American Harvest Dehydrators: Now Under The NESCO Brand

In 1997 American Harvest was taken over by The Metal Ware Corporation formerly the National Enamelling and Stamping Company (NESCO).  This means that American Harvest dehydrators have been rebranded as NESCO. 

Mostly they have kept them as a dual-brand – NESCO/American Harvest, but lately, the American Harvest name has been dropped.  People are still searching for American Harvest dehydrators so we wanted to update you on these amazing products.

Almost all the major food groups can be dehydrated. These include fruits, vegetables, meats, nuts, grains, and herbs. 

There are many methods of dehydrating food including air drying and sun drying which are the traditional methods. Ovens can also be used for dehydrating food. 

However, the best way to dry food these days is to use an electric home food dehydrator. This saves precious time and you can process large quantities of food in less time.

Dehydrators by AMERICAN HARVEST/NESCO can be grouped into 4 categories

• Basic 
• Snackmaster 
• Garden master
• Jerky 

We will have a look at the best product from each of these categories.

Material: Plastic 

Power: 400 W

Dimensions: 14.12 × 9.25 × 14.25 inches 

This American Harvest dehydrator is one of the earliest models released by NESCO. 

The transparent lid allows you to see what is happening inside during the drying process. 

Temperature settings are fixed and the heat is supplied by a 400 watts powerhead.

Also, this handy home dehydrator comes with 4 BPA-free, dishwasher-safe trays and is expandable with additional trays up to 7. 

It uses fan-forced radial airflow technology that ensures food being dried gets an even supply of air without the need for tray rotation. 

Therefore, it is an ideal product if you don’t need to dry food in large amounts or need it for your personal use only.

This American Harvest Dehydrator comes with a user manual to help you utilize it efficiently and a starter pack for jerky. 

Material: Plastic 

Dimensions: 13.75 × 22.13 × 13.87 inches 

Power: 600 watts 

This American Harvest Dehydrator made by NESCO is one of their top sellers. 

It has been specially designed by the company to cater to your needs and is ideal for making healthy snacks at home.  This way you can avoid the high fat and sugar snacks available at the supermarket.  

Also, an adjustable thermostat gives you the flexibility to dry different foods at various temperatures to ensure they are processed correctly.  The temperature can be adjusted from 95 to 160° F. 

A powerful 600W motor gives even heat distribution.  Also, the manufacturer states it can dry foods up to 4 times faster than other home food dehydrators. 

In addition, it comes with five trays with a great capacity of 13 & ½ “ diameter. 

However, capacity can be expanded, as it can house an additional 5 trays taking the total to 12.  But, you will have to purchase separately.

An opaque exterior helps retain important vitamins and nutrients by blocking light from outside. 

A feature that sets this American Harvest Dehydrator apart from its competitors is its Converge-flow technology.  Hot air is forced around the unit and horizontally across each tray.  This ensures even drying without the need for tray rotation. 

Using this technology, you can dry different foods at one time without having the flavors mixing.

This made in the USA product is very easy to assemble and clean.  Included in the package are 2 fruit roll sheets, 2 clean-a-screens, a jerky starter pack, and a 52-page instruction and recipe book.  

Material: Plastic 

Power: 1000 W

Dimensions:  17 × 15.5 × 14 inches 

A Gardenmaster FD-1018A is the pro-version of the American Harvest Dehydrators.  That is why this model is your best choice for large capacity.  It is called gardenmaster because it is ideal for those wanting to preserve garden produce that is often ripening all at once.

It comes with 8 dishwasher-safe, BPA trays.  However, this behemoth can be expanded to a massive 30 trays for large batches.  Again, you will need to purchase these separately.  

Further, it has an adjustable thermostat that is conveniently located on the base of the machine.  It allows a temperature range of 95-160 ° F. 

Additionally, the best part of this home food dehydrator is the powerful 1000 watt motor.   As a result, it takes less time to dehydrate large quantities of food.

Moreover, there is no need for tray rotation because this model of American Harvest Dehydrators also employs Converga-flow technology. 

The only other major difference is that the motor is located at the base of the unit.  Therefore, the noise level is minimum, and cleaning it is quick and easy – just ensure to wipe the base unit once it has cooled.

A NESCO Gardenmaster Pro/American Harvest dehydrator comes with 8 fruit roll sheets, 8 clean-a-screens, a jerky spice pack, and a 52-page recipe and instruction book.

If you are a jerky lover then this American Harvest Dehydrator is for you. Because it has a fixed temperature of 160°F which is the optimum temperature to make jerky. 

The capacity is 4 trays which can be expanded up to 7, giving 7 feet of drying capacity.  Therefore, you can produce 7 pounds of jerky in any one batch. 

Power is supplied by a top-mounted motor which produces 350 watts. That ensures an even distribution of the hot air.  As a result, there is no need to rotate the trays during the drying process.  It is durable as well as easy to clean and control.

Further, it comes with a jerky gun, three tip attachments, cure packs, and 3 types of jerky seasoning.  These include Teriyaki, Original, Pepperoni, and Hot and Spicy. 

Use the NESCO JerkyXpress/American Harvest Dehydrator to make your own jerky.  Moreover, save about one-third on the price of store-bought jerky and avoid and add chemicals.

Finally, this one-touch operation unit is perfect for those wanting to start to make their own jerky. 

But, be sure to read the instructions before you try to make jerky because you don’t want to waste time and money by getting it wrong.

Read more: How Long To Dehydrate Jerky For The Best Results

Conclusion

NESCO is one of the leading companies that manufacture quality appliances in the USA.  The fact that they bought out the American Harvest Dehydrator range has added to their brand authority.  

They have continued to manufacture these quality machines and offer a great range of home food dehydrators and accessories. 

Their support is first-rate and this range of dehydrators reflects their dedication to quality.  So, if you have been looking to buy an American Harvest Dehydrator, just look to the NESCO range for quality, durability, and excellent results.

Read our recent article for some ideas on different foods you can dehydrate with a home food dehydrator.

We also reviewed the differences between a round dehydrator and square dehydrator.