Nesco FD-75A User manual

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Welcome to the fun and exciting world

of food dehydration, and thank you for

choosing Nesco®American Harvest®– “The

world’s fastest, most even drying dehydrators”®

Our long history of developing and manufacturing food

dehydrators and accessories enables us to bring to you

the best in patented drying technology.

If you have any questions regarding your food

dehydrator and/or food dehydration, please contact

our Customer Service Department at 800-288-4545.

We will be happy to assist you.

Customer Satisfaction is our Goal

1-800-288-4545

www.nesco.com

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Dehydrator

& Jerky Maker

ImportantSafeguards ..............................5

DehydratorUseandCare .........................6-7

General Drying Guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8-10

Drying ruits..................................11-12

Drying ruitRolls .................................13

ruitDryingGuidelines .........................14-15

DryingVegetables .............................16-17

Vegetable Drying Guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18-19

DryingJerky ..................................20-23

DryingHerbs .................................24-25

HerbDryingGuide .............................26-27

RehydratingDried oods ..........................28

CookingwithDried ood ..........................28

Recipes .....................................29-35

DryingCrafts .................................36-40

OtherNescoAccessories ..........................41

Warranty and Service Satisfaction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42

OneYearLimitedWarranty .........................43

Index........................................44-46

Table of Contents

The Metal Ware Corporation

1700 Monroe Street

P.O. Box 237

Two Rivers, WI 54241-0237

Part Number 300-01451 rev 02/11

This product is covered by one or more of the following patents: U.S. 4,190,965; 5,420,393;

Reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or part. Printed in the U.S.A.

www.nesco.com

1-800-288-4545

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Important Safeguards

This product is designed for household use only

When using electrical appliances, basic safety precautions should always

be followed, including the following:

1. Read all instructions.

2. Do not touch hot surfaces.

3. To protect against electrical shock, do not immerse power unit or

any part of the dehydrator cord and plug, in water or other liquid.

4. Close supervision is necessary when any appliance is used by or

near children.

5. Unplug from outlet when not in use and before cleaning. Allow the

unit to cool before putting on or taking off parts.

6. Do not operate any appliance with a damaged cord or plug, or after

the appliance malfunctions, or has been damaged in any manner.

Return the appliance to the nearest authorized service facility for

examination, repair or adjustment.

7. The use of accessory attachments not recommended by the

appliance manufacturer may cause injuries.

8. Sharp utensils should not be used inside the dehydrator.

9. Do not let cord hang over edge of table or counter, or touch

hot surfaces.

10. Do not use outdoors. Always dehydrate indoors on a flat surface to

allow sufficient airflow. Never place base on carpet, towel, newspaper,

etc., which can block airflow to the bottom of base and cause failure.

Never cover entire unit with anything, as that will cause failure. The

dehydrator needs an open, breathable space to function properly.

11. Do not place on or near a hot gas or electric burner or in a

heated oven.

12. Do not use this appliance for other than its intended use.

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6 1-800-288-4545

SAVE THESE INSTRUCTIONS

NOTE: This appliance has a polarized plug (one blade wider than the other).

To reduce the risk of electrical shock, this plug will fit on a polarized outlet

only one way. If the plug does not fit fully into the outlet, reverse the plug. If it

still does not fit, contact a qualified electrician. Do not attempt to defeat this

safety feature.

Short Cord Instructions – a short power supply cord is provided to reduce

the risk resulting from becoming entangled in or tripping over a longer

cord. Extensions cords may be used if care is exercised in their use. If an

extension cord is used, the marked electrical rating of the cord should be

at least as great as the electrical rating of the appliance. The longer cord

should be arranged so that it will not drape over the tabletop where it can

be pulled on by children or tripped over unintentionally.

Dehydrator Use and Care

Trays/Base

Your dehydrator trays are easy to clean. Simply soak in warm water with a mild

detergent for several minutes. A soft-bristle brush will loosen food particles that

resist softening by soaking. Don’t clean any parts with scouring pads, abrasive

cleaners, or sharp utensils, as they tend to damage the surface. Trays/base can

be washed on the top rack of your dishwasher if you remove them before the

drying cycle.

CAUTION: Remove trays/base before the beginning of drying cycle of your

dishwasher.

Power Head Unit

Use a damp soft cloth or towel to remove any dried food residue from the power

head unit. Avoid dripping any water or other liquid into electrical parts. CAUTION:

DO NOT IMMERSE POWER UNIT IN WATER OR OTHER LIQUID! Do NOT remove

any parts from the power head unit!

CAUTION: Be sure power head unit is unplugged before cleaning.

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Precautions

ollow these safety rules when dehydrating food:

• When drying liquids, sauces or purees, use a ruit Roll sheet, available from

NESCO®/American Harvest®.

• When drying jerky with a Power Head Unit located on bottom, place a ruit

Roll sheet on the bottom tray. The ruit Roll sheet will catch drips and make

cleaning easier.

• Wash hands thoroughly prior to handling food.

• Clean all utensils and containers with a mild solution of detergent, bleach

and water before using.

• Make sure all countertops and cutting boards are thoroughly cleaned in the

manner above before using. Wooden or plastic cutting boards should be

thoroughly disinfected.

• Keep foods in the refrigerator before preparing for drying. Store dried foods in

refrigerator or freezer.

• After opening sealed containers of dried food, use food as soon as possible.

• Store opened containers of dried food tightly sealed in the refrigerator to

maintain freshness and quality.

• Do not spray vegetable oil directly onto surface of trays.

• Do not dehydrate foods that have been prepared with or marinated in alcohol.

