Beef jerky, anyone? Fruit roll-ups? How about a snack of dried peas? You can have all these with a food dehydrator. Preserving and dehydrating food does not only bring out a stronger flavor, but also, it can pack in the various vitamins and minerals in your meals. Moreover, it is a great way to lengthen the shelf life of your food.
In this article, we are going to review the Nesco Gardenmaster Food Dehydrator. This food dehydrator claims to be a fast and efficient dehydrator for all kinds of meat, fruits, and vegetables. We are going to list down its features, in order to determine if there is something unique with this dehydrator, that will make it stand out from the rest.
Finally, we are going to list down the advantages and disadvantages of using this dehydrator, in order for us to know if this is really a special one. Read on for more information
Unpacking the Nesco Gardenmaster Pro Food Dehydrator
As you open your newly arrived Nesco Gardenmaster Pro Food Dehydrator Package, the excitement begins to build. The package is well-sealed and thoughtfully arranged, ensuring that the dehydrator remains in optimal condition during transportation. Unwrapping, you’ll first get your hands on the user’s manual – an essential guide full of useful tips and instructions for your new dehydrator.
Next, you’ll come across the main part of the unit – the powerhead. It houses the fan and motor that facilitate the drying process. Notice its sturdy construction designed for durability. Then, you’ll find the eight standard trays that come with the dehydrator. These are just the beginning, as the Nesco Gardenmaster Pro is expandable up to 30 trays (purchased separately) for those big dehydration projects you might have in mind.
Digging a little deeper, you’ll find innovative Clean A Screens and fruit roll sheets. The Clean A Screens are perfect for drying small items like herbs and spices that would otherwise slip through the trays, while the fruit roll sheets will let you venture into creating homemade fruit leathers.
Lastly, you’ve got a selection of jerky spice packets to kick off your first batch of dried snacks. The Nesco Gardenmaster goes the extra mile in terms of user convenience, providing a complete package for beginners to start their food dehydration journey.
Exploring the Unique Features of the Nesco Gardenmaster Dehydrator
Let’s dive in and begin unpacking the Nesco Gardenmaster Dehydrator, shall we? This bad boy is chock full of features that make food dehydration a breeze, even for complete beginners. Here, I’m going to walk you through some of the most impressive aspects of this machine. Stick with me, it’s going to get exciting!
Powerful Drying Capability
The Nesco Food Dehydrator Gardenmaster is packing some serious heat with a robust 1,000 watts of drying power. That’s right, 1,000 watts! With this much power, you can trust that it generates the maximum speed needed for nutritious drying. This power is evenly distributed across all trays, resulting in an even heat distribution and consistent drying for all kinds of different foods from beef jerky to banana slices.
Smart Converga-Flow Air System
What sets the Nesco Gardenmaster Dehydrator apart from other food dehydrators is its innovative Converga-Flow air system. This system forces heated air down the exterior pressurized chamber and then horizontally across each individual tray. The benefit here is the hot air flow then converges in the center for fast, even, and nutritious drying. Pretty cool, right? Bonus, there is no tray rotation needed which makes the dehydration process easier and more seamless.
Temperature Control
With an adjustable thermostat that ranges from 95 to 160 degrees Fahrenheit, this Gardenmaster Pro Food Dehydrator gives you control over your food dehydration process. The varying temperature settings allow you to dry different types of food at their proper temperatures, ensuring that all your favorite fruits, veggies, and meats dehydrate optimally. So whether you’re drying green beans or making beef jerky, Nesco’s got you covered!
Expandable Trays
Another standout feature of the Nesco Dehydrator Gardenmaster is its expandability. It comes with eight diameter trays, eight Clean A Screens, and eight fruit roll sheets, and has the capacity to hold up to 30 trays. This means you can dry large quantities of food at once, or use it for small batches and when needed, expand it with additional Add-A-Trays. This is particularly helpful when you have a bountiful harvest from your garden that you want to preserve or you are preparing snacks for a large party. No food is left behind!
