Presto 06300 Dehydro Electric Food Dehydrator, Standard

This dehydrator is great, easy to use, easy to store, easy cleanup, nice price!

I purchased a Presto popcorn maker a few months back, and was very happy with it, so I chanced buying a much less expensive no-frills Presto dehydrator instead of one from the bigger brands. I've been very happy with it, but, I've never used any other so I can't compare. In reviews of the bigger brand dehydrators, people boast about quicker dryer times, but what I've read in recipes from users of these same dehydrators, mine dries just as fast. I've only done fruit leathers, and bought it primarily to do these. It takes 6-7 hours depending on how thick my mix is. I'm still tinkering with my recipes. The applesauce/gelatin mixes take longer than fruit purees, I've found. I'm not a jerky person, but would like to try it just to see how my machine does. I'm a little wary about keeping meat at such low temps for such long periods of time (I know that meat has to be cooked before or after dehydrating.). Someone said this machine goes to about 140. The more $$$ ones don't go much higher than that. So guess it's not a concern and that a more pricey, higher wattage model wouldn't make much difference. I'm so not a cook which is another reason why I hesitate on the jerky. Our meat doesn't look very good in store to begin with plus having to marinade a full day... Anyway, I like it for fruit leathers. I'll eat 4 trays' worth in a day's time, easily. I'm glad I'm the only one in the house who likes these! Even so, I want to buy more trays, and buy the fruit leather sheets. I've been lining my trays with parchment paper (Found this tip in a blog.). A roll is about $4.00, and will do about 3 sessions' worth (for 4 trays). It works well, but a pain to mess with, and not very cost effective IMO. My grocery is putting it on closeout now (and still costs $3.50!!) so it's time to shell out the Wheaties for the sheets. It looks like they'll work well too because they have high edges which should keep the trays from rubbing and getting fruit goo from one sheet onto the bottom of the adjoining tray (a prob I'm having now).My mom wants dried apples, so going to have to try that. I drink spearmint tea, so should save some $ there by drying leaves from my mom's spearmint plant instead of buying tea. I think this will turn out to be a good investment, though the fruit leathers alone make it worth it to me! I mix 1/2 a crate of strawberries, a 1/2 crate of blackberries (about 8 of each), a 1/2 cup of applesauce, and a 1/4 cup of any fruit juice (Minute Maid Berry Punch is good.). Blend it, then pour on oiled parchment paper (I use shortening to oil mine.). Mine turned out a little thick and only covered 3 trays so will use more juice next time. SO GOOD!

Works very fast. My last dehydrator didn't have a fan, just a heat element, so there's a learning curve here. This machine does well with thick cut wet items. I did very thick cut apple rings in 6 to 7 hours. Very thin sliced jerky was overdone in 4 hours, was perfect at about 2.5 hours. I used mesh sheets with large diced onion, 14 hours. Bananas, 1/8" thick took 15 hours for crispy chips (they were still a little chewy once you ate them). Any mesh sheets or teflon will only increase this time. The bananas did stick but I peeled them off the tray and flipped them half way thru dry time and they didn't stick again.Space saver when stored. The Presto trays have a system of alternate inverted trays which makes it about half it's height once everything is compacted down.These trays are better quality than my old dehydrator. They feel like a solid plastic laundry basket. I've bought 2 packs of trays so I can do up to 8 at a time.My complaint is about the noise. This machine is louder than my dishwasher and can be heard throughout the house. This is not something I can leave on all night in the kitchen. Because I was doing onions, I put a folding table in my garage and used the machine there so as not to stink up the house and burn our eyes. This is probably how I'll use it for overnight drying, and items with long dying times like bananas.I could also complain that the trays are too big to fit in my kitchen sink and I keep getting water all over the counter trying to clean up. My old ones fit right in. But these Presto trays clean way easier. The food didn't stick as much as my old unit. It would be even quicker if I could soak them in my sink!

It is big. There is no temperature control and no on/off switch. It dehydrate quickly and the items are dehydrated consistently. I purchased the fruit roll up inserts when I first purchased this (older model). I have never needed to buy replacement trays or any replacement parts. I use this less now that my child is older. The first few years, I used it consistently on a weekly schedule and it has tapered down to once a month these days.Still one of the best purchases I ever made.Easy to use.If you dry something messy, the clean up is more challenging, but not horrendous. I'm one of those fairly impatient people. If it was super difficult to clean then I'd have stopped using it. BUT, I have maintained a 10 year relationship with it and have moved cross country twice and locally once in that time and it has been one thing that I haven't relinquished.I felt inclined to write this review 10 years later after trying a friend's newer, fancier, more compact model. It had nothing on my old workhorse other than more bells and whistles, being smaller AND taking 20 hours to dry raspberries. I'm sticking with my Presto. What some reviewers see as flaws, I find ease of use.And it honestly isn't that loud. I recommend not running it in front of your TV or next to your pillow. It is softer sounding than a blow dryer.