Gourmia GFD1850 Review

Welcome to the world of food dehydrators. When deciding on the type of food dehydrator to buy, you’ll want to think about a variety of things, including the purpose, capacity, design, and of course budget. Today, we’re looking at the box-style Gourmia GFD 1850 food dehydrator. The appliance functions similar to a typical, small electric oven complete with a bottom fan that circulates the warm air upward, ensuring that the dry heat circulates adequately throughout the interior chamber of the unit. The enclosed box design also offers better insulation compared to alternative stacking dehydrators that are popular in the market.

If you want to determine whether this dehydrator is the right match for your needs, keep reading as we break down its features and list out all its benefits and downsides.

Basic Features

The Gourmia GFD 1850 comes with 10 removable trays and one removable hanging rack. As each tray holds up to one pound of food, there is ample room to process plenty of fruits, vegetables, herbs, and spices simultaneously. The front door of the GFD 1850 is also completely removable and features a clear window that enables users to check on the dehydrating progress without releasing heat or switching off the machine. The magnetic door closing feature ensures a tight fit that the keeps the internal chamber heat constant.

The top of the unit has a convenient touch-style digital read-out display for turning the dehydrator on/off, setting the temperature from 104°-158° F and establishing the length of the drying time. The digital display additionally provides consumers with the chance to check at a glance the remaining processing time, which appears in one-hour increments.

Overall Construction

Each dehydrator is constructed inside and out using BPA-free, heavy-duty polymers. The 10 trays and hanging rack are also BPA-free. This is extremely critical as you don’t want this plastic appliance leeching chemicals into your foods as they dehydrate—compromising your health when it is supposed to be having the opposite impact. Along with being sturdy, the unique design resists staining, and the surfaces are easy to clean. Available in black or white, the Gourmia is built to provide many years of faithful service. The unit requires less space than a microwave oven, as it measures 18 inches x 17.7 inches x 12.5 inches and weighs 15 pounds, so its also easy to place on your kitchen countertop or store in your kitchen cabinet (not the personal Bermuda Triangle one from which appliances never come out!).

Efficient Operation

Boasting 550 watts of power, the GFD 1850 uses less time to dehydrate foods in comparison to less powerful units. Having only to worry about time and temperature adjustments, the unit was created to be user-friendly whether you make the purchase as a complete dehydrating novice or a pro. The spacious interior and 10-tray housing allow users to dry up to 12 apples or similarly-sized produce in a single use (not too shabby we’d say!). For the convenience of consumers, Gourmia packs each dehydrator with a cookbook and an operator’s manual. Both are also readily available on their website, and we for one truly appreciate the accessibility.

Versatile

Although dehydration remains the primary function of the GFD 1850, this machine is quite versatile. You can use it for a variety of things, including raising bread dough and creating cultured or fermented foods, which includes yogurt. Simply unpack the unit, plug it in, set the time and temperature and in no time at all, you are on the way to creating fruit and vegetable chips, fruit leather, or trail mix in no time.

Benefits

The entire family can get in on the fun while making healthier snacks and treats with this dehydrator as its extremely easy to use. It gives you complete control over the ingredients, which means no unnatural preservatives or additive sugars. The amount of money saved from DIY recipes also means that the GFD 1850 pays for itself in a short time.

Gourmia also backs each one of their appliances with a one-year warranty and excellent customer service. Whether needing assistance with operation, helpful tips, or, in a rare chance, experiencing unit malfunction, the Gourmia team promptly handles the issues to the delight of consumers. Another key thing to note is the fact that this machine is UL listed, so you don’t need to be concerned about safety.

Downsides

Upon first unpacking the unit and trays, there is a strong plastic smell. However, the odor soon dissipates within the first 30 minutes of service. While its not a big issue, some may find this to be a turn-off.

Unlike other competitive models, the temperature adjustment increases or decreases in increments of 9 degrees, which may seem odd. However, the anomaly does not take away from the dehydrator’s outstanding performance.

Overall, we’d say the only viable downside you need to think about when it comes to this dehydrator is the fact that its highest temperature range is 158°. Why that’s important? Even though Gourmia claims you can use this unit to make jerky and even provides a special jerky and sausage drying speciality tray alongside, the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline recommends that the temperature of your dehydrator should be between 160°-165° at start for safely dehydrating meat and poultry jerky. Once the meat is heated to that temperature, a constant drying temperature of 130° to 140° works perfectly fine. However, that initial step is critical to rid the meats and poultry of bacteria with the possibility to cause food-borne illnesses. If you do decide to use this machine to make jerky, be sure to follow all the instructions given by Gourmia for the process carefully.

Final Verdict

Overall, the Gourmia GFD1850 is a powerful device with plenty of benefits on offer. It’s easy to use, allows for a versatile, and effective. Plus, its sleek design is easy on the eyes making it even more lucrative to keep on the kitchen countertop. However, if you’re looking for a food dehydrator to dry meat or poultry jerky, then we recommend looking elsewhere.