The Food Saver/Vacuum Sealer Topic: 2001-2010

[Marlene]

My model says V2490 but of course that may be Canadian. It looks more or less like this and seems to have the same features Food Saver Mine also has a cannister feature and a pulse feature which I can't say I've ever used.

Edited to add, I found this one at Costco.com which I think is the same one, except mine is black and stainless.

Edited May 24, 2007 by Marlene (log)

[Marlene]

Just so you can see, this is a 2 cup bag of pork stock. There is no air in it,(ok, maybe one tiny air bubble) it lies flat for stacking and freezing. and I can label the side of it to let me know what it is. The bag is also a lot hardier than the ziplock bags I've been using for this. Ziplocks have been known to leak on me while freezing or defrosting. This never does.

[Chris Amirault]

That's impressive. How does the wet vacuum seal differ from the dry?

[Marlene]

When I use the wet setting (It says moist on the foodsaver), it doesn't seem to vacumn it as tightly as the dry setting. A kinder, gentler vacumn so to speak. It gets all the air out without squishing the bag, if that makes any sense at all. Sorry, I'm not very technical.

Edited May 24, 2007 by Marlene (log)

[dividend]

Just so you can see, this is a 2 cup bag of pork stock.  There is no air in it,(ok, maybe one tiny air bubble)  it lies flat for stacking and freezing. and I can label the side of it to let me know what it is.  The bag is also a lot hardier than the ziplock bags I've been using for this.  Ziplocks have been known to leak on me while freezing or defrosting.  This never does.

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The logistics of this is boggling my mind. I have the same model foodsaver with the wet setting, but I can't fathom how you would get the bag set up so it doesn't gush liquid into the machine. Do you elevate the machine from the bag? I may just be having a blond moment, but can you explain how this works?

[Marlene]

You have to leave enough room for the bag to fold into the vacumn seal part, but I can assure you, it doesn't gush liquid into the machine.

This does mean you're going to have a little more bag waste, but this is so much better than using ziplocks, that I don't mind. (I make a lot of stock)

When I come back from Europe, I can try a photo demo to see if I can show you step by step.

Edited May 29, 2007 by Marlene (log)

[Dave the Cook]

I came across what seems to be a deal on the FoodSaver website: the V875 is on close-out. It seems to have everything I want: built-in roll holder, two-speeds (one of these is the "moist" setting that Marlene referred to), and even the accessory port, which isn't interesting to me at this time, but I'm mercurial, so it might turn out to be useful.

The picture isn't very clear, but there seem to be a lot of controls on the top that aren't present on the current models. I know that Tilia was bought out recently, and possibly simplifying the product and the product line are part of the new owner's strategy. Does anyone have this particular model? Any comments or concerns?

[heirloom]

I am planning on buying a vacuum sealer and would like some feedback on which to get. I plan using it to cook sous vide along with other techniques. my worries, however, stem around vacuum pressure. I plan on relying on a sealer to compress different items and was worried that some sealers would not give enough pressure for compressing these items. i would appreciate any feedback on ones experiences. I am almost set on the foodsaver advanced model but am unsure. Thank You.

[Chris Amirault]

That's an interesting question. I definitely think that my little Kenmore workhorse is pretty good at creating a decent suck, but I wouldn't say it compresses particularly. What exactly are you looking for? Can you give some examples?

It's my sense that some machines have settings for stronger and weaker sucking but they're labeled in reln to specific tasks. Marlene's point above about "a kinder, gentler vacuum" for liquid sealing goes to this point.

[heirloom]

That's an interesting question. I definitely think that my little Kenmore workhorse is pretty good at creating a decent suck, but I wouldn't say it compresses particularly. What exactly are you looking for? Can you give some examples?

It's my sense that some machines have settings for stronger and weaker sucking but they're labeled in reln to specific tasks. Marlene's point above about "a kinder, gentler vacuum" for liquid sealing goes to this point.

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One thing off my head would be compressed terrines, say of tomatoes or beets. I would like the suction to be strong enough to "bind" the layers. I was recommended the minivac c100 but thats like 2500. I think im going w/ the tilia pro II. some1 in an earlier topic said that it has manual suction so i could go beyond the basic suction power. Thanks for the help everyone!

[MarkinHouston]

I have not ween thi sparticular question addressed before: I have just finished preparing pork confit as well as confit of Toulouse sausages in hopes of assembling some cassoulet during the holidays. The instructions from Paula Wolfert's book include submerging the confit in fat in jars. If I use my Tilia and freeze the confit instead, will a small amount of duck fat/lard inside the vacuum bag suffice? Thanks.

