Top 5 Best Food Dehydrators for Your Family | 2017 Reviews
Beef jerky, dried fruits made into chips and other healthy snacks are starting to be viable options to healthy snacking. Not that they have not been in the circulation for the previous years, but the search for more nutritious food are ramping up every day. The types of food we mentioned are dehydrated, meaning that the water content is reduced to 0.75 water per 1 serving of protein. So you might ask, is dehydrated food healthy? Definitely! The reason why foods are dehydrated is to increase their shelf life, imagine stocking up fruits available for a certain season only, like apricots and wanting to serve them 6 months after.
This is where food dehydrators come in; they lock in the nutrients of the fruit by taking away most of the water content that could cause them to spoil and therefore extending their consumability by leaps and bounds. Yes, that beef jerky you’re chewing on is dehydrated.
So before you jump in to searching for the best dehydrator for jerky, here are some tips on choosing a great food dehydrator you can have at home to use for your family’s needs.
Once you decide that having a food dehydrator at home could be a big step to encouraging the consumption of healthy foods for your family, you must be able to discern between the various types of food dehydrators in the market today.
First to look out for is the size and space it could occupy in your kitchen, let’s face it, not every house is big enough to have those commercial looking food dehydrators so this is a great factor to start with. Also, you have to go for the ones that use certified food grade materials; you wanted to be healthy so it is therefore imperative that the plastic and metal components are FDA approved. So using the categories mentioned, we now have a list of 5 best food dehydrators for your family to consider.
Quick Comparison Table
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Nesco Snackmaster Pro Food Dehydrator FD-75A |
Excalibur 3926TB Food Dehydrator |
Presto 06300 Dehydro Electric Food Dehydrator |
Nesco FD-37A American Harvest Food Dehydrator |
Waring Pro DHR30 Professional Dehydrator |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
$$$ |
$$$ |
$$$ |
$$$ |
$$$ |
|
5 Trays |
9 Trays |
4 Trays |
4 Trays |
5 Trays |
|
22 pounds |
9 pounds |
7.5 pounds |
4.7 pounds |
7.6 pounds |
 |
|
|
|
|
Nesco Snackmaster Pro Food Dehydrator FD-75A
If you are interested in knowing how to make bacon jerky in a dehydrator, then you are definitely on point with this dehydrator. Drying meat could be a long and arduous process, especially if you are new to it. However, the Nesco Snackmaster aims to make the dehydrating a lot easier to deal with, as this unit boasts of the Converga-Flow drying system enables you to complete the drying process in a matter of hours compared to the usual days it used to take. As explained on their website, the Converga-Flow drying system forces air down the pressurized chambers and allows for the air to flow horizontally in each trays, making sure that all the food items are dehydrated in evenly. This system takes into consideration that all the food items included on individual trays are all properly dehydrated, according to your expectations.
If you fear that if you add differently flavored food items in the Nesco and come up with something that has a weird taste, then, worry no more as the flavors do not mix in this appliance., because the fan makes sure that the liquid do not drip anywhere in the chamber.
Since the Nesco Snackmaster has an adjustable thermostat , you could define the needed temperature for a certain type of food to be dehydrated. Although the Nesco Snackmaster only comes with 5 trays, you could definitely expand this to 12 based of your needs, individual trays are sold separately, which is why we love it even more.
When it comes to cleaning, since virtually every component is made of BPA free plastic, it is very easy to clean and maintain, the total package. It’s also lightweight and generally small for its value so keeping it in your counter would not be a problem. This electric food dehydrator is something you would really want in your home, compact, lightweight, easy to use, and best of all, not very noisy compared to most of the dehydrators out there, definitely the top on our list.
