I've made jerky with the mix that came with the machine and it was great. The machine is wonderful. Fruit comes out great, especially fresh cranberries. I used to own a ***** many years ago. Was that a dinosaur. This is so much better. The fan gets to all of the trays. Always use all 5 trays even if they are not full. The trays are easy to clean. I don't put them in the dishwasher. I think dishwasher detergent is too harsh for many things. The only thing I don't like is that there is no on/off switch. You have to pull out the plug.