Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I love this product! I bought this and the add-a-tray set for it, with or without the two extra trays within 12-15 hours I have dried fruit chips and great beef jerky.So far I've done 5 pounds of beef into jerky in one batch.I used a non-alcohol marinade of zesty italian dressing with added pepper, soy sauce, worchestershire sauce, and dried herbs on beef round and beef tip steak strips.I could have used far more pepper as I like zingy jerky, but even so the 5 pounds is going fast, it added up dried to enough jerky to fill half a gallon plastic zippy bag.For the fruits I used 1 TBSP Fruit Fresh to 1/4 cup honey and 1/4 cup water in a gallon plastic bag to pre-marinade the sliced fruit for 10 min. or less.I simply sliced bananas into chips and dropped in bag until I had finished 3-4 whole bananas then I placed each slice flat on trays till they were covered in 1 layer. I used the same recipe for every fruit. Blue berries I pre-treated by putting them in colander and dropping it into boiling water for 1-2 min. then ran under cold water to chill, I wished I had dropped them into ice water it would have worked better, or sliced the fat ones in half. they went into dehydrator for 15 hours but only the smaller ones really dried well, so I keep them stored in freezer til use to keep from spoilage, cutting the large ones in half they all would have dried well enough to be stored in bags or jars at room temp. The peaches and strawberries I cut into slices about 1/8-2/8ths inch thick dropped them into marinade bag and then onto trays 1 slice thick.I rotate trays at the 4 hr and 8 hr times so everything gets dried faster. I switch top trays to bottom and on up so botto tray becomes new top tray at 4 hrs. At 8 hr switch I consolidate the 4 driest trays down to 2 and put them on the bottom.I leave the base tray empty for a drip tray even tho you can use it for slices. I found that pre-oiling all the trays lightly with a mist or brushing of canola oil makes removing the dry fruits much easier and the light oil doesn't effect the final flavor at all. 2 large cans of pineapple wedges packed in its own juice from store using same marinade dried down in 12 hrs to 1/2 a plastic quart zippy bag and ran out the door attached to my Brother in Law as soon as it was bagged. I have already placed an order for peaches and pears by the bushel with my local fruit stand so I can dry them. 10 pounds of bananas have already gone with Hubby to work for break snacks instead of him hitting the candy machine 3 times a shift. Cleaning trays is fast and easy with a soft brush and soap and hot water, I don't have a dishwasher and I wouldn't trust the plastic trays in one except on top level without drying cycle.I have yet to find a dishwasher that does washing as well as I do by hand. I do put 1/4 cup bleach per full sink in my wash water for sanitizing items. Spraying the trays after washing with 1/2 solution of white vinegar and water then air drying them would do the same sanitizing that is so important in getting good dried products. I cover all the trays during drying with cloth to keep them from dust and flies between uses. WARNING: everything you make in this will fly out the door faster than any candy or store made jerky, so plan to make far more than you think you will need !!!!! I most certainly would recomend this as a gift to anyone you know for holidays and birthdays !!!!!!!