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Details of the Nesco Snackmaster Pro Food Dehydrator FD-75A |
|
|---|---|
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Temperature Range (in Fahrenheit) |
95 to 160 degrees |
|
Trays |
5 |
|
Weight |
22 pounds |
|
Dimension |
19 x 17 x 12.5 inches |
|
Color |
Grey and Marble |
|
Features |
2 Clean-A-Screens, 2 Fruit Roll Sheets, 3 Original Jerky Spice Packets, and a 52-page Recipe and Instruction Book |
Excalibur 3926TB Food Dehydrator
The Excalibur food dehydrator comes in close second for its durability and modifiability. First the dehydrator has the capability to dry a wide range of items, from making fruit leathers, and meat jerky, to potpourris and even treats for your pets. All of these are made possible by the Hyperwave Fluctuation technology which helps keep the temperature of the food low enough for the essential enzymes and nutrients to be preserved, but maintaining a high temperature for dehydrating, sealing in the goodness that we need. When it comes to making sure the evenness of dehydration, the device has the parallex horizontal airflow technology. In essence, the cool air is sucked in, processed and distributed evenly to the trays.
If you plan to host a party and introduce your dehydrated food items, or if you are one of those people who likes to prepare, maybe for the winter, for when your kid’s next vacation or just love having parties, then this dehydrator is definitely for you. It has 9 trays, that’s a total of 15 square feet of drying space at your disposal. What’s awesome is these 9 trays are not fixed, you could easily remove any of them if you need additional space, perfect if you want to raise dough, or have bigger pieces of meat or fruits you want to dehydrate.
The timer of the Excalibur is also beneficial in making sure that the items you dehydrate are processed only at the time you need them to be, no more frequent checking, you just have to pop the items in the trays, set the timer and go back finding your dehydrated food as you like. The only thing that held us back in naming the Excalibur the top rated food dehydrator of all time, is that it could be a bit bulky for everyone to have at home. Remember, not everyone may have the need to dehydrate more than the required amount of items that their family could consume.
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Details of the Excalibur 3926TB Food Dehydrator |
|
|---|---|
|
Temperature Range (in Fahrenheit) |
105 to 165 degrees |
|
Trays |
9 Drying Trays |
|
Weight |
9 pounds |
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Dimension |
13.8 x 22.1 x 13.9 inches |
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Color |
Black and white |
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Features |
15 sq. ft. drying space, removable trays, 26-hour Timer, 7-inch fan and poly-screen tray insert to prevent foods from sticking |
Presto 06300 Dehydro Electric Food Dehydrator
Most of us have not yet encountered a food dehydrator before and what we wanted to know is how does a food dehydrator work? The Presto makes it easy for anyone to use a food dehydrator, you just have to turn it on and leave the food items to dehydrate to the required amount of time advised on the manual. What we absolutely loved was the fact that it has a see through cover, making it very easy for us to tell whether the food is ready or not to be taken out of it. The fan is at the bottom, and the air flows horizontally on each of the trays generating a good amount of hot air for drying.
Since it’s made of BPA free plastic, it is fairly easy to clean and use, even without the nonstick mesh screens. It is dishwasher safe, so that’s one less thing for you to think about, the next time you decide to use it. Should you need to process more items, it is also expandable up to 8 trays, but because it is lightweight and relatively small in size, it would be very easy to move around even to take with you when you travel.
But because the aim of the dehydrator is for relatively ease of use, there is no thermostat. This is unfortunate for those who are looking forward to using varied sizes of meat or food items that you would want to dehydrate at the same time, as it may be a little troublesome. Not that it won’t be able to do so, you just have to put in a little extra effort in making sure that you are drying your meat or fruit properly. This could be easily solved by proper research and noting the characteristics of the food items you are drying, as herbs and fruits might have a different drying time from meat. You just have to adjust accordingly and determine the best foods to dehydrate one at a time to maximize its use.
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Details of the Presto 06300 Dehydro Electric Food Dehydrator |
|
|---|---|
|
Temperature Range (in Fahrenheit) |
preset temperature of approximately 165 degrees |
|
Trays |
4 |
|
Weight |
7.5 pounds |
|
Dimension |
14.5 x 15 x 6.2 inches |
|
Color |
White |
|
Features |
See through cover, dishwasher safe trays, fruit roll sheets, nonstick mesh screens |
Nesco FD-37A American Harvest Food Dehydrator
Similar to the top food dehydrator on this list, the Nesco American Harvest dehydrator also shares the durability of the brand. Made with materials of the highest quality, you surely could never go wrong on this one either. In essence, this comes with a guarantee that you are most likely to spend lesser time in dehydrating food items compared to other dehydrators. This food dehydrator comes with 4 drying trays, but is still also expandable for up to 7 trays. That is a lot of dehydrated items waiting to happen!