Protective Exterior
Finally, I was impressed by the opaque Vita-Save exterior of the Nesco FD 1018A, which effectively blocks harmful light that can destroy the nutritional content of the food being dehydrated. A small detail, but an important one!
Reflecting on my own experience and research, the Nesco Gardenmaster Dehydrator truly makes the dehydrating process simpler and more efficient. Its innovative design and thoughtful features ensure a quality performance that can meet various dehydration needs. Plus, the expanded drying capacity makes the Gardenmaster an excellent choice for both small and large drying tasks.
Features
If you have an all-white kitchen, you will not spot this dehydrator because it is also color white. Further, it just looks like a rice cooker, so it does not really take too much space on your counter. At the same time, it will not look out of place since it looks like any regular kitchen equipment.
- The Nesco Gardenmaster Food Dehydrator FD 1010 can dry out food in just hours, due to its power of 1000 watts.
- It has a drying system that is called Converga-Flow. What this does is, it rapidly pushes air that is heated towards all of the trays.
- Its thermostat is adjustable, with the minimum and maximum setting of 95°F – 160°F.
- There are eight trays that are also dishwasher safe ( just make sure to wash them briefly and do not use the dry cycle).
- The machine can expand to accommodate 30 trays.
- It includes eight clean-a-screens, eight sheets of fruit roll-ups, one recipe book, and one pack of jerky spice that is cured.
- It works quietly, due to its motor that has 2400 RPM.
- The fan also dries the food fast, because its size is 4 1/2 inches.
- It was specifically designed not to be transparent, so as to block any light, which further helps in retaining the nutrients of the food.
Pros
- It comes with a lot of other inclusions that help you improve the dehydrating process.
- It is easy to use and at the same time, easy to assemble.
- It is also easy to clean; you can just leave everything in a dishwasher.
- When you dehydrate meat, this is a good option as the meat is still juicy after being dehydrated for hours.
- It enhances the flavor of meat, fruits, and vegetables.
- The heat is consistent all throughout the trays.
- The fan also speeds up the dehydration time.
- The instruction manual is really handy as the time indication in the recipes is catered to the power of this specific dehydrator. You can find the Nesco Gardenmaster food dehydrator instructions manual on the Nesco site.
- Your beef jerky will come out good, tasty, and crispy every. single. time.
- The design, being an expandable one, makes this dehydrator very versatile since it can carry a lot of food to be dehydrated.
Cons
- When you have not used it for a long time, the controls and indicator lights might not work smoothly or not work at all.
- The programming of the fan, which is to work together with the heater, is not properly wired. Most times, the heater will work, while the fan is not functional.
- The motor of the machine is extremely loud. When this machine is in use, everyone in the house will know it, because it rattles so much.
- The base plate is not that sturdy. Once you break it in even a small way, the machine will deteriorate eventually.
Adjusting Temperature Settings on the Nesco Gardenmaster for Different Foods
For beginners and even seasoned food preservation enthusiasts, a crucial feature of the Nesco Gardenmaster Dehydrator is the adjustable temperature control. This simple yet impactful feature removes any guesswork by providing the exact temperature required for drying specific food types. For instance, you’ll use one temperature for preserving meats like beef jerky, and another for your favorite fruits and vegetables. This high degree of control dramatically boosts the dehydrator’s flexibility and performance.
Understanding how to adjust the temperature settings for different foods is key to achieving the best outcomes. With the Nesco Gardenmaster, you get to leverage precise temperature controls ranging from 95 to 160 degrees Fahrenheit. This variability ensures that the Gardenmaster caters to all types of food, enhancing its versatility and efficacy. It’s also worth noting that the correct temperature setting will keep the food’s flavors, nutrients, and overall quality intact while extending its shelf life.
Breaking down the Temperature Controls
The Nesco Gardenmaster has a temperature dial on its top with different temperature settings. It involves a simple turn-to-adjust system which makes it user-friendly even for the newest of users. For drying herbs and spices, you can adjust the temperature to the lowest setting, typically around 95 degrees Fahrenheit. If you’re looking to make homemade fruit rolls or dried fruits like banana slices or dried apples, the temperature should be set to around 135 degrees. Dehydrating vegetables requires a slightly higher temperature, generally about 125 degrees.
