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Topic: Vacuum Sealer - Food Saver (Read 151 times) previous topic - next topic
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Vacuum Sealer - Food Saver
Past posts on Instant Pots, pressure, solar, and thermal cookers, storage containers, assorted cooking utensils, barbecues/grills, refrigerators, etc. inspired me to tout what, to me, is an essential "food prep" tool for the house or the rig (if these are not already the same!), the vacuum sealer!

The sealer that I have had for several years is the old version of the current basic (no frills, inexpensive, small, works just fine) model:

FoodSaver® FM2000-000 Vacuum Sealer at FoodSaver.com.

The 8" bag rolls (Game Saver® in multi-roll packs) are the most convenient (cut to fit) and inexpensive packaging for my uses, which are freezing individual (or a two-day "feed") portions of meat and poultry, casseroles that are not "soupy", fruits,  roasted and peeled peppers/chiles, and whatever else won't leak or get compressed into an unrecognizable lump, e.g., breads and muffins, when vacuum sealed. The packs (labeled and dated) take less space in the freezer than if they were in containers, the packaging is disposable, and the vacuum-sealed foods retain quality, flavor, texture, and color for far longer than freezing in containers because the contents are not exposed to air.

There are a few prep and cooking items that are must-haves for me; the Food Saver is one of them!

As ever, YMMV.  ;)

Joan





2003 TK has a new home
Re: Vacuum Sealer - Food Saver
Reply #1 –
"There are a few prep and cooking items that are must-haves for me; the Food Saver is one of them!"

These are very efficient for long-term storage of frozen items - practically forever!  I have two of them (one that I bought, and one that I inherited) and about three cubic feet of bags.  The lot of 'em sit entirely unused in my appliance cabinet in the utility room.  Although I did actually use them for a while - especially for vacuum sealing Mason jars with bulk spices in them and marinating meat - they have fallen out of favor with me.

I found that the bulky plastic, although terrific for longevity, took up more room than I was willing to allot to them, especially for use in the smallish freezer of the Lazy Daze.  Tossing out that expensive wrapping was hard to do as well, and if I wished to retain it, well, there was all that washing with a limited supply of water.

So . . . I had to find a better (for me!) way to get the same effect.  What I do now is cook (or not) an item that I want to take in the freezer on a trip, and then wrap it in one of the fold-top plastic sandwich bags, which cling nicely to the surface of the contents.  Then I refrigerate or freeze them in that state, and then put them into a standard ziptop freezer bag, and toss the whole of it back into the freezer.  This provides the same "no air on the food" situation that the vacuum had produced, and doesn't take very long, nor use an appliance that must be stored somewhere.  There always seemed to be altitude problems with the vacuum sealer as well.

I do roasted red peppers in quantity in season, and then repackage into the smaller bags that are taken out of the big supply easily for use for two or three meals.  Boneless chicken breasts (raw or cooked) respond to this method quite well, too.  I do large roasts and then cut into two-meal sized pieces, drizzling a modicum of the juices into the bag for making gravy when that piece is resurrected for use.  Cooked sausage morsels are very handy for popping into a dish for extra pizzaz.

I'm sure I could go on for about an hour with suggestions, but you get the picture, yah? 

   Virtual hugs,

   Judie
Re: Vacuum Sealer - Food Saver
Reply #2 –
Yes, truly a YMMV issue! 😜

Joan
2003 TK has a new home
 
Re: Vacuum Sealer - Food Saver
Reply #3 –
We use the vacuum sealer  too!  The best way, in our humble opinions to keep food costs down.  We buy in bulk then freeze the rest - no food waste and everything is marked and dated.