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Nesco
Professional Food and Jerky Dehydrator
©
Outdoor Adventure Canada 2006
 Usually
I use this section to post reviews on food products but this time
I'm going to talk about the Nesco Professional Food & Jerky
Dehydrator. As an author and instructor of an online
wilderness cooking course I use a dehydrator much more than
the average person and I've had good experiences with the Nesco
line.
Now I've been
through a few models. My first dehydrator was made by Mr. Coffee
and was notorious for not drying evenly. The Mr. Coffee finally
gave up the ghost and I replaced it with an American Harvest Snackmaster
Pro model with 500 watts of power made by Nesco. Five years passed
and hundreds of hours of dehydrating everything from wilderness
meals to fruit for potpourri. Recently I purchased the Nesco Professional
Food & Jerky Dehydrator (model FD-75PR). This is a 700 watt
model with a top fan and thermostat. It comes with 5 trays but
is expandable to 12 and there are also 2 fruit roll trays and
2 screens with the unit.
 I
didn't think that the FD-75 would be much different than the model
I already had except that it had a top fan which would make it
easier for me to clean. Well I am pleasantly surprised. The very
first thing I noticed is the unit's top handle that makes it much
easier to check on things. I plugged the unit in and was delighted
about how incredibly quiet it is. It isn't unusual for my dehydrator
to run five days a week so the noise reduction is welcomed. So
far so good - easy to clean and quiet - what more could I ask
for?
Now it was
time to put the FD-75 to the test. So I dried some beef jerky,
a shredded pork dish, some fruit and vegetables. Success! What
I noticed was the drying time. The additional 200 watts of power
definitely sped things up. Food seemed to dry more evenly with
the top fan too. The Nesco FD-75 has a really good thermostat.
It goes as high as 160 °F which is safer when you are drying
items like jerky.
In the past I've always cut parchment to line my trays for items
like fruit leathers and sauce. If you buy a Nesco dehydrator buy
the fruit roll sheets. They are so much easier and the fruit roll
sheets have a little lip so they work really well for soups and
sauces. Although many people use a no stick cooking spray on these
trays I did not and I the food came off easily once it had cooled
to room temperature.
Whether you
are buying your first dehydrator or replacing an old one you can't
go wrong with the Nesco Professional FD-75PR. This unit will give
you years of service. You can create wonderful meals for your
wilderness trips that will be lightweight and good tasting.
For more cooking
themed articles and recipes please view the backcountry
kitchen archive.
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