Nesco FD-77DT Digital Food Dehydrator
Nesco FD-77DT is a “Made in USA” compact digital food dehydrator with a 600 watt drying power motor and the patented Converga-Flow dehydration system that is currently offered in two formats of 6 tray value package and the standard model that is roughly 50 dollars cheaper at the time of this review. 6 tray value package comes with 6 trays and can be expanded up to 12 trays if you wish to dry larger quantities at once and the standard model includes 4 trays (also up to 12 trays) and no matter how many trays you use the dehydration will be adjusted automatically. It dries veggies, fruits, beef, herbs, flowers and a variety of other items quickly in a matter of a few hours, evenly and nicely. Air is pushed down the external pressurised chamber horizontally across each tray and converging on the core with the unique patented Converga-Flow drying system and not through the trays and you get more even and quicker distribution of heat generating even tastier results than other dehydration systems. You also certainly do not need to rotate the trays and flavours of different kind of foods on each tray will not be mixed. As a flexible unit, the temperature can be set between 95 and 160 degrees Fahrenheit through the adjustable thermostat so your ingredients will be dried at different temperatures that you desire and giving you the flexibility for the optimal results.
Nesco FD-77DT weighs 11.1 pounds and measures 14 x 14 x 14 inches so it is compact and fairly lightweight and portable to be moved to wherever you want to use it. Fan is mounted at the top so the liquids from foods will not drip into the heating chamber like they may in some other models. The reason it is called digital dehydrator is it has a digital control panel with a red backlit digital display in the middle with time (up to 24 hours) and temperature settings with auto shut-off mechanism for both temperature and time (so you can set it and leave) as well as a start and stop button and a small guide underneath telling you the ideal drying temperature settings for jerky, meats, fruits and veggies, nuts and seeds and herbs and spices. If you choose the 6 tray value package you will also get 6 fruit roll sheets for drying things like fruit rolls and sauces, 6 Clean-A-Screen flexible screens for more convenient drying of very small items like spices and herbs and 6 Original spice and cure packs for making jerky, all of which are valued at 107 dollars. Harmful lights do not get into the unit during dehydration thanks to the opaque Vita-Save exterior. It is easy to use with the convenient digital readout and works very well, is easy to clean as it includes parts that are safe for dishwasher and you will also get a User Manual and a bale handle to help you remove the power head.
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