PROS
– Distribution of heat
– Energy efficiency
– Low price
– Quick clean-up
CONS
– No timer
– Uneven drying
– Sometimes noisy
Dehydrating food at home has become quite popular in recent years. But, the benefits to your health are not the only reasons behind this increasing trend. Most deserving of this are cheap and easy to use appliances.
Now that there are many inexpensive units to choose from, more and more people are trying and liking dehydrated produce. Some of the best dehydrators are in our top 10 list so you can check them out.
Specifications
Features
Simple To Use
Versatile Five Tier Trays
When it comes to drying thickly sliced items, this NutriChef model doesn’t disappoint. With standard stacking, this unit accommodates thin slices of meats, veggies, and fruits. But, if you want to try larger pieces of jerky, there are special tabs that expand the total height of each tray.
Smart Lid Vertical Airflow
Easy To Clean
Things We Liked
Things We LikedFor the price, it’s hard not to like this food dehydrator, even though it has limited features. Here are some of the good things we noticed about it during our review:
Capacity
Although this isn’t a large unit, the five trays included with it have a combined area of about 5 square feet. That way you can fit a lot into this unit and cut down the need for multiple drying sessions.
Distribution of heat
Despite this being a model with vertical airflow, we found it fairly good at keeping an even temperature. This reduces the need to check on your batches and rotate trays.
Energy Efficiency
At 250 watts, the heating element on the bottom uses an insignificant amount of power. You won’t have to worry about a bump in your electricity bill, even if you use this food dehydrator often.
Low price
Without the need to invest a lot of money, this unit gives people the ability to make fruit chips, jerky or dried herbs. It may not have many features, but this model is a good starting point.
Quick clean-up
The trays that come with this kitchen food dehydrator are dishwasher safe and easy to clean. However, if you have extra sticky fruit or jerky stains, you can soak them in hot water before washing.
Things We Didn’t Like
Things We Didn’t Like
No thermostat
Without a thermostat, you will be stuck with one temperature. While 180°F is good for drying meat and tougher vegetables, it won’t be suitable for everything. The solution to this, although not ideal, is to check on the unit every hour or so.
No timer
It is not unusual for models in this price range to come without a timer. But, it would still be a useful feature, if for nothing else, then to remind you to rotate your trays. This brings us to our next point.
Uneven drying
Before we expand on this, everyone should know that vertical flow models, especially at this price, require you to rotate trays. If you’ve put a batch of meat into this food dehydrator, don’t make any plans, because you’ll need to check on it.
Sometimes noisy
We don’t think this is a big issue, but some people report that this unit can be somewhat noisy while working. If you have a tiny apartment and an open kitchen, the sound the fan produces might bother you. We were in a busy kitchen, so it wasn’t a significant downside. After all, there are many models out there that are worse in this regard.
Frequently Asked Questions
1.Can I make fruit rolls with this machine?
2. Does this work with 220V?
3. Are the plastic parts BPA free?
4. How many trays can this model stack?
5. Where is this food dehydrator made?
Conclusion
With a good amount of space, the NutriChef Kitchen Electric Countertop Food Dehydrator can do a lot for the money. The airflow and temperature are not ideal, but there’s a remedy. With consideration to what goes where and some tray rotation, you can achieve good results with this unit.
As far as features go, there’s no timer, auto shut off, or thermostat. This model only has an on/off switch and a fixed temperature, but that doesn’t mean it’s a one trick pony. On the contrary, this unit can do many things and works with different recipes. You can make fruit snacks, vegetable chips, and meat jerky, but with more of a hands-on approach.
Dehydration with the NutriChef retains up to 97 percent of the food’s nutritional value and is scientifically tested to reduce spoilage times and best of all, it will still taste great!
I am a first time user of a dehydrator and am using the NutriChef with great success! Before, I used a gas oven. I didn’t turn on the oven, just the pilot light was enough. But now with my NutriChef, I can make all the dried fruit I want without waiting what seemed like forever. It’s a much faster drying time than I thought it would be. Thanks NutriChef for this wonderful product!
How will I know what temperature to set the dehydrator on the selector says low medium and high?
Hi Mike. I was looking around to find you an answer and I came across this data:
Low: 60
Med: 120
High: 180
I hope this helps 🙂