Ronco Food Dehydrator, Yogurt Maker and Beef Jerky Machine
by Ronco Inventions
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Product Summary
Manufacturer: Ronco InventionsBrand: Ronco Inventions
Product features:
- Dehydrates foods for snacks, camping, hiking
- Operates silently with convection air flow; no motorized fan
- Includes five trays for drying fruits, vegetables, jerky
- Fruit rollup trays and herb/flower screens sold separately
- Makes yogurt in eight hours
Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Ronco Food Dehydrator, Yogurt Maker and Beef Jerky Machine
Customer Review: Inferior product
Summary: 2 Stars
Executive summary: spend ten dollars more and get the Snackmaster model instead. I've got a Snackmaster FD-50 that I bought a year or so ago, and more recently my sister picked up a Ronco FD5, so I've had a chance to compare the two, side-by-side. Buy the FD-50, not the FD5. Details follow.
First, the Ronco FD5 is slower. It takes up to twice as long to dry food as the Snackmaster. This may not seem like a big deal, but it's the difference between being able to dry three batches of apple slices in a single day off, versus only one batch.
Second, and more important, the Ronco FD5 does not dry evenly. This is probably because it doesn't have a fan, but it's very annoying. For one thing, it means you need to rotate trays. Regularly. It's no good to set the thing going and then go do other things for four hours; you have to stay close enough that you can monitor it and rotate the trays every hour or so; otherwise the bottom trays get dry, and the top ones don't. Additionally and worse, there is no consistency in dryness from piece to piece within the same tray. One piece of fruit will be dry while the piece right next to it is still wet on the surface, let alone in the middle. Not only does this necessitate removing some pieces early and letting others dry longer, but, worse, it also means checking each piece for dryness (by tearing to see if there are moisture droplets inside) before removing it from the dryer. With my Snackmaster 50, I can just tear one or two of the thickest pieces on any tray, and if they are dry, I know all the fruit is dry on all the trays, and there is no need to rotate trays.
Finally (and this is a smaller issue), the bottom of the Ronco model is open to the coil, so that when (not if) you're rotating the trays or removing dry pieces and some pieces drop through the trays by mistake, getting them out means reaching past the heating coil, which is a minor annoyance but one that you will encounter frequently. The Snackmaster's base is covered, except for the central fan area, making this largely a non-issue.
All told, you will spend a lot more time babysitting the Ronco; the Snackmaster is a much more hands-off proposition. The ten dollar price difference does not in my opinion justify the extra aggravation and time investment required to use the FD5.
Description of Ronco Food Dehydrator, Yogurt Maker and Beef Jerky Machine
It's a good time to be jerky! Beef, fish or turkey jerky that is! Make your own with this Ronco Food Dehydrator! SAVE BIG! Now you can make your own delicious jerky right at home and save money doing it! Also make healthy dried fruit, yogurt and fruit roll-ups with no additives or preservatives. Dehydrated food can be preserved for longer periods without refrigeration and has far less weight and bulk... great for backpackers, hikers, campers, boaters! Easy to use: Comes with 5 dishwasher-safe trays; Built to last with powerful heat coil and convection air flow; No noisy fan with a motor to break down; No temperature settings to worry about... it runs at 133 degree; 23" cord, UL-listed; 12 3/4" diam. x 12 1/2" h., 4 lbs., 5 ozs. Don't get jerked around by lesser brands... order ONLINE today! Ronco Food DehydratorThis Ronco dehydrator dries everything from fruits and vegetables to meats and seafood to flowers and herbs to flour-and-water dough for crafts. It makes beef jerky (and other jerkies) and, with the aid of a little unpasturized yogurt as a starter, it also makes yogurt. This 5-tray model is a medium-size convection-air dehydrator, as opposed to the 10- and 15-tray models that use motorized fans, and runs silently. It can take a day or two to dry apple slices, which may be longer than a motorized-fan unit. Up to five trays can be stacked on the base, and then the unit plugs into a wall socket. The included trays are 12-1/2 inches in diameter, the unit is 12-3/4 inches high, and instruction/recipe booklets come with it. For fruit rollups and dried herbs and flowers, special trays and screens can be ordered separately. --Fred Brack
Dehydrators
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