I have had Nesco for years. I make jerky every deer season for huband to take to deer camp. The guys all expect it now. They say it's the best ever. I use lean ground meat or venison, with the jerky seasoning mix and pipe in strips using the jerky gun. There is a trick to piping, don't do one strip at at time. Go around the tray in a spiral and then break pieces as long as you want when it is done. Time saver. I bought extra trays and ended up with two dehydrators to get it all made in one batch. I tried other foods but it got boring to do. Marshmallows were fun to dry, put in large jar and used in hot chocolate. I dried everything when I first got it, from soup to flowers. Now it's only used for jerky.