For making jerky from meat, poultry, or fish, the temperature control needs to be set to its maximum – 160 degrees Fahrenheit, which is the USDA-recommended safe temperature for dehydrating meat. Once again, this reinforces the Pro in the Gardenmaster Pro Dehydrator. This high temperature ensures that your jerky is safe to eat and delicious, bringing that homemade goodness to your snack time.
Perfecting your Dehydration Projects
Remember, these temperature guidelines are just that—guidelines. Based on your food’s thickness and overall moisture content, you might need to tweak them slightly. But don’t worry, Nesco gives you an instruction book, which also includes a detailed guide on proper temperatures. Plus, with a little practice, you’ll soon become a pro at it, familiarizing yourself with the ideal settings that work for your specific dehydration projects. No wonder Nesco is known for creating user-friendly and efficient machines that are specifically designed to make your food dehydration process straightforward and fun.
The Advantages of Nesco’s Clean A Screens and Additional Add A Trays
Let’s dive into some of the additional features that really elevate the Nesco Gardenmaster Dehydrator – the Clean A Screens and the Add A Trays.
Clean A Screens are an accessory that really enhances the user experience. In essence, they’re a flexible mesh that fits on your individual tray, designed to make the food removal process smoother. For stickier foods like fruit roll-ups or banana slices, these screens are a game-changer. They make the process of removing the dried food from the trays super easy.
Just think about when you’ve tried to remove a sticky food item from a tray – it can be frustrating, can’t it? By using these screens, Nesco provides an effortless solution to a common dehydration problem. This kind of thoughtful innovation is part of why the Nesco Garden Master Dehydrator stands out from other dehydrators.
Another thing I really appreciate is the ability of the Nesco dehydrator to dry large quantities of food in one go with the addition of the Add A Trays. This Nesco Gardenmaster allows you to expand the number of trays from the standard 8 to up to 30 trays! That’s a huge plus if you plan to do large batches of food drying.
Remember that time you had a bumper crop of green beans from your garden and struggled to preserve them all? With the extra trays feature, you could dry them all in a jiffy, preserving the nutritious goodness and giving you access to your favorite green beans all year round!
In my own experience, having used both features extensively, I can personally attest to the fact that they make a significant difference in the food dehydration process. The ease of removal of dried food from the Clean A Screens and the convenience of drying large quantities all at once with the additional trays have made my experience with the Garden Master Dehydrator more rewarding and less stressful.
I must add here the importance of using food dehydrators properly. It’s not about throwing your favorite fruits or vegetables in and hoping for the best. A successful drying experience, especially when dealing with different foods, requires attention to the proper temperatures and timing. So, learning to use the Clean A Screens and Additional Add A Trays correctly can fundamentally improve your drying game.
Overall, these features, while perhaps not as flashy as the 1000 watts of drying power or the expandable trays, are invaluable in their own right. They showcase Nesco’s commitment to providing a rewarding user experience and are integral elements of the Nesco Gardenmaster’s design.
Keeping It Clean: Maintaining Your Nesco Dehydrator
Now, let’s talk about a topic everyone loves to bypass – cleaning. When it comes to the Nesco Gardenmaster Food Dehydrator, maintaining cleanliness is actually quite simple. Unlike other dehydrators where cleaning the interior can be a tedious chore, the Gardenmaster makes it almost a cakewalk.
The Nesco dehydrator’s individual trays can be easily removed, giving you swift access for stress-free cleaning. Each tray can be washed independently and even the bottom tray, which is usually tricky to clean in most dehydrators, can be removed with ease in the Nesco Dehydrator Gardenmaster. This is certainly a unique feature that saves homeowners from having to turn their dehydrator into their laundry room.
Additionally, the Nesco Gardenmaster includes eight Clean A Screens, which are essentially drying screens that prevent smaller items from falling through the cuisines, making your clean-up process even more straightforward. The screens help keep the unit clean by preventing small food pieces from falling into the dehydrator’s pressurized chamber during the drying process.
