Vacuum sealers for food - money-saving or not?

Angelina-M

Its a Gaggenau one so they are a silly price but I was able to get it ex-display for half price. It has a steam injection also, like the commercial ones so say if i'm doing bread I can just inject a line of steam.

I let my bread dough rise in it because it has just enough steam so you don't have to worry about the dough drying out. Its plumbed into the water supply in the house so I don't have to mess about filling tanks and things.

Its a fab machine and I know i'm lucky to have it.

Angelina-M

Right then I have news....... 'the crumpling up the bag a little' technique worked!!! I've had almost 100% success with it. The best thing is that because i'm using the stronger machine, it is sucking more air out of the Lidl bag than the Lidl machine could.

Now I've just done all my sausages and mince in it. Had a couple of failures but I simply crumpled the bag up a bit more and then it worked! I did a bag of sausages in the proper embossed bags and that sucked out tons more air, but I think for the shortish term (a month) that I'm going to need this meat then its enough.

So i'm really pleased about this break through. It means I can use bags that cost less than 2p versus bags that cost over 25p!!!

sb44

Angelina-M wrote: »

Right then I have news....... 'the crumpling up the bag a little' technique worked!!! I've had almost 100% success with it. The best thing is that because i'm using the stronger machine, it is sucking more air out of the Lidl bag than the Lidl machine could.

Now I've just done all my sausages and mince in it. Had a couple of failures but I simply crumpled the bag up a bit more and then it worked! I did a bag of sausages in the proper embossed bags and that sucked out tons more air, but I think for the shortish term (a month) that I'm going to need this meat then its enough.

So i'm really pleased about this break through. It means I can use bags that cost less than 2p versus bags that cost over 25p!!!

Brilliant!

I was thinking the same regarding the ones that are partly vacuumed.

If you are not going to keep them for months on end they will be fine, after all they would be ok in a normal freezer bag but better done this way.

sb44

I give up on the homemade bag front.

I have come to the final conclusion that mine isn't powerful enough to vac other bags properly.

I shall stick to using my proper bags but with freezer bags inside so that I can reuse the FoodSaver bags again.

I have 10 FoodSaver canisters (won on ebay over the past couple of years) and can also use them to vac my jars.

sb44

Does anyone know if the Andrew James bags are compatible with a Tilia FoodSaver please?

I have read that they are quite thick because they are embossed on both sides of the bag, most are only embossed on one side including the FoodSaver ones.

Angelina-M

I don't know SB, sorry.

Did you try with the Lidl freezer bags? What I did was this. Imagine you have the bag in the channel as normal. then I made two or three little pleats in the front of bag and left the bag as it was. So the back was still laid flat but there was a few pleats on the front bit.

They aren't fantastic but they will do. I want it to work for you two.. we've been through a lot these last few days.... I've never seen so much plastic!!:D

taxsaver

Angelina-M wrote: »

.... I've never seen so much plastic!!:D

... well except the 'plastic' I've used to buy myself a vacuum sealer and accessories!! :rotfl:

sb44

Angelina-M wrote: »

I don't know SB, sorry.

Did you try with the Lidl freezer bags? What I did was this. Imagine you have the bag in the channel as normal. then I made two or three little pleats in the front of bag and left the bag as it was. So the back was still laid flat but there was a few pleats on the front bit.

They aren't fantastic but they will do. I want it to work for you two.. we've been through a lot these last few days.... I've never seen so much plastic!!:D

You do know I will be back in the kitchen tomorrrow trying again, so much for me saying I'm not going to bother again!

I made pleats but I had them in both sides of the bag. I will try again in the morning and leave the back part flat and just pleat parts of the front.

It worked with those sausages and the blue strip so I should really have another try and not let it defeat me.

sb44

taxsaver wrote: »

... well except the 'plastic' I've used to buy myself a vacuum sealer and accessories!! :rotfl:

Hey, we have another member of the club.

Churchmouse

How strange I was in Lidl's just a few days ago and saw their vacuum sealer and on impulse bought one I realise it's not of the quality of the more expensive models but hey, I think it's fine for what I want. I hadn't chanced upon this thread at the time. So far I've mostly sealed stuff for the fridge ( ie short term sealing) has anybody any experience of how well ( or otherwise! ) the Lidl model does for longer-term freezer storage? I'm thinking in terms of weeks/months not years :rotfl: ( I only have a fridge/freezer so very limited space)