• Trays are only intended to be used with your NESCO®/American Harvest®

ood Dehydrator. Do not use trays either in a conventional oven or with any

other appliance.

• Always use at least 4 trays when drying in your dehydrator, even if tray(s) are

empty.

Service

Should you experience any problems with your dehydrator, please call Customer

Satisfaction at NESCO®/American Harvest®at 1-800-288-4545.

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General Drying Guidelines

Certain varieties of produce, the humidity in the air, and even methods of food

handling make quite a difference in the drying time and quality of the dried product.

• Experiment with different drying temperatures, thickness of produce,

pre-treatment versus no pre-treatment and different re-hydration methods.

You will determine what works best for your particular needs and preferences.

• To save nutrients and produce a quality product, it is necessary to work fast

preparing foods to dry. When placed in your dehydrator, they need to dry

continuously at the recommended temperatures and times. Do not turn off your

dehydrator or leave partially dried food on the trays as it may spoil or develop

“off” flavors.

• Spread all foods evenly to dry in single layers. If slices overlap, the areas that are

overlapped will take twice as long to dry.

• Do not add fresh produce to a partially dried batch. It will slow the rate of drying

for both products. It is possible, however, to combine partially dried foods on to

fewer trays.

• Many people have more than one NESCO®/American Harvest®dehydrator. If you

have two, it’s easy to combine a load from both dehydrators after a few hours and

start a new batch in your second dehydrator using the remaining trays.

Selecting oods To Dry

Select the best quality produce at the peak of ripeness and flavor. Wash carefully

to remove debris, dust and insects. Cut away bruised or damaged sections.

Loading Trays

Lay food pieces evenly on trays. Don’t overlap food pieces, as this will inhibit

drying time. As each tray is loaded, place it on the dehydrator to begin drying.

Drying Time

Because of the unique design of the patented Converga- low®system of your

NESCO®/American Harvest®dehydrator, you’ll be surprised at how quickly most

foods dry.

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Drying Time (continued)

Drying times may vary, depending on the type and amount of food, thickness and

evenness of the slices, percentage of water in the food, humidity, temperature of

air, altitude and the model of NESCO®/American Harvest®dehydrator you are

using. Drying times may also vary greatly from one area to another and from day

to day, depending on the climatic conditions. Keep records to help you predict

drying times for specific foods.

Drying Temperature

ruits, fruit rolls and vegetables should be dried at 130oto 140o(55oto 60oC).

By drying foods in this temperature range you will minimize the loss of

heat-sensitive vitamins A and C. All foods sweat when they begin to dry, the

temperature may be set higher than 140o(60oC) during the first couple of

hours of drying. The actual temperature of the food will remain 15oto 20o

(6oto 8oC) lower than the air temperature for the first couple of hours.

Meats and fish should be dried on the highest temperature setting of your

dehydrator. These temperatures also keep bacteria and other spoilage

micro-organisms, common to meat and fish, to a minimum during the

first stages of drying.

Nuts and seeds are high in oil, and if higher temperatures are used, they will tend to

become rancid, developing off flavors. The best temperature is from 90oto 100o

(30oto 40oC).

Herbs and spices are most flavorful when they first open and should be harvested

while very fresh, before they begin to blossom. Because the aromatic oils are very

sensitive, temperatures should be 90oto 100o(30oto 40oC) for drying. Take care

not to load trays too heavily as this will prolong the drying time.

Dried flowers, herbs and spices used for potpourri should be dried at temperatures

ranging from 90oto 100o(30oto 40oC) to maintain aroma and color.

Packaging

Some pieces may dry in a shorter time than others. The dried food should be

removed and placed in an airtight container while allowing the rest of the pieces to

remain in the dehydrator until sufficiently dry.

Package all dried foods promptly to prevent contamination and to prevent

stickiness and re-hydration caused by humidity. Store dried foods in airtight,

moisture proof containers.

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10 1-800-288-4545

Home vacuum packaging devices are ideal for packaging dried foods. They extend

the shelf life of dried foods 3 to 4 times.

Since most packaging materials are transparent, store packaged dried foods in a

plastic or metal container that will not allow the light to penetrate. Do not store

fruits and vegetables together in the same storage container because flavor and

moisture may transfer.

ruit rolls are best if removed while still warm. Wrap in plastic wrap and place in

airtight moisture-proof containers for storage.

Onions and tomatoes are especially prone to absorb moisture from the air and

should be packaged immediately after removing from the dehydrator.

Testing for Dryness

ood must be monitored during the final stages of dehydrating to prevent

over-drying. Over-dried foods lose quality in texture, nutrition and taste. To test for

dryness, remove a piece of food, let it cool and feel with your fingers for dryness.

• ruits are pliable and leathery with no spots of moisture. Tear in half, pinch and

watch for moisture drops along tear. If no moisture then it is sufficiently dry for long

term storage.

• ruit rolls should be leathery with no sticky spots.

• Jerky should be tough, but not brittle.

• Dried fish should be tough, but not brittle. If the fish is high in fat it may appear

moist due to the high oil content.

• Vegetables should be tough or crisp.

If foods are insufficiently dried, or are exposed to moisture from faulty packaging,

they can lose quality and nutrition, and can even mold during storage.

Storage

The storage area should be cool, dry and as dark as possible. The darker and

cooler the storage area, the longer the dried foods will last with good quality and

nutritive value.

The ideal storage temperature for dehydrated food is 60o(15oC) to below freezing.

The ideal storage place is your freezer or refrigerator, particularly for storing low

acid foods such as meats, fish and vegetables.

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