Plus, should you find yourself with some really stubborn residue that kitchen detergent just doesn’t seem to dislodge, worry not. The trays are dishwasher safe, as long as they are placed on the top rack and washed briefly- do not allow the dry cycle. Everyone likes a hassle-free cleanup after a nutritious drying process, right?
Regular Maintenance: Ensuring Longevity
Just like you, your Nesco Gardenmaster dehydrator needs regular care to perform its best. Once you’re done using the dehydrator, it’s always a good habit to unplug the device and let it cool down before starting your cleaning routine. It not only ensures safety but also maintains the dehydrator’s efficiency. It’s a crucial step to remember, especially if you’re running the dehydrator for long durations to dry large quantities.
The exterior of the Nesco Gardenmaster also needs a quick wipe down with a damp cloth from time to time. Remember, the exterior pressurized chamber blocks harmful light from getting in but that doesn’t block dust from clinging on the exterior!
Pro Tip: After every few uses, make sure to inspect the fan and heating elements at the base if needed. Dust and debris can accumulate here over time. This won’t take long and will ensure your Nesco Gardenmaster Dehydrator stays in top condition for many drying sessions to come.
Customer’s Verdict: Reviews on Gardenmaster Pro Food Dehydrator
You’re probably wondering, “What does everyone else think of the Nesco Gardenmaster?” Well, I’ve done some digging to provide you an insight into what actual users are saying about this top-of-the-line food dehydrator.
First and foremost, one of the major points that kept popping up was the Nesco Gardenmaster Dehydrator’s dehydrating power. Many users praised its robust 1000 watts of drying power, which allows the unit to dehydrate food faster than a lot of its competition.
Several home chefs and jerky enthusiasts shared their joy at how quickly and evenly their meat dried out. One particular testimonial noted that their beef jerky came out “just right and delightfully chewy” every time. Just imagine whipping up your own batch of homemade jerky that tastes like it came out of a specialty smokehouse!
Vegetable gardeners also had heaps to say about the Gardenmaster. They loved how the dehydrator preserves the essential nutrients and flavor of their fresh produce. Green beans, banana slices, and yes, even dried apples turned out “absolutely perfect, crispy and full of flavor.”
But it wasn’t all sunbeams and rainbows. Some people addressed the noise level of this dehydrator. A user said, “The noise level of the fan can get a bit noticeable, especially during the quiet night hours.” They advised placing it in a far-off place, like a laundry room, while the machine is doing its job.
Despite the noise issue, almost everyone agreed that the benefits of using the Nesco Gardenmaster far outweighed this minor inconvenience. The majority of users highly recommended the Nesco Gardenmaster Dehydrator for its outstanding performance, durable build, and excellent results.
Where to Buy? Making the Decision for Nesco FD 1010
Once you have weighed the pros and cons, done your research on the features, used the product comparisons, and decided to put your trust in the Nesco Gardenmaster Dehydrator, where do you go to get your hands on it? The good news is that the Nesco Gardenmaster is widely available across several reputable online retailers like Amazon, as well as on Nesco’s very own online shopping platform.
When purchasing a Nesco FD-1010 Garden Master Dehydrator, we recommend checking out all platforms to compare deals and discounts. Keep an eye on shipping rates too. Some platforms occasionally offer free shipping, and who doesn’t love saving some bucks, right?
And while you’re at it, don’t merely stop at buying the dehydrator. Nesco also provides additional Add-A-Trays, Clean-A-Screens, and other accessories for purchase, which may come in handy as you embolden your food dehydrating journey.
Not just this, look for the warranty details when purchasing. Nesco typically offers a one-year warranty on the Gardenmaster Dehydrator, but details may vary depending on the seller, so make sure to verify this information too.
Summary
The Nesco Gardenmaster Food Dehydrator is an expandable dehydrator which is perfect for meats, fruits, and vegetables. Its initial capacity is just eight trays, but it can expand to accommodate up to 30 trays.
