Dehydrator Manuals
Ronald
Did you purchase a used dehydrator and need to know how it works? Or did you lose yours? You can grab a free dehydrator manual for most machines using these links. Keep it on your computer or print it out for a physical book to take notes in!
Looking for a manual for your NESCO product? Simply choose from the list of products below and download the pdf. Many of the manuals can be used for more than one model, so if the model number you are looking for is not here, try viewing a manual for another model. All manuals are subject to change.
Dehydrators work by removing moisture from food through a combination of heat and airflow. They all have some type of tray stacking system that lets you lay out the bits and pieces you want dehydrated, coupled with a venting system on the top, which allows the moisture from the dehydrating process to escape. This combination gives you total control during the dehydration procedure with the option to produce soft and chewy tidbits or hard tack leather jerky.
Food items such as fruits, vegetables or pieces of meat are laid out on trays with slats or holes in them. Once laid out, they are stacked one on top of the other and placed in a sealed cabinet. These cabinets generally have a fan to circulate the air and a heating source for temperature regulation. The fan blows this heated air, which swirls over and around the food on the trays, slowly drying them out, while vent holes on top whisk this moisture away. As the moisture in the food evaporates, the food dries out which stops the action of enzymes and bacteria, preserving the food. It can then be packaged and stored for later consumption.
Cutting fruits and vegetables to between 1/8 and 1/4 inch is considered the optimal size for ideal drying. These pieces should be laid out on the trays with plenty of room between slices to allow generous airflow to circulate. Although instructions for different dehydrators will vary, fruits and vegetables should be dried at a temperature between 110 and 130 degrees F.
As the drying process continues, trays should be rotated from top to bottom allowing even and consistent drying time for all the pieces. In general, the higher the temperature used in the dehydrating process, the more often the trays will need to be rotated.
When any kind of meat or poultry is dried, it is called jerky. One pound of meat dries to about 1/4 pound of jerky, and depending upon your preferences, you can make jerky soft and pliable or nearly as hard as a rock.
To make jerky out of raw meat, it will need to be heated, boiled or cooked to 160 degrees F to kill off all of the salmonella bacteria. It can then be cut into slices or chunks, laid out on the trays as you would with fruit or vegetable slices, and then dehydrated to make your favorite jerky.
One tool that has been around for a long time is this apple slicing device. The model below is cast iron and is over 20 years old (and still going). For processing fruit like apples and pears, it works like a charm to slice, peel, and core simultaneously.
If you do want to remove skins from fruits like peaches, apricots, or tomatoes, dip them in boiling water for up to 60 seconds. Next place in cold water for another 60 seconds, or until the skins start to crinkle and lift. The skins will now come off easily by hand.
Ascorbic acid: Dissolve 1 tablespoon of pure ascorbic acid into 1 quart of water. Add sliced or chopped food to the solution and let sit for no longer than one hour. Remove, drain, and rinse lightly before adding to dehydrator trays. You can usually find ascorbic acid at your local health food or grocery store.
Citric acid: Dissolve 1 tablespoon of citric acid in crystalline form. Treat as above. Citric acid is only 1/8 as effective as ascorbic acid and will give your fruits a tarter taste. Buy citric acid at your local health food or grocery store.
Fruit juice: Stir 1 cup lemon juice into 1 quart of water. Dip fruit for up to 10 minutes, and then drain well. Like citric acid above, fruit juice is not as effective as ascorbic acid (about 1/6 as much) and will leave a tart taste on fruit.
For the best dried fruit, choose high quality produce that was picked when ripe. Ripe fruit is at its peak sugar content, which means sweeter snacks. But watch for anything overripe or bruised: these may turn black while drying.
For fruits like apples, bananas, peaches, and nectarines, drying times will range from 6 to 16 hours. Apricots, grapes, figs, and pears can take anywhere between 20 to 36 hours. Check every 2 to 3 hours within those ranges, rotating trays if necessary.
Vegetables dry more quickly than fruits, but they also spoil more quickly. Take care when preparing and do everything you can to preserve their freshness before drying.
That includes storing in the fridge or on produce-saving paper, only preparing as much as you can handle in one load, and washing in cold water.
Remove any tough pieces of skin or stem, cutting away bruises and spots. Slice to an even thickness using a food processor or spiralizer. Choose smaller lengths over larger ones to speed drying. Blanch where necessary (as noted above).
