Presto 06301 Dehydro Review

Performance Comparison

Consistent and accurate

The Dehydro has accurate temperature controls, displaying minor variance at the lowest temperature setting. The food produced by this machine is uniform and scrumptious, though the beef jerky was a little too dry by some tasters' standards.

Easy of Use

The Presto is not as straightforward to operate as other machines. However, after a careful read of the instructions is made, the controls are simple enough to operate. Our chief complaint — admittedly a minor one — is that when the timer runs out, one must clear the temperature setting to add more time.

Clean-Up and Storage

If you've read through more than one of our dehydrator reviews, then you may have noticed a theme: cleaning these machines can be a bit of a nuisance. The Dehydro is no different. In this case, the trays are the issue. These trays have bigger gaps between the slats and thus risk smaller pieces of food falling through them. The other problem is that the trays have some tight corners and spaces that make sticky substances hard to wipe out. The good news is that the trays are the body of the machine, and as such, they can easily be wiped into the trash or soaked in the sink. Once cleaned, the trays nest inside one another for compact storage.

Value

While the Presto 06301 Dehydro isn't the most economical machine based on its capacity, it certainly produced good results with minimal fuss. Moreover, it is a machine that one can grow with, literally. If you like to dry foods and want to do more of it, you can buy more trays. For these reasons, we think that this machine is worth the money spent.

Conclusion

This low-capacity dehydrator delivers high-quality dried food at a reasonable price. While the trays are a bit of a pain to clean, they nest inside one another to reduce the storage size. Extra trays are available from the manufacturer, so if your appetite for dried food grows, so can your dehydrator. While the Presto isn't the archetype dehydrator, its unique features, such as nesting trays, are pretty cool and utilitarian. The machine has accurate temperature controls and is relatively easy to clean up. Finally, it breaks down to dimensions smaller than other models. If you're new to dehydrating or simply don't have much space to store one of these machines, then check out the Presto.