Its best feature is, it can regulate and maintain the same level of heat all throughout the trays. This feature is very important since, for your dehydrated food to come out nice, they all should have been exposed to consistent temperatures.
The inclusions that come with this machine are also very helpful for you to create specific recipes, such as roll-ups or beef jerky. Furthermore, it is easy to clean, as you only have to chuck it in the dishwasher, and it is easy to set up ( do not use the dry cycle and wash briefly ).
You need not have a lot of knowledge in dehydrating food, to have a successful run on this machine. All you need to do is to set it at the right temperature and leave it be.
Comparison with the Gourmia Food Dehydrator
The Gourmia Food Dehydrator and the Nesco Gardenmaster Food Dehydrator both look the same that they might be mistaken as being the other. However, there are drastic differences in their functions and features.
For the Gourmia Food Dehydrator it only has five trays, as compared with the Nesco Gardenmaster Food Dehydrator that can house eight trays, and when expanded, 30 trays. The former also does not have the same power as the latter, because the latter is faster in completing the dehydration process.
The Gourmia cannot produce fruit leather, as it does not come with meshes or solid trays. On the other hand, the Nesco one can produce a variety of dehydrated dishes, with just the use of its basic trays.
Why the Nesco Gardenmaster is the Top Choice for Beginners
If you’re just starting out on your food dehydration journey, the Nesco Gardenmaster Dehydrator is like your enthusiastic guide, ready to lead you every step of the way. So, why is this the go-to tool for beginners? Let’s spill the beans!
First and foremost, folks, the Nesco Gardenmaster Dehydrator prides itself on its foolproof operation. There’s minimal setup and no complicated instructions, making it an ideal choice for those fresh to the world of food dehydration. Think of it as a plug-and-play device for your kitchen!
Next up, we’ve got the adjustable temperature control feature. You’re thinking, “Well, that sounds technical,” but don’t you fret. Whether it’s banana slices that tickle your fancy or crunchy green beans, this nifty device hedges its bets on an adjustable thermostat. The wide range of temperature settings caters to different foods, ensuring nutritious drying each time.
Of course, we can’t overlook the Gardenmaster’s power. With a whopping 1000 watts of drying power, it leaves other dehydrators in the dust! This means it operates at maximum speed to deliver consistently dried foods, whether it’s your favorite fruits or mouthwatering beef jerky. Plus, with its strong fan, the hot air is circulated evenly for well-distributed and consistent drying. No need for tedious tray rotation, folks, the Gardenmaster Dehydrator’s got it covered.
The Nesco Gardenmaster also provides the option of expansion. Your first few drying attempts might be small-scale, but as you grow more comfortable and adventurous, you might want to dry larger quantities. Here’s where the Nesco Gardenmaster steps up its game. It can be expanded to accommodate 30 individual trays! Yes, you read that right. Thirty!
Finally, let’s talk about maintaining this magic machine. Is it a real sweat-inducer? Well, you’ll be surprised to hear that with the Nesco FD 1018A Gardenmaster Dehydrator, cleaning is as easy as pie. It includes eight ‘Clean A Screens,’ designed to catch drips and make your cleanup process a breeze. Just remove, rinse, and you’re ready to go again!
Verdict
The Nesco FD-1018A Gardenmaster Food Dehydrator is a good food dehydrator for beginners. It can cater to a lot of your dehydrating needs, whether you are just preserving food, or following a dehydration recipe. Additionally, it is very easy to use and easy to set up.
If you are new to dehydrating food, this machine is a good option. However, if you are already a professional, the disadvantages of using this product, might prove to be burdensome. Do not get us wrong, it still works great, but for experienced “dehydrators,” the negative things about this machine, might just be too much to bear.
All in all, it is a good food dehydrator that does its job. Further, it pushes its boundaries by being able to put in 30 additional trays, which will save you money in the long run as you can dehydrate a lot of type of foods in one go. Definitely, this dehydrator sets the standard for beginner type of food dehydrators.
