6 Best Extra Dehydrator Trays For Large Batches That Old Farmers Swear By

When the orchard drops its bounty all at once, a standard four-tray setup feels like bringing a spoon to a knife fight. Expanding drying capacity is the only way to stay ahead of spoilage and preserve the peak flavor of a seasonal harvest. These specialized trays and inserts are the tools veteran growers use to turn a weekend glut into a winter pantry staple.

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Maximizing Nesco and Excalibur Trays for Big Harvests

The transition from a casual kitchen hobby to serious food preservation usually starts when the garden finally hits its stride. You quickly realize that the time spent prepping five pounds of apples is nearly the same as prepping twenty, provided you have the surface area to hold them. Maximizing your tray count allows you to run the machine at full efficiency, utilizing the same amount of electricity to dry twice the food.

There is a distinct divide in the world of dehydrating: stackable units and shelf-style boxes. Stackable units like the Nesco series grow taller with extra trays, while shelf-style units like the Excalibur rely on specialized inserts to handle different textures. Understanding which expansion style fits your workflow is the first step toward managing a successful harvest season without losing half your crop to the compost pile.

Nesco Add-A-Trays: Ideal for Expanding Stackable Units

Stackable dehydrators are the bread and butter of the small-scale homestead because they grow with your needs. Nesco Add-A-Trays allow you to double or even triple the capacity of a base unit without taking up more counter space. This vertical expansion is perfect for drying uniform items like sliced peppers, herbs, or venison jerky where consistent airflow is easily maintained through the center chimney.

• Check your wattage: Most Nesco bases can handle up to 12 or even 30 trays, but drying times will increase as you add height.
• Rotate for consistency: In a tall stack, the trays closest to the fan dry faster, so swapping the top and bottom trays every few hours is a non-negotiable task.
• Match the model: Ensure the tray diameter and center hole alignment match your specific model number, as even a half-inch difference will break the seal and ruin the airflow.

While it is tempting to stack a unit to its absolute limit, there is a point of diminishing returns. If you stack twenty trays of high-moisture tomatoes, the humidity inside the stack can become so high that the top trays begin to mold before they dry. Smart farmers limit their stacks based on the water content of the produce, keeping the height manageable for denser fruits.

Excalibur ParaFlexx Sheets for Sticky Fruit Leathers

If you are running a shelf-style Excalibur, "extra trays" often means upgrading the surfaces within those trays. Standard plastic mesh is great for chunks of fruit, but it fails miserably when dealing with purees or sticky glazes. ParaFlexx sheets are the gold standard for creating fruit leathers and "raw" crackers because they provide a completely smooth, non-stick surface that survives thousands of uses.

These sheets are a superior alternative to parchment paper, which tends to wrinkle and stick to the food as it dries. Because they are flexible, you can simply peel the sheet away from the dried leather, leaving a perfect finish without any tearing. They also act as a drip tray when placed on the bottom rack, catching rogue seeds or sugary drips that would otherwise bake onto the floor of the machine.

Cosori Stainless Steel Mesh Trays for Long-Term Use

Plastic trays eventually become brittle after years of exposure to heat and acidic fruit juices. For the farmer looking for a "buy once, cry once" investment, stainless steel mesh trays for Cosori units are a significant upgrade. These trays don’t warp, they don’t leach chemicals, and they can handle the heavy weight of dense root vegetables without sagging in the middle.

Stainless steel also offers better heat retention than plastic, which can lead to slightly more even drying across the tray surface. When you are processing high volumes of garlic or onions, the metal doesn’t absorb the pungent odors that often linger in plastic mesh. This means you can dry a batch of spicy peppers and follow it immediately with delicate strawberries without any flavor transfer.

Magic Mill Wire Trays for Maximum Airflow Efficiency

Airflow is the most critical variable in the dehydration equation. Magic Mill wire trays utilize a wide-grid design that allows air to circulate freely around every side of the food, significantly cutting down on drying time. This is particularly useful for jerky or thick slices of zucchini where "case hardening"—where the outside dries while the inside stays wet—is a constant risk.

The tradeoff with wide-wire trays is that small items like peas or chopped herbs will fall through the gaps. To counter this, many farmers keep a mix of wire trays for bulkier items and fine mesh liners for smaller bits. This hybrid approach ensures the machine is always optimized for the specific crop currently coming off the vine.

Tribest Sedona Open Trays for Large Volume Batches

The Sedona system is known for its "open" tray design, which provides a massive amount of unobstructed horizontal space. These trays are particularly valued by those who dry bulky, lightweight items like kale chips, whole mushrooms, or large flower heads for teas. The lack of a center hole (common in stackable units) means you can lay out long strips of produce without having to chop them into tiny pieces.

Because these trays are so large, they are often used in conjunction with "divider" sheets to run half-batches. This flexibility is vital during the early spring or late fall when you might only have a small basket of greens to process. You can concentrate the heat and airflow on just a few trays, saving energy while still benefiting from the professional-grade capacity of the unit.

Presto Dehydro Expansion Trays for Garden Surpluses

For the hobbyist on a budget, the Presto Dehydro offers one of the most cost-effective ways to handle a sudden garden surplus. These expansion trays are designed to nest within each other when not in use, which is a major space-saver in a crowded farmhouse kitchen. They are simple, no-frills tools that excel at drying the "overflow" from a heavy harvest of green beans or corn.

• Transparency matters: These trays are often clear, allowing you to monitor the progress of your drying without opening the unit and losing heat.
• Easy cleaning: The simple circular design has fewer nooks and crannies than complex square trays, making them faster to wash by hand.
• Affordability: You can often buy two or three sets of these for the price of one high-end stainless tray, making them the best choice for beginners.

While they may lack the heavy-duty feel of more expensive brands, they get the job done during the three weeks of the year when your garden is producing more than you can eat. They are the perfect "insurance policy" for those years when the weather is perfect and the yields are unexpectedly high.

Cleaning Your Cosori and Magic Mill Trays Safely

Maintaining your extra trays is just as important as the drying process itself. Sticky fruit sugars and proteins from jerky can become "cemented" into the mesh if left to sit. The best approach is a long soak in warm, soapy water immediately after the trays are emptied, followed by a gentle scrub with a soft-bristled nylon brush.

Avoid using the dishwasher for plastic trays, even if the manufacturer claims they are "dishwasher safe." The high heat of a drying cycle in a dishwasher can cause subtle warping that prevents the trays from sealing correctly when stacked. For stainless steel trays, the dishwasher is usually fine, but a hand wash is still better for preserving the integrity of the fine wire mesh over several decades.

Sanitization is the final step, especially if you’ve been drying meats. A quick dip in a very weak bleach solution or a spray of food-grade sanitizer ensures that no bacteria are hiding in the cross-sections of the mesh. Once clean, ensure the trays are completely dry before stacking them for storage, as any trapped moisture can lead to mildew in the off-season.

Investing in the right expansion trays is the difference between a stressful harvest and a successful one. By matching your tray type to your specific crop needs, you ensure that every ounce of effort put into the garden is reflected in a well-stocked pantry. Get your extra capacity ready before the first tomato ripens, and you’ll never have to watch good food go to waste.