Vacuum sealers for food - money-saving or not?

Angelina-M

sb44 which one have you got.. is it one of the more expensive ones? From what i've been reading, what happens is the bag seals straight away except for those tiny little channel or grooves running through the bag. These are left open and the machine uses them to pull the air through. With normal freezer bags they are flat both sides so they are sealed straight away. If you put a little straw in the opening of the bag, the sealer grabs hold of it and extracts the air through it. When its done it seals the straw too.

I'm definately going to try this when mine comes. It could save a fortune in bags!

sb44

Angelina-M wrote: »

I came across this video on youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpcswfHBuG8 she puts normal jars into a vacuum canister and reseals them!!

Yes, I do that with my FoodSaver machine.

Part of my set included canisters that you can use to keep biscuits, flour etc in.

However, I had a couple of wide necked jars (they had black cherries in from Lidl, were only about 75p if that) that I experimented with.

I put some small packets of spices in it (that I had in those tiny zip lock bags), screwed the lid on and placed in the vaccum canister.

I have a tube that connects the machine to the lid of the canister, sucked the air from the canister, then released it, removed the lid and found that the jar inside was vaccum sealed. I could tell as the middle of the jar lid was pressed in and it made the popping sound when I unscrewed the lid, just like opening a brand new jar!

Pink.

Hi Angelina,

I'm not sure if this older thread will help or not:

Vacuum sealers for food - money-saving or not?

As you've decided what you want to go for I'll merge your thread with that one later as it may help others who are thinking of buying one.

Pink

Angelina-M

sb44 wrote: »

Yes, I do that with my FoodSaver machine.

Part of my set included canisters that you can use to keep biscuits, flour etc in.

However, I had a couple of wide necked jars (they had black cherries in from Lidl, were only about 75p if that) that I experimented with.

I put some small packets of spices in it (that I had in those tiny zip lock bags), screwed the lid on and placed in the vaccum canister.

I have a tube that connects the machine to the lid of the canister, sucked the air from the canister, then released it, removed the lid and found that the jar inside was vaccum sealed. I could tell as the middle of the jar lid was pressed in and it made the popping sound when I unscrewed the lid, just like opening a brand new jar!

So, every year when I buy new spices for making my homemade mincemeat (the jars have been opened a year and I only use them for the mincemeat) I could pour the contents into a teeny bag, then vacuum all the little bags together in a large jar inside the airtight canister. Oh gosh I'll never sleep tonight with all the ideas running inside my head! :rotfl:

I need one of these machines very soon!

sb44

Angelina-M wrote: »

sb44 which one have you got.. is it one of the more expensive ones? From what i've been reading, what happens is the bag seals straight away except for those tiny little channel or grooves running through the bag. These are left open and the machine uses them to pull the air through. With normal freezer bags they are flat both sides so they are sealed straight away. If you put a little straw in the opening of the bag, the sealer grabs hold of it and extracts the air through it. When its done it seals the straw too.

I'm definately going to try this when mine comes. It could save a fortune in bags!

I have the FoodSaver V420 and V475 models.

Well, I actually have two of the smaller V420 ones.

Someone was selling one on ebay without the foam insert that you need to use it as a vaccum. I already had that model so bought the second one as a spare as I can transfer the foam bit over when the other one packs in.

I bought the larger V475 one off ebay too but that was brand new through a trader.

I think I paid about £40 for the larger one but that included 4 canisters and the tube etc.

There are some tips and more info on their site.

http://www.foodsavereurope.com/UsesTips/Uses.aspx

sb44

Angelina-M wrote: »

So, every year when I buy new spices for making my homemade mincemeat (the jars have been opened a year and I only use them for the mincemeat) I could pour the contents into a teeny bag, then vacuum all the little bags together in a large jar inside the airtight canister. Oh gosh I'll never sleep tonight with all the ideas running inside my head! :rotfl:

I need one of these machines very soon!

Well that is what I do with mine.

Don't make the mistake that I did and vaccum Milky Ways in a jar.

Let's just say they must be light as the air was sucked out and they ended up flat!

:rotfl:

Angelina-M

sb44 wrote: »

I have the FoodSaver V420 and V475 models.

Well, I actually have two of the smaller V420 ones.

Someone was selling one on ebay without the foam insert that you need to use it as a vaccum. I already had that model so bought the second one as a spare as I can transfer the foam bit over when the other one packs in.

I bought the larger V475 one off ebay too but that was brand new through a trader.

I think I paid about £40 for the larger one but that included 4 canisters and the tube etc.

There are some tips and more info on their site.

http://www.foodsavereurope.com/UsesTips/Uses.aspx

Ah yes i've been reading about these ones, they get very good reviews. Thats a fab price as you got the canisters too. I need them also

Don't even get me started on this sous verd or whatever its called... its a posh boil in the bag meal that can be done with one of these machines, its supposed to make the best chicken in the world. I've read so much about these machine that my eyes are going square!

Ha ha I thought your milky way comment was hilarious. I can imagine what they would look like!

sb44

Nearly forgot.

Another thing that I have started doing is using the jars to marinate chicken in.

I add spices, bit of oil and lemon juice to the chicken and pop into the jar.

Seal in the canister and put the jar in the fridge for about an hour.

An hour in the fridge like this is just like leaving it to marinate overnight by the normal method.

sb44

There is a FoodSaver group at Yahoo that you can join.

I had forgotten all about it but logged in and had a look tonight.

Most of the members are American but you can pick up some good tips on there.

Just look for FoodSaver · Vacuum Sealer ideas plus tips and tricks in the Groups section.

Angelina-M

sb44 you are making me worse lol. I'm a sucker for Yahoo groups so i'm off to join now.

Is it sad to confess that i've been watching the HSN shopping channel on youtube to get ideas

I'd never even heard of these machines until I saw the ones in Lidl earlier. That one sounds excellent and the price is spot on, however I do batch cooking and would need to use it for a few hours at a time.

I'm very keen to try the straw trick to see if I can get away with the Lidl bags. sb44 you should try it, could save you a fortune in bags!