Vacuum sealers for food - money-saving or not?

Kevie192

charybdis1 wrote: »

I got my canisters and they work brilliantly, just like my AJ which seems to have an awful lot of suck :j
I had a test try with the canisters and wanted to put up some pictures but could not get it to work. I used photobucket and did the link thing but all I got was a square with a small red cross in it and I did put it to share but clearly do not have the ability to know what I have done wrong Tried to google but just got the Red Cross organisation

I used some pickle jars and the seal is holding beautifully. When I got some meat from the weekly meat van (excellent, fresh as they butcher it themselves and very cheap) and took advice on here and open froze the steaks and then put them in bags with greaseproof between and I am thrilled - no blood being sucked up :dance:

If you try to post your pics and leave it with a red cross, I'll have a look and see what's gone wrong if you like?

Angelina-M

sb44 wrote: »

Just been to check and two of the three are fine, the other has had to be redone.

Not sure why it works sometimes and doesn't at others.

Yep thats the same with me. The trouble is you can't rely on it then if you are hoping to deep freeze something. The expensive bags seem to hold so i'll use them and just use Lidl ones for everyday fridge stuff thats only going to be there a day or two.

sb44

Kevie192 wrote: »

If you try to post your pics and leave it with a red cross, I'll have a look and see what's gone wrong if you like?

I know when I use Picturepush I have to delete part of the link for it to work on here.

For instance it gives me:



I have to delete everything before the http and everything after the jpg for it to work.

So it is:

http://www5.picturepush.com/photo/a/6182903/640/6182903.jpg

It also sometimes pastes the link twice so you may have to delete half of it.

sb44

Angelina-M wrote: »

Yep thats the same with me. The trouble is you can't rely on it then if you are hoping to deep freeze something. The expensive bags seem to hold so i'll use them and just use Lidl ones for everyday fridge stuff thats only going to be there a day or two.

You are right that is the best thing to do.

I think I will order some 'proper' bags, leave them long if they are for things I will be going into often and put the stuff inside another bag inside the proper one.

Angelina-M

sb44 wrote: »

You are right that is the best thing to do.

I think I will order some 'proper' bags, leave them long if they are for things I will be going into often and put the stuff inside another bag inside the proper one.

I think thats the way to do it. I've also put the good bags through the dishwasher and they come out fine. As you say, if its something that will stain or fresh meat, I use a Lidl bag inside it to protect it.

Sunnyday

Hi peeps :wave:

back from hols now and just popping in for a quick catchup before i set off for w*rk. I`ve heard a rumour that there will be no more net access from w*rk which will drastically reduce my catchup time but i shall see when i get there so if i`m absent later then you will all know why.

We had a smashing time in Cornwall and now i`m back to reality once again, thanks for all the well wishes folks :A

Two of my jars of sealed dehydrated onions were unsealed when i got back and the onions were a bit bendy instead of brittle and the edges had discoloured a bit - they were a bit pinkish so i threw them in the freezer and i shall use those up first. I`m going to be dehydrating a lot of onions over the next week or so and i really need to get myself organised.

I think that when they are done i shall either make tiny bags for them from the proper stuff and throw them in the cupboard afterwards to store (think that will be ok as i bought dried onions before and they were in a bag that was in a box) or use the cheapy bags and throw them in the freezer - i`ve not really decided yet so any opinions will help

I`ve been reading about sous vide and the slow cooker and i`m very interested in this. I think that at some stage i shall vac pack some new pots with butter and herbs etc and freeze and also some veggie with various bits and them experiment with those when i have time.

I`m thinking that when we have peeps over for a meal then i can just take the cooked bags out of the slow cooker and serve without any effort from me on the day and i can just relax

Right best make a move or i`ll be late :eek: Hopefully i`ll catch up later.

SD

Angelina-M

Glad you had a good time SD, and its nice to have you back :beer:

Hmmm I wonder why the jars came unsealed? Once i've made mine airtight I twist them really tight and up to now they have stayed sealed.

I'm loving the dehydrator as you have probably read. I'm just doing pineapple and some soaked oat groats at the minute.

I'm keeping the vaccing machine on the worktop and that way its getting used. Then I'm using it for things like half cucumber and they are staying fresher in the fridge.

I fancy doing the new potato thing and freezing but I thought potatoe's went black in the freezer.... but is that due to oxygen. One night when there is just hubby and me i'm going to do a Sous Vide steak. I will of course report back!

Sunnyday

I`ve bought a different kind of jar home from w*rk so i shall give that one a try when i have something to seal in it
Its quite a tall jar so i think that it will need to go in the largest cannister to be sealed. I`m hoping that it was just the type of jar that didn`t like being resealed as both the ones that failed were the same type and all the others have been fine - hope that i`ve not jinxed them now :rotfl:

I went straight into the cupboard when i got up this morning to check.

I`m sure that i`ve read somewhere that the potatoes go black if they are not blanched first - i shall have to do a bit more reading before i have a go with them but the thought of unsealing the bag to hot cooked new potatoes smothered with butter and herbs is mouth watering lol. I love potatoes Think that i need to cut down on the carbs for now though as i`m struggling into most of my clothes after the hols

Which granola recipe did you use? I`ve been interested in making this in the past but its yet another thing that i`ve never got around to actually trying.

SD

Angelina-M

Well I didn't really use a recipe. What I did is soak and dry some oat groats. Then I mashed a banana and a bit of honey and sunflower oil, only a bit, just about a tablespoon oil and teaspoon honey.

Mixed these up really well. Chopped up some mixed nuts and then dried this lot out on the dehydrator. Then added to it lots of mixed fruits that I have dried, including cherries, strawberries etc. It really was delicious.

Edited to add, yes I agree about the potatoes, it does sound wonderful, I will read up a bit more on the best way to do this.

LoveLifeAgain

taxsaver wrote: »

Hmmm... I haven't been drawn into the whole dehydration thing yet - but have started looking! :rotfl:

Just had a look and it is a minefield with prices all over the place, quite scary :eek: