Vacuum sealers for food - money-saving or not?

sb44

Just found this one too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=AwjeUkrxGJE#at=39

taxsaver

Wow that looks great and so does his duck one too!

I think I'd be tempted to add a little wine into the bags before sealing them, I'm sure that'd be delicious!

I can see that using sous vide you can potentially make bags of meats and also bags of different vegetables to include seasoning and then just use sous vide to cook/heat them all and end up with amazing meals done cheaply, easily, quickly and on time! :j

Angelina-M

sb44 wrote: »

Just found this one too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=AwjeUkrxGJE#at=39

Oh my word how amazing does that look?? And its something we can all try because its done in a normal pan.

Taxsaver yours too, look at the colour on those veggies! I can see a whole new way of cooking going on for us lot lol!

One thing I keep reading about though is the temperature thing. We need to be sure the water is hot enough to kill the bugs. However i'm not so bothered about doing the sous vide at low temps for 24 hours, i'll just do it higher temps for a couple of hours and I think that addresses the issue... however i'm on just starting research.

PS look how this thread is evolving... its the most exciting read i've had in ages!

[Deleted User]

steam oven!! oh you are lucky Angelina, I am a sourdough breadmaker and have to cook it in a pot to build up the steam

Getting back to basics and for those who would like a sealer tbut money is tight, then just get a basic one if you can, just rolling a bag with veg in it and sealing will make all the difference to keeping the freshness

Today I picked 4 good beetroots and stripped off the leaves, which are now dehydrating. The stalks are all in a vacuum jar and I will use for soup during the week. The dried leaves will be vac packed later and stored ,to add flavour to winter soups

I got a 3kg bag of barley from approved foods and I have vac sealed it in 1 lb bags. Same with my shiptons floiurs, bought in bulk. Organic oats bought in bulk and vac sealed in bags. Lentils too and so on. We were snowed in for 6 weeks last winter!!

sb44

Bought a jar of Value Silverskin Onions from Tesco for 31p just to try the lid.

It works fine.



Only thing is the lids stink of onions and are sometimes difficult to neautralise so I am going to use some Simple Solutions liquid to get rid of the smell and then sterlise it.

Kevie192

Right...

You've all managed to convince me that I really NEED a sealer. The thought of being able to split packs of meat, apply different marinades and then vacuum seal before freezing really appeals to us as then almost all of the prep is done for evening meals by just defrosting during the day!

However, we're on a limited budget. £50 is all we can really spare at the moment... I'd really like a machine that can do canisters as well as bags but the only one I've seen in that price range that does what we want is the seal a meal. Reviews don't look that bad tbh.

So, I guess my question is, does anyone know of another machine that will do what I want for the budget we have?

Kevin x

sb44

Kevie192 wrote: »

Right...

You've all managed to convince me that I really NEED a sealer. The thought of being able to split packs of meat, apply different marinades and then vacuum seal before freezing really appeals to us as then almost all of the prep is done for evening meals by just defrosting during the day!

However, we're on a limited budget. £50 is all we can really spare at the moment... I'd really like a machine that can do canisters as well as bags but the only one I've seen in that price range that does what we want is the seal a meal. Reviews don't look that bad tbh.

So, I guess my question is, does anyone know of another machine that will do what I want for the budget we have?

Kevin x

I have had my FoodSaver (well, one of them) for 3 years and I only paid £19.99 on ebay as it wasn't complete, there should have been a video with it which wasn't there.

It was new though and bought from a trader.

Someone is selling ex demo Andrew James ones on Ebay.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/PRO-QUALITY-Food-Vacuum-Sealer-Bag-Packer-Machine-/170667305849?pt=UK_Home_Garden_Kitchen_Mixers&hash=item27bc906b79

It does say it does not work automatically only manually.

I think Kittie may have this model, I think it is normally more than £100.

[Deleted User]

my andrew james one cost around £65 and I decided later on to buy some sets of canisters. I had a cheaper foodsaver one which was narrower and smaller but it did the job and had a canister facility. It was from qvc many years ago. You can get around the narrow width by angling the sealer at corners and you don`t need a roll store on it.

Angelina-M

kittie wrote: »

steam oven!! oh you are lucky Angelina, I am a sourdough breadmaker and have to cook it in a pot to build up the steam

Yeah I do love it. I use it quite a lot although I still don't use it to its potential. It can be used for yogurt making but I still bought two vacuum flasks and make it in them!

Its actually a combi steam oven like they have in commercial kitchens so I can do things like yorkshire puds... they come out like huge volcano's!

taxsaver

Angelina, could I ask which steam oven you have?

Most seem pretty expensive, but there are a couple of freestanding ones that appear more affordable although I wonder if, as in many things, you get what you pay for in the end!