Nesco FD-75PR 700-Watt Food Dehydrator

The unit has several innovative features that set it apart from others. The circulating fan, which is usually mounted in the bottom of the unit, is present in the top, which circulates the warmer air at the top of the unit down to the bottom, which results in more even drying. Additionally, the thermostat is adjustable from 95 to 160 degrees Fahrenheit, which gives you fine control over the drying rate and temperature. But most importantly, the adjustable thermostat and circulating fan cut drying time from days to hours, which any busy cook can appreciate! Keep the thermostat low for delicate fruits and other food products that won’t stand up to an intense heat, but when drying meats or other tough foods, feel free to crank the thermostat up!

The stacking drying trays of the Nesco FD-75PR 700-Watt Food Dehydrator allow you to arrange the trays to your liking - you can also expand the unit to include extra trays if you’re doing a lot of high-volume drying. Even with extra trays added to the unit, there’s absolutely no need to rotate trays as in other models: the top-mounted fan and the intelligent airflow design allows complete drying for all foods that you put in the unit.

As a great bonus, a flexible solid sheet is included that allows you to make tasty fruit leather (yup, just like Fruit Roll-Ups) without resorting to spraying everything with oil to prevent sticking. The sheet is flexible, so once the leather is dry, you can bend the sheet to help peel off the leather. Nesco has also thought to include a Clean-a-Screen as well, which is a finer mesh screen which can be used to prevent food from sticking to the bottom of the trays, but we found that it was absolutely brilliant for drying small herbs and freshly harvested spices; the finer mesh means that nothing is going to fall through the cracks and end up on the bottom of the unit. Ingenious.

If you’re looking for a simple yet powerful dehydrator, then the Nesco FD-75PR 700-Watt Food Dehydrator is an excellent choice. The variable heat setting and the top-mounted fan make it a winner in our books, and the expandability is a great option for people who need to dehydrate a lot of food very quickly. It’s a great, affordable option that gets the job done without unnecessary bells and whistles.