[Chris Hennes]

I have not ween thi sparticular question addressed before: I have just finished preparing pork confit as well as confit of Toulouse sausages in hopes of assembling some cassoulet during the holidays. The instructions from Paula Wolfert's book include submerging the confit in fat in jars. If I use my Tilia and freeze the confit instead, will a small amount of duck fat/lard inside the vacuum bag suffice? Thanks.

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We've discussed this over in the Sous Vide thread and the consensus seems to be that the purpose of the fat is to prevent air from entering the duck and causing it to spoil: since the plastic vacuum bag serves the same purpose, just freezing the entire bag should be fine. The confit will not "mature" the same way a traditional one does, but otherwise you will be fine.

[MarkinHouston]

I have not ween thi sparticular question addressed before: I have just finished preparing pork confit as well as confit of Toulouse sausages in hopes of assembling some cassoulet during the holidays. The instructions from Paula Wolfert's book include submerging the confit in fat in jars. If I use my Tilia and freeze the confit instead, will a small amount of duck fat/lard inside the vacuum bag suffice? Thanks.

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We've discussed this over in the Sous Vide thread and the consensus seems to be that the purpose of the fat is to prevent air from entering the duck and causing it to spoil: since the plastic vacuum bag serves the same purpose, just freezing the entire bag should be fine. The confit will not "mature" the same way a traditional one does, but otherwise you will be fine.

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Thnaks, Chris. Since I used the traditional method for the initial "confit" rather than starting from scratch as a sous vide process, I did not sort through that topic.

[Kayakado]

I rarely use the bags. I bought a supply of pint and quart size wide mouth jars and use them for liquids as well as cheeses and other supplies. The jars can be used over and over, the contents when only partially defrosted slip out easily and you can see what's in them.

[jduncan81]

This is my first post but sadly it's one of slight frustration.

I've decided to buy a vacuum sealer thanks to the allure of sous vide and also to help with some of my charcuterie experiments.

I was confused about the differences between the V2440/80/90 (seemingly the same machine), the V2840, and the Professional III. I called foodsaver to ask about this and they actually flat out refused to tell me anything about their products at all unless I gave my phone number, name, and full address (I gave the first two but complained at the third). I was told that "[they] are not a telemarketing firm. called them". When I said that regardless, I would rather not give out that information to have a few simple questions answered, they replied that they couldn't help me and hung up.

So, basically, does anybody actually understand these differences, or better yet, know of a good alternative since I'm now very hesitant to give the company my money. I've been looking at the Sinbo (http://www.dougcare.com/foodstorage/homeequip.htm#sinbo) but want the ability to connect to rigid canisters to do rapid infusions.

Thanks in advance and hopefully I'll get around to some less frustrated posts in the near future

[Reignking]

FYI, Tuesday Morning (a merchandise discounter) often has FoodSavers available. And I've seen every different model, as well.

[Toliver]

So, basically, does anybody actually understand these differences, or better yet, know of a good alternative since I'm now very hesitant to give the company my money. I've been looking at the Sinbo (http://www.dougcare.com/foodstorage/homeequip.htm#sinbo) but want the ability to connect to rigid canisters to do rapid infusions.

Thanks in advance and hopefully I'll get around to some less frustrated posts in the near future

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Welcome to eGullet!

My suggestion would be to research the different models on the Foodsaver web site: FoodSaver Home Page Look under Products>Foodsaver Appliances

Or try posting your query on either the The Food Saver/Vacuum Sealer Topic discussion or perhaps on the Sous Vide: Recipes, Techniques & Equipment discussion since that is your ultimate goal.

I hope this helps!

[weinoo]

This is my first post but sadly it's one of slight frustration.

I've decided to buy a vacuum sealer thanks to the allure of sous vide and also to help with some of my charcuterie experiments.

I was confused about the differences between the V2440/80/90 (seemingly the same machine), the V2840, and the Professional III.

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Hi, and welcome to eGullet, jduncan81. It's certainly a drag that you were getting the run around when you tried to call the company for information...that's not really how customer service is supposed to work, now is it?

Anyway, the V2440 and 2840 are virtually the same machine, except that one is white and one is stainless. The Pro model looks to have a number of extra "features," though whether it makes for a better, longer lasting seal is a good question - lot more expensive, though, for the "pulse" feature and 5 "levels" of seal.

