Now my kids, who are on special diets, can share jerky with me that I make. I absolutely love this dehydrator! Hence it must be blended well. I recommend using a sprayer or something to add a fine layer of vegetable oil to prevent sticking. Great product, glad it was my choice, will buy again if this one eventually breaks. This is one of the best food dehydrators I have ever used.

Can't beat the price, and my dehydrator has had only a few days' rest since I got it. It's been humid here so most things have to dry longer than usual. The manufacturer did not seem to address this aspect of the dehydrating lifecycle. They should make a special cleaning brush with the bristles wide enough to fit in the openings but tight enough to scrape and clean the surface. I am so glad I did. I love this machine. The Nesco website is also full of recipes, so for those of us who are still new at food dehydrating, it's a nice jumping off point. The machine and the trays seem very sturdy. I highly recommend this dehydrator. This is my first dehydrator. I've made fruit leather, zucchini chips, dried bananas and apples, and I'm going to make jerky this weekend. Drying times vary a lot depending on where you are, so I decided it was unnecessary for me to buy a unit with a timer. I also got the Sylvania SA110 15 Amp Heavy Duty Appliance Timer for an extra $13 since this unit does not have a built in timer. This is perfect for dehydrating fruits or meats overnight or while I'm at work without having to worry about over or under drying the food. The food dehydrates much faster and you don't need to switch trays around to get an even drying. I use this almost every day and I hope to be hitting the hiking trail, kayak trail and canoe trail very soon and be equipped with light-weight, healthy food!

This great little machine did exactly what I wanted it to do…It dehydrated my homemade lasagna for backpacking trips. Three trays of very cheesy lasagna dried in 7 hours.

I've also done apples and beef jerky and it works exactly as I'd hoped. I read all the Amazon reviews and felt fairly confident in purchasing this particular machine.

This upgrade from our 10 year old version works wonderful, and is more powerful than our original 550 watt version. It's a great dehydrator at a good price. While it was working, it was great. The temperature settings are the best feature by far, but, I used this just under a month and was so pleased with everything I had dehydrated to that point.

Dehydrating seems to concentrate flavors. Chipped Windshield.