What you need to remember is that even if this dehydrator is relatively small, it has a lot to offer, you definitely could save a lot of counter space even having this around. It has a pretty straightforward way of working, making use of a preset temperature of approximately 160 degrees perfect for the novice ones to use. You won’t have any need to rotate the items as well because of the way the fan is designed enabling radial air flow within the stack of trays.
All of the components are dishwasher safe except of course for the power head, so no problem with cleaning, definitely easier to use it for your every day needs. Similar to the Presto food dehydrator, it also comes with a clear cover enabling you to tell if there is something wrong with the items you are dehydrating and easily solve the source of the problem.
If you are keen on knowing how to dehydrate herbs in food dehydrator, then this is the best choice for you. This is great for beginners who want to start on exploring the world of dehydrating. This is also the reason why it is our number 4; you might need to consider buying a different dehydrator once you start appreciating the dehydration process. Also, note that it would be best if you could grease the trays to prevent items such as fruits and meats from sticking on it, otherwise, everything is great.
|
Details of the Nesco FD-37A American Harvest Food Dehydrator |
|
|---|---|
|
Temperature Range (in Fahrenheit) |
preset temperature of approximately 160 degrees |
|
Trays |
4 |
|
Weight |
4.7 pounds |
|
Dimension |
14.1 x 9.2 x 14.2 inches |
|
Color |
White |
|
Features |
Expandable up to 7 trays, Clear top monitor, dishwasher safe components |
Waring Pro DHR30 Professional Dehydrator
Finally, to round up our top 5 best food dehydrators, we have the Waring Pro DH 30. This professional food dehydrator has 5 stackable, interlocking trays and boasts of the horizontal air flow. This air flow type lets the air in from top to bottom into each tray which allows for even processing on each and every layer without the need for manual rotation. The interlocking trays are amazing in such a way, that you would not be wary of your dried items from easily toppling over when you accidentally mishandle the equipment.
One of the things we loved about this is that the thermostat has the following settings, fan only, low, medium and high. This therefore allows you to control the temperature you want your items to be processed in, definitely great if you are starting out on experimenting the varying range of items you would like to consider dehydrating, especially those that you have not used before in any way. Just keep in mind we highly recommend that it would be best not to mix a batch of different items when drying as they could have different drying temperatures needed. It could be very difficult to gauge a unified temperature for all of your items, but if you stick to low it could work but with longer time involved.
If you worry about leaving the dehydrator on overnight, you do not have to, just keep the temperature at a lower setting and you could sleep soundly, as there are no notable noise with this machine. Clean up is also just a breeze, no need for extra scrubbing as the dried items slide off the trays pretty easily even fruits.
The Waring Pro also comes with fruit roll-up sheets, perfect for preparing fruit leather for your kids snack, packed with a lot of nutrients and needed vitamins. This is one meat dehydrator you could count on, as this is made of durable materials making it stronger to handle even bigger chunks of meat. It is also just the right size that could easily fit on your counter top, no more worries after that.
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Details of the Waring Pro DHR30 Professional Dehydrator |
|
|---|---|
|
Temperature Range (in Fahrenheit) |
110 to 175 degrees |
|
Trays |
5 |
|
Weight |
7.6 pounds |
|
Dimension |
14.7 x 12.4 x 11.8 inches |
|
Color |
Black |
|
Features |
Adjustable thermostat includes Fan Only, Low, Medium and High settings for more options, and a top-venting system |
Conclusion
To sum it all up, we are starting to see how dehydrating food in oven is so last season, and the demand for food dehydrators is slowly getting higher in the market. This comes hand in hand, as we discover that the nutrients of the food that we eat could be preserved without actual additional preservatives. All natural, flavorful fruit or meat goodness in less than the time it used to take. We leave it up to you however, to determine best home dehydrator that would fit your family’s needs.
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