in the USA! The dehydrator is rated as whisper quiet and is rather quiet. The emitting hum is close to quiet window-mounted AC unit. The unit is very stable and the construction is excellent. This unit really does get warm.o) One extra tray (totalling 5 trays). Keep in mind that although this unit is expandable to 12 trays, you may have to begin rotating lower trays to the top during the drying process. With the included 5 trays it doesn't seem necessary, though I do trade the top tray with the bottom tray after the first hour during jerky drying.o) A Jerky Kit. The Kit included a jerky gun, 3 tips, and 5 cures and 5 seasonings. The Jerky gun holds almost 3/4lb ground beef jerky mix. The tips included extrude a strip shape, narrow beef stick shape, and wide beef stick shape. The seasonings and cures are for ground beef as well. For each one pound of ground beef, you mix in one packet of cure and one packet of seasoning. The gun is great and works well. My only complaint is that that when the plunger is at the end (expelled all beef mix), there is some jerky left in the tip. This is especially true to the narrow and wide beef stick tips as they hold almost a full piece left.o) Two Clean-a-Screens. These are screens with narrower holes for placement on a tray to prevent smaller food from falling as well as preventing sticky food (bananas, pineapple) from being hard to release once it's done drying. I have not used these yet though I have seen them used and they work well.o) Two fruit "roll-up" trays. These are trays that cover the existing trays to prevent anything from falling below. The material is on the softer side so food release will be easy once drying is complete. I haven't used them for fruit rolls yet, though I hear they work great for that. I do, however, use them on the bottom tray to catch grease and other 'junk' when I dehydrate my beef.o) Recipe/Guide. This book has the usual instructions and care handling. It also includes many recipes and instructions, tips and suggestions for preparing fruits, vegetables, meats (i.e. jerky), herbs, desserts, hobbies/crafts, and more. There are many cool recipes in here along with neat crafts such as wreaths that I plan to use.Overall, this is an excellent kit and well worth the money. All items separate cost quite a bit. Don't forget, it's also made in the USA!Note: It's been brought to my attention (thanks Div) that the box may be saying Made In USA, but has origin marks of Foreign & Domestic. I don't have mine ready at the moment (been shuffled a few times for various Keurigs), but I'd recommend checking this contradiction if it's a concern for you.