Owner Review by Amanda Tikkanen

Owner Review: Nesco/American Harvest Snackmaster Express (Model FD-60)

Name: Amanda Tikkanen
Age: 23
Gender: Female
Height: 5'4" (1.6 m)
Weight: 135 lb (61 kg)
Email address: uberpest at uberpest dot com
City, State, Country: LaGrange, Indiana, USA

Date: February 20, 2005

Backpacking Background:

I have been backpacking and hiking for five years throughout Michigan and Indiana, covering several hundred miles, always with a dog by my side. Beau has been happily carrying a pack for two years. Before Beau I hiked with Lucy, who is now retired.

In the past I have used a tarp with ground sheet, but have gone back to using a tent due to its bug and weather resistance. My base pack weight is usually around 20 lb (9 kg) for summer. I haven't started much winter packing yet, so I don't have a pack weight for that at this time.

Product Information:

Manufacturer: Nesco/American Harvest
Year of manufacture: 2002
URL: http://www.nesco.com

Specifications
Dimensions: 13.25" W x 9" H (35 cm W x 23 cm H)
Power: AC 120V/500W

Product Description:
The Nesco/American Harvest Snackmaster Express Food Dehydrator is a cylindrical dehydrator. The fan, thermostat, and motor are mounted in the top of the unit. The top of the unit lifts off the trays to access drying foods. The trays rest on a circular platform, which has legs to keep the unit from resting directly on a countertop. The bottom of the unit also has a condensation tray to catch any drips from drying foods. The stock configuration is 4 trays, each 13.25" wide x 1.25" high (35 cm W x 3.25 cm H). Additional trays are available from the manufacturer or other retailers, and this unit will accept up to 12 trays (sold separately). Additional extras are Clean-A-Screens for small items (a mesh tray liner perfect for corn or broccoli), and fruit leather sheets (a solid tray liner, one is included with the unit).

Field Information:

We dehydrated food when I was a kid both for snacks and for my brother's Boy Scout troop. I received this dehydrator several years ago as a gift as I was constantly borrowing my Mom's dehydrators. I have used it extensively ever since making snacks and backpacking meals. I have dried vegetables, jerky, pre-cooked meats, fruits, fruit leathers, kidney beans, and refried beans. I don't dry eggs at home because I worry about the risk of salmonella.

I usually dry 2-3 lb (approximately 1 kg) of vegetables at a time, which I later add to Lipton or ramen noodles on the trail. With meats I make either beef or venison jerky, or I dry pre-cooked canned chicken. When rehydrating foods I place the dried items with enough boiling water to cover in a Ziploc freezer bag, then wait until the water is absorbed (about 15 minutes) before adding to my meals. Cooking pasta and rice at home and dehydrating for trips will reduce food prep time on the trail to about half of the original cooking times. Typically dehydrating will reduce meats to 25% of their original weight and vegetables to about 20%.

I was happy with how much faster this unit is than the two units my mother has. I'm used to 24 hours for jerky to dry and this dried the jerky in less than 12 hours. Most fruits and vegetables, when sliced thinly, will dry in 6-12 hours.

The only issue I have had with this unit is that when using the solid (fruit leather) trays I had to be careful how I put food on the trays. Food in the center of the tray dried more slowly, so I had to spread things like applesauce and refried beans thinner in the center of the trays.

This unit does not have an on/off switch. It does have a thermostat, which adjusts from 95-155 degrees F (35-68 degrees C) so you can dry foods at varying temperatures, which is what most dehydrating books recommend.

The trays were easy to use and I didn't have any trouble cleaning them. Using the Clean-A-Screen mesh inserts definitely helped when drying vegetables such as corn since the dried kernels would otherwise fall through the holes in the trays. The trays were simple to stack up for use, and I appreciated the design with didn't require rotating trays. This meant I could leave the unit while I was at work or sleeping and know that the foods would be dry when I came back.

Summary:

Likes:

Ease of use
Adjustable thermostat

Dislikes:

No on/off switch
Most accessories are sold separately (additional fruit leather sheets, Clean-a-Screens, and trays)

Bottom Line:

This was an easy unit to get to use. I didn't have to fuss with it much, which cut down on meal prep times when getting ready for the trail. When I want to drop everything and go, this was a great bonus.

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Read more gear reviews by Amanda Tikkanen

Reviews > Food Preparation Gear > Dehydrators > Nesco-American Harvest Express FD-60 > Owner Review by Amanda Tikkanen

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