Vacuum sealers for food - money-saving or not?

Kevie192

Yep I will try that next time

I like those Bonne Marman jars, they seem to vac really well!

sb44

Kevie192 wrote: »

Yep I will try that next time

I like those Bonne Marman jars, they seem to vac really well!

Yep, I have found that Opies Sliced Lemon jars seal well too.

Angelina-M

Oh i've missed you guys!!

The builders cut through my internet cable (and the electric and water cables too!!) and I only got internet back on an hour ago!

Just catching up, great pics. Never thought of cooking the sausages before freezing!

Ok as I've had no internet, I did a lot of experimenting with the two different sealers (Lidl one and Eiffel one) they really are a world apart. I've had quite a few bags that have failed whilst in the fridge from the Lidl machine which is annoying if you don't notice it. The Eifell is brilliant, the suction is far stronger (yes I did side by side comparisons lol)

I've bought a load more bags for the Eiffel. I bought them from Fresherpack as the company are excellent. I'm going to do a full review later.

I've also been dehydrating lots of stuff and vacuum sealing it.... oh its a whole new world!!

taxsaver

OK, here is a pic of some chicken I prepared earlier (Blue Peter style!! :rotfl:)



The front one is Cajun spices with some olive oil and Lea & Perrins, the back left is lemon juice, olive oil and fresh basil and the the back right is lemon juice, olive oil, chives and oregano. They are all marinading in the fridge overnight and will be frozen tomorrow morning.

The intention is to then cook sous vide at the time they are wanted. In total I did seven individual portions as that way there is more flexibility for people to have what they want.

Also, all bar one of the seven were done using the Lidl freezer bags shown in the picture. I found that I could cut the bags in half and then seal the bottom of the top part to make another bag, so from each Lidl bag I got two single portion bags to use. They vacuumed and sealed fine simply by scrunching up the two edges of the top at the time that I put them into the sealer. IYSWIM

Later I'll do single portions of veg in a similar manner.

Angelina-M

Taxsaver I have a million questions now... great pic btw!

Firstly, have you found any of the seals have failed? I did a few Lidl bags on my Eiffel and things were going good but the next day a couple of the bags had failed. On closer inspection it seems that there was a tiny area next to the scrunched bit that had not sealed and the air slowly leaked through.

Secondly, how did you deal with the juices getting sucked up into machine? I found I had to part freeze the items to stop blood/juice from zooming up.

Thirdly, i'm dying to know what Sous Vide method you are going to choose. I don't fancy the really long low temp method, instead i'm going to do a higher temp of around 141 for about three hours.

Also, how are you going to cook it? In a pan? I'm still reading up on Sous Vide and i'm certainly keen to give it a go!

sb44

I feel hungry now after seeing those pics!

I said those Lidl bags were good, you will save a lot of money there.



I think I will give the 'boil in the bag' a go, haven't tried that properly yet and I have had my vacs for about 3 years.

Well, I did warm the dogs liver that way when the microwave died last week.

I bet you wish you had bought one years ago.

sb44

Angelina-M wrote: »

Oh i've missed you guys!!

The builders cut through my internet cable (and the electric and water cables too!!) and I only got internet back on an hour ago!

Just catching up, great pics. Never thought of cooking the sausages before freezing!

Ok as I've had no internet, I did a lot of experimenting with the two different sealers (Lidl one and Eiffel one) they really are a world apart. I've had quite a few bags that have failed whilst in the fridge from the Lidl machine which is annoying if you don't notice it. The Eifell is brilliant, the suction is far stronger (yes I did side by side comparisons lol)

I've bought a load more bags for the Eiffel. I bought them from Fresherpack as the company are excellent. I'm going to do a full review later.

I've also been dehydrating lots of stuff and vacuum sealing it.... oh its a whole new world!!

Have you had vac forum withdrawal symptoms?

I froze the sausages as the use by date was a couple of days after I had bought them.

What are you going to do with your Lidl vac then? Does it have a canister feature?

If it does you could always use that for just those to save the motor on your other one as you Lidl machine has a 3 year guarantee.

sb44

Angelina-M wrote: »

Thirdly, i'm dying to know what Sous Vide method you are going to choose. I don't fancy the really long low temp method, instead i'm going to do a higher temp of around 141 for about three hours.

I think I saw that some people suggest putting the bag in a slow cooker.

I suppose you would leave it in there on low for about 8 hours or so, it could be worth experimenting with that one.

taxsaver

Hi Angelina,

I've just been and checked them and they all look ok still atm, but I'll check again in the morning. I did look closely at them when they came out and they all looked pretty good, but time will tell.

I watched very closely for the juices and although they looked to be rising up the bags as the air was drawn out miraculously none actually escaped into the machine at all. I think it helps that the bags are resting on the table when the sealer is working, so the liquid has to go 'uphill'.

I'm not yet 100% sure how I'm going to cook them, but was thinking that a few hours in water in a slow cooker would be the way forward. I have a digital thermometer, the type that has a probe on the end of a wire, so I intend to check temps with that the first time and if I need to then I'll finish in a pan of boiling water on the stove.

Angelina-M

sb44 wrote: »

Have you had vac forum withdrawal symptoms?

I froze the sausages as the use by date was a couple of days after I had bought them.

What are you going to do with your Lidl vac then? Does it have a canister feature?

If it does you could always use that for just those to save the motor on your other one as you Lidl machine has a 3 year guarantee.

To be honest SB i'm thinking of keeping the Lidl one on the side just for things like cheese that is used everyday. Then the kids will hopefully seal things back up. I don't want them messing with my good sealer! No it doesn't have the canister mode which is a real shame because thats a long process even when used with the correct size canister for the jar.