Chefman RJ43-SQ-9 Review

Why do you need a food dehydrator in your life? Oh, let me count the ways. Food dehydrators save families money in the long run while enabling users to create foods and snacks devoid of harmful preservatives. Why waste money on costly dried foods that might not be up to the standards of the food that you normally serve your family? Wouldn’t you prefer the comfort and control that comes from dehydrating your own food to your own specifications? That’s why food dehydrators have become one of the most trendy kitchen appliances. It’s not a coincidence.

The idea of owning a food dehydrator and preserving foods naturally has become increasingly popular in recent years. As a culture, we are all becoming more  more concerned about maintaining personal health and the health of our families. It’s all too easy to slowly poison each other with unhealthy snack foods that can fill a pantry at an undeniably low price. However, snack foods can be healthy too and dehydrated fruits and meats are some of the healthiest (not to mention tastiest!) snack foods available. The only challenge comes in determining which food dehydrator to bring into your home. There are an abundance of devices on the market. However, looking for a few specific factors makes finding the ideal dehydrator less of a challenge. Let’s dig into some of those now before exploring how the Chefman RJ43-SQ-9 stacks up against the competition.

Size – Dehydrators come in a variety of sizes that hold anywhere from four to ten trays. If you are planning on preserving large quantities of food, it’s wise to select a larger model that holds the maximum number of trays. This way, you will be able to get all of your food dehydrated in a single batch.

Box/shelf versus stackable – Some dehydrators are designed in a box configuration in which you simply slide trays in and out. Other versions stack one tray atop another. Box versions tend to circulate the dry heat more evenly while being better at maintaining a constant temperature. So this is an important quality to look out for.

Power – The devices range in the amount of power they emit and use from 125 to 1,000 watts. More powerful dehydrators get the job done more efficiently and quickly. These dehydrators are also better equipped to maintain heat temperatures. So, this is very much a case of “more is more.”

Accessories – The majority of units come with instruction manuals. Some additionally offer recipe booklets. Other extras include automatic timers, digital thermometers and readouts plus interior lighting. Certain models might also come packaged with jerky-making guns, non-stick mats, and other non-essentials. It really depends on the company and product. These are all quite nice bonuses, but never value the accessories over the quality of the machine. It’s all too easy to be distracted by those bells and whistles.

Chefman RJ43-SQ-9

The name Chefman has long been associated with quality small kitchen appliances. Their dehydrator is no exception. The Chefman Dehydrator Professional Multi-TierPreserver was designed to be an affordable device with plenty of space to preserve large quantities of food. The unit measures 14 inches x 17 inches x 18 inches. However, it only weighs 13.5 pounds, which provides ample interior dehydrating space while remaining portable when needed. That’s actually surprisingly rare in this industry, where machines can often by quite bulky and cumbersome.

The dehydrator comes with nine 13-inch x 12-inch trays made from BPA-free plastic (providing some extra safety for you and your family). The unit also comes with a protective food tray and a drip pan. All the trays easily slide in and out of the Chefman, which makes clean-up a breeze. Use as many or as few trays as needed. This machine can dehydrate a vast batch of food at once or just enough for a quick snack. The choice is yours.

The front of the unit features a transparent glass door which slides up and down and is completely removable for tray insertion or replacement. The clear glass also enables users to easily view the progress of drying foods without having to open the door and, in the process, allowing the heat to escape. The removable door combined with complete access to the interior also enables ease of cleaning (which sadly, is not as common on food dehydrators as you might hope).

The Chefman uses electricity to produce the heat needed for dehydrating. The rear of the unit features a fan in the centre of the device, which ensures that the heated air circulates a full 360 degrees to adequately travel throughout the interior of the dehydrator without the need to rearrange the trays. This box/shelf style dehydrator also features an exhaust fan on the top of the unit, which eliminates excessive heat and moisture.

This professional food dehydrator also has 600 watts of power, which is sufficient to dry all types of meats in addition to having the ability to process fruits, vegetables and herbs. The device is also designed to function without emitting a great deal of noise, which enables you to run the unit during the night without sacrificing sleep or causing disruption during the day. This machine machine does it’s work quietly and efficiently without any unwanted distractions.

The top front of the unit boasts a digital readout with simple touch settings for preset temperatures and drying times. The control panel also offers one-touch buttons to turn the unit on/off as well as set the temperature and the drying time. You can also increase or decrease the settings using the + and – buttons. The internal thermometer adjusts from 95 degrees to 158 degrees Fahrenheit. The automatic timer runs up to 19.5 hours before turning the unit off. The variable temperature and timer settings make it easier to adjust the dehydration process for specific types of foods.

For the sake of convenience, the Chefman dehydrator is also equipped with nine computerized preset temperature settings. You need simply use one of the preset readings for the type of food you desire to preserve. This feature is wonderful when first getting used to operating the dehydrator. It makes things easier so that you can dehydrate like an expert even if you’ve just started to learn the basics of proper food dehydration. This machine truly has it all.