Place on dehydrator trays without overlapping and dry at 125 F. Tomatoes and onions are the exception and are best dried at 145 F. Drying times will range from 4 to 10 hours depending on the vegetable and size of your pieces.
When dehydrating cooked meat, remove fat and cut into cubes about inch. Spread on trays and dry at 145 F. Most cooked meats will take between 6 and 12 hours to dry fully. Pat dry if any oil surfaces during the dehydration process. You can also dehydrate (cooked) ground beef in the same way.
To prepare nuts for dehydrating, soak overnight in a solution of salt and water (about 1 tablespoon sea salt to 4 cups of nuts covered in water). Drain and spread in a single layer on dehydrator trays. Dry at 145 F for 12 to 24 hours. This recipe works well for cashews, almonds, pecans, walnuts, and pumpkin seeds.
Dried fruit tastes extra sweet because dehydrating concentrates sugar while removing water vapor. There is more sugar per gram in dried fruit than fresh fruit, but dehydrating fruit does not increase sugar content overall.
In some cases, yes. Dehydrating food at higher temperatures does lead to the death of enzymes. Denser foods can withstand higher temperatures without losing enzymes, but most enzymes will eventually become inactive when temperatures rise above 140 to 158 F.
Freeze drying works by lowering the temperature inside a vacuum-sealed chamber and then raising the temperature until the water in the food changes from a liquid to a gas. A freeze-dryer typically costs anywhere from $2,000 to $6,000.
Drying fruits and veggies is a great way to make your harvest last and reduce food packaging. Preparing your own dehydrated food for outdoor adventures and long- or short-term emergency storage can help you feel prepared and secure.
Dried pig ears are expensive to buy but if you can get raw pig ears then they can cost around a third of the price or less. Stick them on the dehydrator and once done you wont be able to tell them apart from the ones you buy in pet shops (except that they may be a lot larger!). They are easy to buy raw online if you have trouble getting them locally.
Salmon super-food, but a bit oily and wont last as long. But you know what? That oil is super healthy ?Freeze for 1 hour to firm salmon. Like the beef slice your salmon into strips about 1/8th of an inch thick.
Place salmon on tray while making sure they are evenly spread and not touching. Check user guide for drying instructions. These will be dried at 70C (158f) for 8-10 hours or until they are hard and dry all the way through followed by 10 minute stint in the oven.
Dehydrators are also excellent for drying fruit and vegetables so things like bananas, apples and sweet potatoes can be dried to make dog treats. For me I prefer to use meat simply because my dog prefers it.
This is the first and original dog treat recipe using a dehydrator that was published on the internet and inspired many other websites to copy it, but they cut out all the important info. This is also the second most popular homemade dog treat recipe behind my recipe for liver cake for dogs that I have on my site.
I was looking for a recipe to do beef jerky for dogs, and I found you. This has literally made my day thank you so much! I have a question? You said that of the treats would last up to 3 days I a cool dry place. My question is could I store it in the refrigerator to keep longer?
Love the ideas. I dehydrated for the first time today in a dehydrator. I cooked the venison steak first then thinly sliced it and it dehyrated quite quickly for about 3 hours. Do i need to put in oven or because i already cooked it are they now ok at room temperature? Thank you
What temperature do we use for these recipes? I just gotnmy dehydrator today and am trying to make my own treats for my dogs. I have 8 dogs and own a kennel so i figure it would be cheaper to make my own.
I cant say. They are not designed to dry so every device will vary. Dehydrators are so cheap and so cheap to run, you may as well buy one if you plan to do it often else just keep to the shop bought treats
Thank you for such a brilliant article, I have made you liver cake (although I make it in a small oblong baking tray and then cut it into small squares) with great success. I do have a dehydrator, actually I have two of the circular ones lol. I will be training a new puppy in about a months time and wanted some natural training treats ( I hate looking at some packets and needing a chemistry degree to decipher..) I was wondering if using a vac pack machine would help to prolong the shelf life?
Hi
Ive started a small business selling 100% natural dehydrated pet treats. I had them shelf life tested at a laboratory which determined they would last 12 weeks in a cool dry place. Is it possible to freeze them after cooking and if so will they still have a shelf life of 12 weeks after removing from the freezer.
Jan