Vacuum sealers for food - money-saving or not?

Kevie192

charybdis1 wrote: »

Excellent ideas, would you blanche the veg as usual, put into the bags when cold and then the butter and herbs. Would you use fresh or dried herbs and would it make a difference. Sorry for all the questions

My AJ Pro turned up yesterday without the canisters and I sent a message to which they replied quickly with an apology and the canisters are on their way RM 1st class. Very nice, but I want them NOW

Excitement mounting

Ooh, that is exciting! My canisters aren't here either! They were sent 2nd class on Monday apparently so no idea when they should arrive but I hope it's soon.

I have so far vacuum sealed the tv remote, bf's keys oh and some pitta breads

sb44

taxsaver wrote: »

Excellent thought, I'll look out for those then.

I'm very tempted by the sous vide idea though so am planning on trying that with various raw meats and veg (different bags ofc!).

You can use those Lidl freezer bags to cook food in, it says on the box.

Kevie192

Well, I have to say I am very pleased with the seal a meal. My £15 eBay canisters arrived today and I'm really happy with those too - I've been sealing jars this evening!

I popped into m&s at lunch today and noticed new potatoes were BOGOF so I bought some. Some have been blanched for 6 mins then packed with some butter and the rest were cut up and roasted with BBQ spices, onion and garlic powder and olive oil till half done then packed. The remaining potatoes we had for dinner this evening. 5 meals worth of new potatoes for £1.60



Kevin

taxsaver

WOW!! That looks great, did you let them cool before sealing or just put them in hot and seal immediately? Is it your plan to then either microwave them or boil-in-a-bag them when you want to eat them?

My trip to Lidl is tomorrow, so that's when I'll be getting my supplies to try with.

Kevie192

I plunged the whole ones into iced water to cool them right down before packing. I intend to boil these ones in the bag after defrosting.

The chopped ones I just left to go cold before I packed. These I will toss in olive oil and cook from frozen in the oven.

LoveLifeAgain

Kevie192 wrote: »

Well, I have to say I am very pleased with the seal a meal. My £15 eBay canisters arrived today and I'm really happy with those too - I've been sealing jars this evening!

I popped into m&s at lunch today and noticed new potatoes were BOGOF so I bought some. Some have been blanched for 6 mins then packed with some butter and the rest were cut up and roasted with BBQ spices, onion and garlic powder and olive oil till half done then packed. The remaining potatoes we had for dinner this evening. 5 meals worth of new potatoes for £1.60



Kevin

Looks great and thanks for the tips,things I would never have thought of, I love this forum :j Hoping my canisters will arrive today.

sb44

Kevie192 wrote: »

Well, I have to say I am very pleased with the seal a meal. My £15 eBay canisters arrived today and I'm really happy with those too - I've been sealing jars this evening!

I popped into m&s at lunch today and noticed new potatoes were BOGOF so I bought some. Some have been blanched for 6 mins then packed with some butter and the rest were cut up and roasted with BBQ spices, onion and garlic powder and olive oil till half done then packed. The remaining potatoes we had for dinner this evening. 5 meals worth of new potatoes for £1.60



Kevin

Glad that you are pleased with your new gadget!

I had a rummage through the freezer last night and can't believe the amount of food I have in there that has freezer burn. Some of it has only been in there a few weeks.

Now that I have worked out how to use those cheap ziplock freezer bags from the discount place I am going to vac everything I buy for the freezer.

JayJay14

I have been reading this thread with interest as I have an old, sealameal which has been lansguishing in the cupboard for about 10 years!! I have used it now and again but most of the time I forget it is there. I bought it in macro for £10 all those years ago.

I have been inspired to get it out and use. Daft really as I freeze loads of HM foods and also lots of stuff from the garden. So now have packs of bacon (went to costco at the weekend) and other stuff in there which will be free of freezer burn for a change. Even vac packed some of the stuff I shipped to London at the weekend as DD has just moved into her flat down there (stopped the rattles nicely)

It will only do so much before it conks out and needs to cool down and it has no canister option, but I'm going to stick with it until it finally gives up and then I may advance to something a bit more sophisticated.

Thanks for reminding me how much fun it is.:D

sb44

JayJay14 wrote: »

I have been reading this thread with interest as I have an old, sealameal which has been lansguishing in the cupboard for about 10 years!! I have used it now and again but most of the time I forget it is there. I bought it in macro for £10 all those years ago.

I have been inspired to get it out and use. Daft really as I freeze loads of HM foods and also lots of stuff from the garden. So now have packs of bacon (went to costco at the weekend) and other stuff in there which will be free of freezer burn for a change. Even vac packed some of the stuff I shipped to London at the weekend as DD has just moved into her flat down there (stopped the rattles nicely)

It will only do so much before it conks out and needs to cool down and it has no canister option, but I'm going to stick with it until it finally gives up and then I may advance to something a bit more sophisticated.

Thanks for reminding me how much fun it is.:D

You are welcome!

I got out of the habit of using mine too as it cost too much for bags.

However, now that I know I can use jars inside the canisters and use ziplock bags, it will cost a lot less to use.

sb44

Kevie192 wrote: »

Well, I have to say I am very pleased with the seal a meal. My £15 eBay canisters arrived today and I'm really happy with those too - I've been sealing jars this evening!

I popped into m&s at lunch today and noticed new potatoes were BOGOF so I bought some. Some have been blanched for 6 mins then packed with some butter and the rest were cut up and roasted with BBQ spices, onion and garlic powder and olive oil till half done then packed. The remaining potatoes we had for dinner this evening. 5 meals worth of new potatoes for £1.60



Kevin

Don't forget about using jars to marinate food in, it will save money on bags.

The jam jar below has 5 mini chicken fillets in that I covered with homemade cajun spice and a tiny bit of lemon juice.

I left it in the fridge for an hour although it wouldn't really need that long when it is vac'd.

I cooked them on my mini George Foreman and they only took about 3 minutes to cook through.