I recently purchased the V2440, and have no complaints - works just as advertised.

[jduncan81]

This is my first post but sadly it's one of slight frustration.

I've decided to buy a vacuum sealer thanks to the allure of sous vide and also to help with some of my charcuterie experiments.

I was confused about the differences between the V2440/80/90 (seemingly the same machine), the V2840, and the Professional III.

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Hi, and welcome to eGullet, jduncan81. It's certainly a drag that you were getting the run around when you tried to call the company for information...that's not really how customer service is supposed to work, now is it?

Anyway, the V2440 and 2840 are virtually the same machine, except that one is white and one is stainless. The Pro model looks to have a number of extra "features," though whether it makes for a better, longer lasting seal is a good question - lot more expensive, though, for the "pulse" feature and 5 "levels" of seal.

I recently purchased the V2440, and have no complaints - works just as advertised.

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Thanks!

I'd looked through the foodsaver website quite extensively and couldn't tell many differences between the 2440/2840 - it's good to know that they're practically the same!

[slkinsey]

If you're thinking of purchasing a FoodSaver, you really should consider one of these. I eventually bought one to replace my FoodSaver. Much stronger vacuum & easier to use.

[jduncan81]

If you're thinking of purchasing a FoodSaver, you really should consider one of these.  I eventually bought one to replace my FoodSaver.  Much stronger vacuum & easier to use.

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slkinsey: Many thanks for the suggestion. I found these too:

VacUpack Lite

VacUpack

Has anybody used these?

[MikeHartnett]

Does anyone know anything about the V3840? I'm looking at this package, and wondering if it works as well as the ones that lie flat...

http://www.jardenstore.com/product.aspx?bi...pid=5500&cid=79

I'll be using it mostly for sealing curing charcuterie products, and occasionally for sous vide.

[Magictofu]

My mom used to have a vaccum sealer that was only able to seal bags that I would consider to be of very poor quality. The seal itself was not very good either. I know things are much better these days but I am still wondering how vaccum sealers differ in the type of bags they can use. I was thinking about buying a foodsaver to portion/freeze individual portions of meat, stews and sauces as well as charcuteries but wonder what the other options are.

[Chris Amirault]

The bag question is a good one, and I've come to a different conclusion than the one I made last year:

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?
  ...
  
• 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.
  

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I've bolded the phrase that is most relevant to this discussion. Turns out -- duh! -- that one cannot really appreciate the differences between bags by gazing at them in boxes.

Here are two photos that help illustrate the point I'm about to make. First, the Kenmore bag:

Now, a photo of the Tilia bag courtesy of Marlene:

What you want to focus on is the texture of both bags. On the Tilia bag, the plastic is imprinted with a crosshatch pattern that runs on the diagonal. That crosshatch pattern captures and disperses moisture as the vacuum sucks, driving it across the interior rather than up toward the seal. As a result, the seal on the Tilia bags is often much better. The Kenmore bag' texture is minimal -- and the wavy lines run vertically, driving the liquid toward the seal.

I also suspect, though I can't prove, that the Tilia bags have higher quality plastic. I've had no breaks in the plastic nor any busted seals with them, but have had a few with the Kenmore.

So, short answer: the Tilia bags seem, to me, to be clearly superior.

ET clarify about the textures -- ca

Edited August 2, 2008 by chrisamirault (log)

[infernooo]

Does anyone know anything about the V3840?  I'm looking at this package, and wondering if it works as well as the ones that lie flat...

http://www.jardenstore.com/product.aspx?bi...pid=5500&cid=79

I'll be using it mostly for sealing curing charcuterie products, and occasionally for sous vide.

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Hi Mike!

I bought myself one of these about 2 months ago. Living in Australia, we basically have a choice between 2 vacuum sealers. Sunbeam or crappy ebay ones. I tried an ebay one first and threw it in the trash after the second use. Don't even go there.

I then figured that there are so many in the USA and so many people swear by Foodsavers that I would give it a go. So, I purchased it from the site you linked and also included enough accessories, spare bags, bag rolls and other goodies to last me a life time. I can tell you that I am EXTREMELY please with it. It looks great, stores easily in the cupboard, and best of all, makes air tight seals that work a treat for sousvide and frozen goods.

Sure I haven't tried any of the other brands, but I don't need to - this one works great. The only honest downside I can mention is the first few times I had some trouble feeding the bag into the vacuum channel properly.

Hope that helps!