topic Re: Tell Me About Your Sealer in Kitchen

Tell Me About Your Sealer

justashopper — Sun, 08 Sep 2024 14:01:56 GMT

Hi😄

is that what it is called? A thing that vacuums the air out to prolong storage.

I would love if you'd share your advice!

big thanks in adv!

Re: Tell Me About Your Sealer

grandma2pkmh — Sun, 08 Sep 2024 14:26:01 GMT

@justashopper I rely on my FoodSaver every week. Any time there is a BOGO on meats (chicken, pork chops, ground beef etc) I purchase them and use the food saver to re-package them for individual servings and freeze them. Saves time and money.

Re: Tell Me About Your Sealer

Pezzie — Sun, 08 Sep 2024 14:34:39 GMT

@justashopper The item that you are referring to is called a vacuum sealer. I have used one for what seems like forever. The sealer bags are reuseable, but can be costly, unless you buy them on sale.

I don't like to vacuum seal fresh meat because I find that the meat gets squeezed the life out of them, and I also don't care to have meat juices running into the sealer bags. Yes, I can wash them to reuse but I don't care for that. Instead, what I do, is wrap the meat (fresh) in Saran Wrap or equivalent, in appropriate portions to fit your household and freeze it that way. Once that's frozen then I vacuum seal the meat.

The pros - meat stays in shape, there is no meat juice contaminating the vacuum seal bag. If several packages are sealed in one bag, it's easy to remove just a package as they won't be all frozen together.

Finally, write what the package contains and date it.

Re: Tell Me About Your Sealer

goldensrbest — Sun, 08 Sep 2024 14:37:22 GMT

I find the foodsaver vacuum sealer the best for freezing meats,chicken,pork.

Re: Tell Me About Your Sealer

JeanLouiseFinch — Sun, 08 Sep 2024 14:44:03 GMT

I purchased an off brand from Amazon a little over a year and a half ago. It does the job, I get the bagging material at Costco.

Re: Tell Me About Your Sealer

Sooner — Sun, 08 Sep 2024 14:44:08 GMT

We wouldn't be without a food saver, but we also love our Zwilling Handheld Vacuum Sealer for quick, small batch, easy storage!

It is small enough to fit in a drawer, works great, and is a quick way to save better than a zip bag but maybe not as long term as the big Food Saver.

We got ours from that Amazing place for less than $70.

Re: Tell Me About Your Sealer

justashopper — Sun, 08 Sep 2024 14:46:18 GMT

Thanks @goldensrbest @Pezzie @grandma2pkmh

appreciate the advice!

Love about freezing first then sealing. Genius! I will remember that.

I am looking to save avocados 🥑, fresh fruit, bread, portions of sauces, too etc....

Maybe a canister type is good? I think something that can do both would be nice.

Do you have a brand you like?

Re: Tell Me About Your Sealer

justashopper — Sun, 08 Sep 2024 14:48:07 GMT

Good thinking @JeanLouiseFinch I have a price club membership too. Thanks!

Re: Tell Me About Your Sealer

justashopper — Sun, 08 Sep 2024 14:49:32 GMT

Hi @Sooner

I have wondered about those. Thank you for also including the brand.

Re: Tell Me About Your Sealer

loriqvc — Sun, 08 Sep 2024 18:37:11 GMT

@justashopper - I love my FoodSaver (it's the "GameSaver" version, which I believe has the broadest range of features from this brand) and have had it for many years. Even though I don't use it all the time, when I need it, I'm very happy to have it. Just this week, I portioned and froze a batch of Heartland Fresh chicken breasts and some soft pretzel nuggets from The Pretzel Co. that I bought here at QVC. And tonight for dinner, I'll actually be opening a package of frozen Authentic Gourmet mini croissants that I bought a couple of years ago and "Food Saved" for later.

Although I primarily use my big Food Saver for long-term storage, I also have a smaller handheld version that works with specialized bags for shorter-term refrigerator storage; it gets used frequently for cheese slices, deli meat, and baked goods.

If you get a FoodSaver, there's no need to spend extra to get the same brand of bags, though they do often go on sale both locally and online for good prices at times. For the past five or six years, I've been buying the OutOfAir brand bags on Amazon—they are very high quality and come in a variety of sizes (I most often use the quart size).

One final note: I have found that the bags always seal and retain freshness better than any of the container options that are offered, whether from FoodSaver or another brand I tried (don't recall the name).

Good luck!

