dipence71
Got the t-shirt
Where can you get replacement gasket??Emerald said:
Vacuum sealer recommendations
- Thread starter curly_kate
- Start date
Emerald
Lovin' The Homestead
I have been buying the box of rolls from Sam's and it was just under $40 for 6 rolls-4 of the long ones and 2 of the short ones.(22feet in the short rolls and 18feet in the long ones- so a total of 44 feet and 72 feet)
Now any bags that you had veggies in you can boil and dry and re-use. But any with meat and too much fat(like cheeses) get tossed as fat can degrade the plastic.
I have the wide mouth vacuum attachment and want the small mouth one to go with it, and if I can the wine bottle toppers! that way if we don't drink a whole bottle I can cap it and it will still taste nice the next day!
hu It could happen! We might not drink a whole bottle of wine all at once someday!)
Right now a friend on another forum told me a quick trick using the canisters- I can take the biggest canister that came with my set up and put about 2 mason jar pints of dry goods with the lids and rings in it and add the top and vacuum the air out of the canister and when you let the air out of the canister and take out the jars they will both be sealed! Very sneaky!
Another member there also just uses his big pressure canner he just fills up all the little mason jars that need vacuuming(all your dry goods etc.) and locks the pressure canner lid down and puts the vacuum hose on the vent and sucks all the air out that way and does whole canner fulls of dry stuff at once. I will have to give that a go too!
Now any bags that you had veggies in you can boil and dry and re-use. But any with meat and too much fat(like cheeses) get tossed as fat can degrade the plastic.
I have the wide mouth vacuum attachment and want the small mouth one to go with it, and if I can the wine bottle toppers! that way if we don't drink a whole bottle I can cap it and it will still taste nice the next day!
hu It could happen! We might not drink a whole bottle of wine all at once someday!)Right now a friend on another forum told me a quick trick using the canisters- I can take the biggest canister that came with my set up and put about 2 mason jar pints of dry goods with the lids and rings in it and add the top and vacuum the air out of the canister and when you let the air out of the canister and take out the jars they will both be sealed! Very sneaky!
Another member there also just uses his big pressure canner he just fills up all the little mason jars that need vacuuming(all your dry goods etc.) and locks the pressure canner lid down and puts the vacuum hose on the vent and sucks all the air out that way and does whole canner fulls of dry stuff at once. I will have to give that a go too!
VickiLynn
Lovin' The Homestead
Do you mean those little battery-operated gizmos? I had one, and always had a terrible time getting it lined-up with the spot on the bag to suck the air out. But when I did get it to work, it worked well.curly_kate said:
journey11
Almost Self-Reliant
I paid $120 for my Foodsaver vac at Sam's a few years ago (and it came with a couple rolls of bags). I have to say it was a very good investment. It does what it says, and you definitely get more shelf-life out of your items. I prefer their rolls that you cut to the size of bag needed, cheaper and you don't waste any.
Takes awhile to get the hang of how to package certain foods. A sharp bone can puncture the bag if you suck out all the air too much, squishy things may suck out the juice and mess up your seal--I suck out *most* of the air then use the manual seal button on those. Some things like berries I will freeze lightly on a cookie sheet first, then pack and seal them so they don't squish into a giant block of juice. You'll get the hang of it though. It does an awesome job of preventing freezer burn! Sometimes I wash and reuse the bags if it didn't have meat in it, or anything that may have punctured the bag...save a little $$ that way.
Takes awhile to get the hang of how to package certain foods. A sharp bone can puncture the bag if you suck out all the air too much, squishy things may suck out the juice and mess up your seal--I suck out *most* of the air then use the manual seal button on those. Some things like berries I will freeze lightly on a cookie sheet first, then pack and seal them so they don't squish into a giant block of juice. You'll get the hang of it though. It does an awesome job of preventing freezer burn! Sometimes I wash and reuse the bags if it didn't have meat in it, or anything that may have punctured the bag...save a little $$ that way.
Emerald
Lovin' The Homestead
I have to agree with Journey11-there are tricks to using the foodsaver and having everything seal properly- like getting those flat square gladware type containers and freezing liquid stuffs in them first and then popping them out of the containers and vac-packing them. No danger of liquids sucking into the machine and the nice square vac-packs fit in the freezer better.
I also agree with the freezing things on cookie sheets and then packing the frozen bits into bags and freezing-broccoli and cauliflower did so much better that way.
ETA: I found a vac-pack of sweet corn that was almost 2 years old last year in the bottom of the freezer, we decided to go ahead and cook it anyway and figured if it tasted bad we could always feed it to the chickens--it was as good as the first bag we ate--no freezer burn or funny off taste that you can sometimes get with old foods in the freezer.
I also agree with the freezing things on cookie sheets and then packing the frozen bits into bags and freezing-broccoli and cauliflower did so much better that way.
ETA: I found a vac-pack of sweet corn that was almost 2 years old last year in the bottom of the freezer, we decided to go ahead and cook it anyway and figured if it tasted bad we could always feed it to the chickens--it was as good as the first bag we ate--no freezer burn or funny off taste that you can sometimes get with old foods in the freezer.
freemotion
Food Guru
journey11 said:
OK, now I'm convinced!!!Emerald said:
i_am2bz
Lovin' The Homestead
I really want to get a vacuum sealer (and a pressure canner and a dehydrator and etc etc), so this thread has been very enlightening. I do have another question or two...
First, can crunchy things be vacuum sealed? Like cereal; would I just end up with a bag of crumbs? Or would it make a difference as to type; would cheerios work as opposed to corn flakes? Or Frito's vs. potato chips?
Second, speaking of dehydrators, do dried foods keep longer if they are vacuum sealed as well, as opposed to keeping in a jar?
First, can crunchy things be vacuum sealed? Like cereal; would I just end up with a bag of crumbs? Or would it make a difference as to type; would cheerios work as opposed to corn flakes? Or Frito's vs. potato chips?
Second, speaking of dehydrators, do dried foods keep longer if they are vacuum sealed as well, as opposed to keeping in a jar?
I used to have a cheaper vacuum sealer, and have just bought a FoodSaver - the FoodSaver works MUCH better, I was really surprised at the difference it makes. The bags are more expensive, which I am a bit concerned about, but they are also reusable - I had never considered putting my plastic bags in the dishwasher before! Although having to cut off a few inches each time means they are only reusable a few times, but it is still something to consider cost wise.
I have also ordered the vacuum sealer lids for the mason jars, and a hand pump that is supposed to work with them - I haven't had a chance to try it yet, but I am hoping the pump will also work well with the milar bags I have for long term storage (which I have a separate heat sealer for - the foodsaver sort of works as a vacuum, but not great)
I am also considering getting the vacuum cannisters to store vegetables in - has anyone tried it & is it worth it? I have also been looking at the ethelyne absorbers, but both are very expensive in Australia, so I don't want to get them if they are no good....
I have also ordered the vacuum sealer lids for the mason jars, and a hand pump that is supposed to work with them - I haven't had a chance to try it yet, but I am hoping the pump will also work well with the milar bags I have for long term storage (which I have a separate heat sealer for - the foodsaver sort of works as a vacuum, but not great)
I am also considering getting the vacuum cannisters to store vegetables in - has anyone tried it & is it worth it? I have also been looking at the ethelyne absorbers, but both are very expensive in Australia, so I don't want to get them if they are no good....
I LOVE my FoodSaver - got it on sale at Sams years ago.
Mine has a "Moist" setting which works REALLY well with soups and liquids....it just sucks til it hits liquid, and then stops and seals.
I usually get the name brand rolls at Kohls, when they are on sale and I have a coupon. I can get a good sized chicken in the large rolls size, when I make them cut to size.
Mine has a "Moist" setting which works REALLY well with soups and liquids....it just sucks til it hits liquid, and then stops and seals.
I usually get the name brand rolls at Kohls, when they are on sale and I have a coupon. I can get a good sized chicken in the large rolls size, when I make them cut to size.
