The Food Saver/Vacuum Sealer Topic: 2001-2010

[maui420]

i am tired of being wasteful and tired of always running to the food market for small quantities of vegies and meat. i was wondering if a food saver is recommended.

question, when i freeze a bell pepper, thaw it a few weeks later, use it to cook, etc...its 'mushy'. if i were to freeze a bell pepper airtight in the food saver, thaw it, cook it, is there still that mushy feel to it? is it slightly less fresh than a regular bell pepper? etc..

would hate to dish out 100 bucks for the machine only for some minimal gains...thanks for the help

[emsny]

On which model to buy and at what price, be aware that the company's web site offers a few reconditioned models at good discounts. When my discontinued model broke a year or so ago, they sold me a reconditioned one for about $40 and it has worked perfectly.

[BryanZ]

You can also use it for sous vide cooking.

[Shalmanese]

Heh, I think you might be the only eGulleteer who actually uses a food saver for saving food . But no, the vacuum wouldn't stop the pepper from getting mushy. The mushiness is caused by the ice crystals piercing the cell walls of the bell pepper.

One thing that might work is getting some dry ice and rapidly freezing the pepper. That way, ice crystals barely have a chance to grow and very few cell walls are damaged.

Another alternative is to roast the peppers which will then keep for a few weeks in the fridge or could probably be frozen successfully. It will change the flavour and texture but it might help with some things.

[zenpup]

Frozen green peppers are generally mushy, and are really only good for cooking and not raw use...before freezing, blanching most vegetables then shocking in ice water also helps the texture a bit...

[deltadoc]

I have a Foodsaver Pro II or III I think. I use it all the time. Buy whole tenderloins and cut them up into individual filets, dry marinate them, suck the air out and put 'em in the freezer. They last like forever!

I do the same with cheeses, cooked foods, they can be reheated in the microwave or boiled in water.

I also have a Garden Harvest Dehydrator (1000 watt). I'd use that for your peppers. Cut them up, dry 'em and then foodsave 'em. I've got sweet and hot peppers from over 2 years ago, that are outrageous in sauces, and other dishes. I can make beef jerky. I can make up large quantities of all kinds of dishes and individually save them for lunches and quick meals.

A Zojirushi rice cooker is also a nice addition to the other two. Defrost a sauce whilst the rice cooker is making some brown rice or whatever, and suddenly... Fast food!

A good way to stock up at the Farmer's market in a good year, when prices are best, and save them for use for a long time.

The only thing about the foodsaver that takes some practice is meat juices. It's better to pack in the meat, freeze it first, then food save it.

Better than putting tissue in the bag like they suggest> Yuck!

doc

[Chris Amirault]

Just got a Kenmore Ultra Seal-n-Save, which is currently on sale for $60 from $100. (Click here for information.) Seems to be working just fine, and the bags are cheaper, retail, than the equivalent FoodSaver bags.

[Kim Shook]

Bumping this up for some advice. I have a Foodsaver (or a 'suck thing' as we call it at our house ) and use it a lot. A couple of problems that I have noticed:

1). We'll sometimes remove a sealed bag from the freezer to discover that the seal has obviously failed and that the bag is no longer tight around the food

2). The cannisters don't seem to hold a seal. No matter what we put in them, we need to take them out of the refrigerator ever couple of days and reseal (Mason jars, however, seem to work forever - we have jars of sealed Red Rose tea that we keep for my parents when they are here and they stay sealed between their visits no matter how long it is)

Any ideas what we might be doing wrong?

[Chris Amirault]

That happened to me a few times, usually bc some liquid leaked between the bag layers at the seal. So I've been wiping and then doing a double-seal on my precious charcuterie, one right behind the main seal.

[Kim Shook]

Thanks for the quick answer, Chris. I'll try that. An easy fix - I like that!

[UnConundrum]

On the bags, I've noticed that in the past...... but related it to someone forraging in the freezer and dropping the sealed bag. Seems like every time I drop a bag, the seal goes bad... I've used the double seal idea too.

As to the canisters make sure the gasket is clean and dry. I use ball jars myself, and they work great, but I do have one cannister we use for pretzels, and that seal has lasted months.....

[Richard Kilgore]

Just a heads up. Foodsaver Pro III Vacuum Sealer Kit, $193.45 minus $25 product promotion (don't forget to enter code NOVSAVER at checkout) on Amazon. This is the current top of the line as far as I can tell. Full retail is listed at $319.99

[Kerry Beal]

Just a heads up. Foodsaver Pro III Vacuum Sealer Kit, 193.45 minus $25 product promotion (don't forget to enter code NOVSAVER at checkout) on Amazon. This is the current top of the line as far as I can tell. Full retail is listed at $319.99

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I saw this unit at the gift show in August. A nifty new thing over older models is a removable piece in the channel that cleans easily when liquid gets sucked in.

