Vacuum sealers for food - money-saving or not?

Peartree

cerveza wrote: »

I am now using an Eiffel Freshpack Pro vacuum sealer, a little bit more money but worth every penny as it has been rock solid and works very well. I bought it online from Fresherpack http://www.fresherpack.com

I've got one of these too. In my experience the cheaper ones are just expensive bag sealers.

I love mine and think they are particularly fabulous if you are cooking for one or two. You can bulk buy or bulk cook and then freeze in small portions, save a lot of space in the freezer and keep the food for much longer. They're also good if you're a keen vegetable grower and have to deal with gluts.

It's a gadget that hasn't gone to the back of the cupboard but money spent on the cheaper versions is, in my experience, wasted. You also need the proper bags for real, long term vacuum storage and they can be expensive - ebay are the best source I've found. However, if I'm just sticking something in the freezer for short term use, I do use ordinary freezer bags.

battelaxe

I just bought jml food sealer replacement bags, very strong 2x 3m rolls for £4.99
22cm and 28cm wide. Is it worth me going 20 miles for the bag sealer at Lidl, will they have any left do you think?

Slonik_2

Can't speak for the Lidl machine but some of the cheaper, less powerful, models don't work well and really just heat seal the bags. Some of these sealers have a tube arrangement inside which pops into the opening of the bag and sucks the air out before the bag is sealed. This type can be used with ordinary bags but don't work very well in my experience.

I've just bought a Wolfgang Puck vacuum sealer which is very good when using the rather expensive specialist embossed/channelled bags these machines tend to require. After a little experimentation, however, I've discovered that ordinary, much cheaper, bags (e.g. reasonable quality freezer/sandwich bags) can be used simply by putting a short length of plastic drinking straw (or similar) inside the bag opening to bridge the gap between the vacuum chamber, heat sealing strip and the inside of the bag to be evacuated. This emulates what the channels in the bespoke bags do and allows the air to be sucked out of the bag very nicely by the pump but is thin enough to be sealed by the hot wire mechanism. All you have to do after the cycle is finished is to trim off the outer portion of the straw if you're the neat and tidy type...

AbbieCadabra

another vote for the Eiffel Freshpack Pro from fresherpack.co.uk from me, quality machine, really easy to use & great service

Kadeeae

When I put foods in the freezer I always remove as much air as possible and make sure that the pack is as tightly sealed (and airless) as I can get it. Yesterday I took a pack of 2 pork chops out of the freezer that had been in a little less than 4 months to find them freezer burnt with the dry paper look to them. This seem to happen about every 10 packs or so (variety of contents) and I'm getting fed up.

What does everyone else do to wrap freezer parcels well? Does anyone use one of those vacuum sealers with the heavier plastic bags and is it really worth the ££'s??

Help please :wall:

Peartree

I've got one and consider it worth every penny I paid. It is particularly good if you are cooking for one or two and so don't use full packs of food in one go.

I like to buy really good quality meat or fish in bulk and divide it into single portions for freezing. It keeps for much longer and doesn't get any freezer burn. I wouldn't vacuum pack something I'm going into the freezer for every few days, like say, grated cheese, but I might grate a big block, put some in a normal bag for 'using' and the rest in a vacuum pack for longer term storage until it replaces the bag in regular use.

Never mind freezing, they are also great if you are, say, an infrequent baker but keep bags of flour, nuts, dried fruit and so on - especially if you are in a place where you get nasties in the kitchen! Just the bag sealing aspect is very useful for big bags of things like oven chips.

However, don't be tempted to buy some of the ones you see on the shopping channels which don't have a very powerful vacuum and don't suck out all the air - they are basically just expensive heat sealers. It is worth looking at reviews on the internet and you're probably looking at the £100 mark for something that really works. I've got a Freshpak-Pro from a shop on e-bay - that's a good place to look at what's available. You also need to use the 'proper' bags for real vacuum packing and they aren't that cheap. However, if you keep your eyes on e-bay you can pick some up in bulk at decent prices. I also reuse bags after a good wash - depending on what was previously packed in them (no amount of washing will get rid of the smell of fish!).

I've also vacuum packed all sorts of non-food items to protect them for storing in the garage or loft.

Despite the initial outlay, it is one gadget that lives on my worktop and I wouldn't be without. I'm sure it has saved me more it costs.

JayJay14

I have a small cheap one (Macro £9.99 about 2 years ago - a Seal-a-meal). I use is mainly for meat, for example I bought a 1/2 pig last year and as there are only 2 of us we are working our way through it slowly. It does the job and I bought it to see if I liked it but didn't want to spend too much. When I have to replace it I will go for a much better quality one.

Knowing my luck it will last forever - I bought a cheap breadmaker as I wasn't sure if I wanted one and I've had it about 8 years!!

Peartree

JayJay14 wrote: »

I have a small cheap one (Macro £9.99 about 2 years ago - a Seal-a-meal). I use is mainly for meat, for example I bought a 1/2 pig last year and as there are only 2 of us we are working our way through it slowly. It does the job and I bought it to see if I liked it but didn't want to spend too much. When I have to replace it I will go for a much better quality one.

Knowing my luck it will last forever - I bought a cheap breadmaker as I wasn't sure if I wanted one and I've had it about 8 years!!

That is EXACTLY what I do and exactly what I did before I bought my current vacuum sealer. The old one, however, was more sealer than vacuum but certainly proved the worth of the concept. However, sometimes, when you've reached this stage, I find an outmoded appliance might need a helping hand to a better life and justification for me to replace it with a better model (usually I can find a 'needy' young family member starting out).

katholicos

I've been looking at them online and in shops for a while now and even bought two on separate occasions, but i took/sent them both back as i was not satisfied with how they functioned.

The first one i purchased was from Westfalia. It sealed, just about, but had no vacuum to speak of. The second was a JML model. I found that I struggled to get the bags suitably positioned to vacuum the air out. I also had a a bit of a problem sealing some of the bags. I suppose i have expectations that are too high for the amount of money i was prepared to spend on the item at the time :-)

I have heard that the eiffel freshpack pro is a good vacuum food sealer, but alas, it's out of my price bracket at the moment.

I look forward to reading replies to your OP.

Kadeeae

Ok, so the two main aspects of the machines are sucking and sealing And as with most things there are machines out there who are better at one or the other, yes?

Peartree, may I ask which one you own? I have looked at a few review sites, not spent loads of time tho, and came away almost as confused as when I started. Also, are bags standard (fit any machine) or does each brand have it's own bags and only those?