Nesco Dehydrator

Pam

I want to buy a cheap dehydrator to leave at my mom’s house for when I visit. Can anyone tell me if a Nesco dehydrator has enough “headroom” to do stuffed mushrooms? The trays look really shallow in the picture and I want to make them for my family. I don’t want to buy 4-tray Excalibur because my mom just doesn’t have much space for me to set it up.

Tryingraw

I’m not sure about the headroom to do mushrooms but I really haven’t had much luck with my Nesco dehydrator in general. Doesn’t dehydrate evenly, can’t do breads or patties. I bought it thinking it would be good for an intro dehydrator but wish I had went straight for the Excalibur. I’m giving my Nesco to a friend and just ordered the Excalibur.

rawgramma

Hi Pam! I happen to own a Nesco dehydrator because it was the most affordable way to get started on my raw adventure. The tray depth is one-half inch (I just measured it to be sure). Perhaps not tall enough for stuffed mushrooms. :-(

Pam

Thanks, Tryingraw and rawgramma. I think I’ll go ahead and buy the small Excalibur. My mother has a tendency toward aggressive garage cleaning, and I don’t want her to throw the dehydrator away! I have my family talked into doing a raw night in a couple of weeks… but I know I’m going to have to provide some pretty heavy dishes to entice them. I ought to buy stock in Excalibur. This will be the third one I’ve purchased… one for me, one for my daughter, and now one for mom’s house!

k8lish

I just got my Nesco in the mail yesterday! I just made kale crackers, papaya cubes, zucchini chips, and raisins, and it all turned out really well. I’m trying mushrooms later tonight, hopefully there’s enough room for them..

Pam

Too late! I bought the 4-tray Excalibur. I was going to buy one of the smaller, cheaper Nesco models anyway and I’m pretty sure the 1/2-inch measurement for that model is accurate because that’s how it looks in the picture. I didn’t have to pay shipping on the Excalibur so I think the price difference wasn’t that much between the small Excalibur and one of the better Nescos.

rawmama

I like using the plastic, round, solid trays from the Nesco dehydrator, in my large dehydrator, so I can end up with wedges instead of square crackers, plus nothing sticks to it! Buy the round trays, it’s worth it…