[jackal10]

Freeze the liquid first and add it frozen

[Anna N]

Bumping this up for some advice.  I have a Foodsaver (or a 'suck thing' as we call it at our house  ) and use it a lot.  A couple of problems that I have noticed:

1). We'll sometimes remove a sealed bag from the freezer to discover that the seal has obviously failed and that the bag is no longer tight around the food

2).  The cannisters don't seem to hold a seal.  No matter what we put in them, we need to take them out of the refrigerator ever couple of days and reseal (Mason jars, however, seem to work forever - we have jars of sealed Red Rose tea that we keep for my parents when they are here and they stay sealed between their visits no matter how long it is)

Any ideas what we might be doing wrong?

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In answer to 1). I know in my freezer I can attribute it to one of 2 things:

a) Re-using bags - I suspect many of them get pinholes and over time they allow air to enter - I no longer re-use bags for freezer storage but will re-use them for cheese that will be used fairly soon and resides in the 'fridge where I can keep an eye on the condition of the packaging.

b) Similar problem - the sealed and vacuumed bags get tossed around in the freezer where they will collide with sharp edges of ice, other products, etc. and once again small pin holes allow the loss of vacuum.

[jmolinari]

double sealing the bag has gone a pretty long way towards addressing the issue of bags losing seal in the freezer. You don't use any more bag to do it, since you seal above the 1st seal you've made, but it seems to help.

[marinade]

Bumping this up for some advice.  I have a Foodsaver (or a 'suck thing' as we call it at our house  ) and use it a lot.  A couple of problems that I have noticed:

1). We'll sometimes remove a sealed bag from the freezer to discover that the seal has obviously failed and that the bag is no longer tight around the food

2).  The cannisters don't seem to hold a seal.  No matter what we put in them, we need to take them out of the refrigerator ever couple of days and reseal (Mason jars, however, seem to work forever - we have jars of sealed Red Rose tea that we keep for my parents when they are here and they stay sealed between their visits no matter how long it is)

Any ideas what we might be doing wrong?

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In answer to 1). I know in my freezer I can attribute it to one of 2 things:

a) Re-using bags - I suspect many of them get pinholes and over time they allow air to enter - I no longer re-use bags for freezer storage but will re-use them for cheese that will be used fairly soon and resides in the 'fridge where I can keep an eye on the condition of the packaging.

b) Similar problem - the sealed and vacuumed bags get tossed around in the freezer where they will collide with sharp edges of ice, other products, etc. and once again small pin holes allow the loss of vacuum.

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Anna,

I've had the seals rupture on some bags as well. Here's what I think may be going on. It may have something to do with the fact as food freezes and expands it can stress a bag made with an uneven seal enough to create some pinholes allowing some of the vacuum to release. The double sealing technique is a good workaround. Now these bags are plenty thick and it didn’t seem to occur when my unit was new out of the box. I’m also wondering if it also has something to do with the strength of the vacuum or pump over time. Less vacuum when the unit seals the bag automatically would give the food a greater volume to expand.

Now this could be my own culinary paranoia but do any of you notice a drop off of vacuum suction with some of the older units due to slight food build up or just age? Maybe a side by side comparison between an older versus newer unit would be interesting. Has anyone attempted any internal cleaning of any of the units?

Jim

Edited November 17, 2006 by marinade (log)

[Anna N]

. . .

I've had the seals rupture on some bags as well. Here's what I think may be going on. It may have something to do with the fact as food freezes and expands it can stress a bag made with an uneven seal enough to create some pinholes allowing some of the vacuum to release. The double sealing technique is a good workaround. Now these bags are plenty thick and it didn’t seem to occur when my unit was new out of the box. I’m also wondering if it also has something to do with the strength of the vacuum or pump over time. Less vacuum when the unit seals the bag automatically would give the food a greater volume to expand.

Now this could be my own culinary paranoia but do any of you notice a drop off of vacuum suction with some of the older units due to slight food build up or just age? Maybe a side by side comparison between an older versus newer unit would be interesting. Has anyone attempted any internal cleaning of any of the units?

Jim

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I fully intend to try the double seal method. The machine I was using was ancient but the one I am now using is new - unfortunately it is far less useful as it is the small 8 inch size. I have not compared the seal between the two machines and the older one is now gone so I cannot do the experiment.

[Toliver]

Just a heads up. Foodsaver Pro III Vacuum Sealer Kit, $193.45 minus $25 product promotion (don't forget to enter code NOVSAVER at checkout) on Amazon. This is the current top of the line as far as I can tell. Full retail is listed at $319.99

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I just stumbled across this model again on Amazon.com (FoodSaver Pro III Vacuum Sealing Kit, White) and discovered it's even a little less than it was before. There's no extra promotion this time so it's not as cheap as it was but the price is still quite good.

[Dave the Cook]

Having just had to toss out a pound of precious home-made bacon, I've decided I need one of these. Any new information or insights before I go shopping? I'm particularly interested in the cost of comsumables, as well as how people are deploying their devices. Do they live on the counter? In a cabinet?

[Chris Amirault]

Dave, my heart sinks. Sorry, man.

As noted above, I have the Kenmore Seal-n-Save, but from the Sears website it appears that those are no longer available. I've been happy with mine -- though the few boil-in-bag excursions haven't been entirely successful -- and have accumulated a few tips:

• I can't tell any difference between the Kenmore and Tilia bags, but I've never used the Tilia, just compared them in the box. I've also been happy with the Kenmore bags consistently. Has anyone got experience with both? Anyone want to trade a few Tilia bags for my Kenmore bags so that we can do a side-by-side?
  
• The distance from the face of the machine to the vacuum well in which the front edge of the bag sits is crucial, because that distance determines how much extra space you need at the top of the bag so that the vacuum works. On my machine, you can't get the item being sealed right up to the sealing line either, which creates more wasted bag. The distance on the Kenmore creates about 3-4" of extra bag above the seal, which can be pretty annoying when you're sealing 4 oz of bacon.
  
• Moisture in the seal is clearly for me the main culprit behind lost seals. Freezing the item a bit helps, but that added step and it's associated time can be a pita. My MIL suggested something that I've done that works well: fold up a piece of paper towel between the item and the seal. When the vacuum sucks some moisture out, it is absorbed by the towel and doesn't get into the seal.
  

Ours lives in a cabinet with the bags, btw, as we have zero counter space and use them only now and then.

[Chris Amirault]

[*]The distance from the face of the machine to the vacuum well in which the front edge of the bag sits is crucial, because that distance determines how much extra space you need at the top of the bag so that the vacuum works. On my machine, you can't get the item being sealed right up to the sealing line either, which creates more wasted bag. The distance on the Kenmore creates about 3-4" of extra bag above the seal, which can be pretty annoying when you're sealing 4 oz of bacon.

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I took a photo to illustrate this tonight:

Within the sealed component of the bag there's about an inch below the seal and above the bacon -- no problem. But look at the extra bag above the seal. Is that typical on most vacuum sealers?

[Marlene]

Having just had to toss out a pound of precious home-made bacon, I've decided I need one of these. Any new information or insights before I go shopping? I'm particularly interested in the cost of comsumables, as well as how people are deploying their devices. Do they live on the counter? In a cabinet?

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I have a food saver that we bought at Costco. We use it all the time, especially when I buy large packs of meat like chicken parts at Costco for example. I can buy more meat when it's on sale, and vacumn seal it and freeze it for later use. I've vacumn sealed leftover stew, chili. lasagna and turkey soup in serving size portions. I used it recently to vacumn seal a bunch of shelled pistachios in one cup increments.

Best of all, the one I have has a wet or dry feature, which means I've been able to use it to store and seal fresh stock in one or two cup increments. Finally, I can get all the air out of my stock!

Mine lives in a cabinet, but it's pretty light and easy to pull out when needed. And yes, unfortunately, there will always be that extra bag at the top after the seal. I buy the bags at costco as well. The foodsaver itself comes with bags to start, a large size and a small size. Until I started using it for stock, I never used the smaller bags, but I do now.

[Silly Disciple]

I'm not sure how feasible it is to find a Vac-Star miniVac in the US, but it's worth at least doing a moderate search for this great brand and model.

It's the smallest machine I've been able to find which has a proper chamber, which I think is key if you are serious about this. I was able to get it second hand for about 400 EUR.

Before that I went through 2 Krups Vacupack Plus, they are pretty decent and cheap enough (I paid 30 EUR I think through e-bay) such that if you break one it's not a big deal to get a new one.

[Chris Amirault]

Best of all, the one I have has a wet or dry feature, which means I've been able to use it to store and seal fresh stock in one or two cup increments.  Finally, I can get all the air out of my stock!

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More information please! What's the model? Approximate cost?