ETA: I just searched the QVC website and found that they have a FoodSaver model with some great features, including an accessory port if you want to try using the containers and the bags: https://www.qvc.com/foodsaver-vacuum-sealer-machine-system.product.K91586.html?sc=SRCH

(There is also a really big FoodSaver set that includes containers, bags, and even a handheld sealer; some of the button commands seem odd, but I just don't know what they do, so perhaps this big deluxe version would interest you:
https://www.qvc.com/foodsaver-2-in-1-vacuum-sealer-handheld-sealer-%26-bags.product.K93652.html?sc=SRCH)

Re: Tell Me About Your Sealer

mjmm — Sun, 08 Sep 2024 18:53:27 GMT

I have the food saver. I like it very much. I got the one that also has the external tube to be used with to he one way valve press seal bags. The gadget which plugs into the top has broken. The plastic piece which plugs in cracked. I bought another external plug and that one cracked also after about 10 uses.

Re: Tell Me About Your Sealer

We rescue cats — Sun, 08 Sep 2024 20:10:14 GMT

I had a countertop foodsaver for a long time and loved it, when it bit the dust I bought a cuisinart portable, it was a pistol grip, and loved it even though I had to buy bags that had a suction area on each bag. Loved ir for year but it has bit the dust and since it appears to be discontinuued I need to get another brand so will probably go back to the foodsaver.

Re: Tell Me About Your Sealer

Rockycoast — Sun, 08 Sep 2024 21:09:19 GMT

FoodSaver brand is the best that there is. We had our first FoodSaver close to 30 years. Wonderful small appliance. We purchased another FoodSaver and it has been doing just as good as the first. We buy meats in bulk, cut and portion it into serving sizes and into the chest freezer they go. We like to go to pick-your- own fruit farms along with growing some fruits of our own. Those too get divided into 2 cup portions, vacuumed and into the freezer. It is a great money saver for the budget. FoodSaver is the only brand we would purchase. Well made, lasts decades. Great investment.

Re: Tell Me About Your Sealer

Eileen in Virginia — Mon, 09 Sep 2024 01:48:19 GMT

I bought a Food Saver when QVC originally offered it and loved it from day 1. It came with all the bells & whistles and lasted a long time (probably about 10 years). When it died, I replaced it with another, more modern version. The second one was too big for my counter, so I gave it to a friend and bought a NutriChef from Amazon. I've had it for 3 or 4 years now and love it, too. It's a basic model and doesn't take up much space on my counter. I have a small galley kitchen, so an appliance has to earn its space on the kitchen counter. My shrink wrapper's right up there with the microwave and toaster oven.

I never used the canisters or rolls that came with my original Food Saver, just the quart and gallon sized bags. I use them to break down & freeze meats that I buy at BJ's. I also freeze smaller portions of focaccia bread for reheating later. I order pound bags of spices from Amazon and shrink wrap them as well. They're great for storing bricks of cheese after you've used some - they never get moldy. They're perfect for storing hot dogs if you don't use the whole package in one sitting. I get bacon from a farmer that's delivered in loose bags. I repackage each pound in the quart bags, dividing the number of slices in half, folding each half-pound in half, then placing them on top of each other before sealing. We usually use a half-pound when we have bacon and just reseal the bag until we're ready to have it again. It's easy to find the quart-sized bags, but the gallon-sized ones are harder to find. I can usually find them at kitchen outlets in outlet malls, sometimes at Walmart or Amazon. I'm sure there are non-food uses for it, but I primarily use mine for food.

Re: Tell Me About Your Sealer

deeva — Mon, 09 Sep 2024 20:27:00 GMT

I love my Foodsaver. I've also used it to seal large quantities of liquids and pack them in my suitcase when I check a bag during my flight.

Re: Tell Me About Your Sealer

Nightowlz — Mon, 09 Sep 2024 20:53:22 GMT

We have used a Foodsaver for years. I buy the rolls on their site when they have BOGO sale. I make my own bags from the rolls.

We seal all the meat we buy so it doesn't get freezer burn.

@Pezzie

You can freeze meat on cookie sheets so it doesn't get squeezed to death or blood running into your sealer. I think they recommend that but not sure.

Anything with liquid you can freeze first before vacuum sealing.

Re: Tell Me About Your Sealer

wagirl — Mon, 09 Sep 2024 20:59:43 GMT

I have the Food Saver brand.. It has done a great job with eveything I chose to seal up and store.

Re: Tell Me About Your Sealer

branny — Mon, 09 Sep 2024 21:03:44 GMT

how do you clean it. Does juices suck into the tube and machine

Re: Tell Me About Your Sealer

Icegoddess — Mon, 09 Sep 2024 21:46:19 GMT

@branny wrote:
how do you clean it. Does juices suck into the tube and machine

@branny the one I have has a lift-out plastic tray in case any juices get sucked into it, but I pre-freeze my meats or other items that might do that, like chili. I put the chili in one of the freezer bags and fold the top under and lay it on a cookie sheet and put in the freezer.

Re: Tell Me About Your Sealer

Icegoddess — Mon, 09 Sep 2024 21:47:13 GMT

I also like to pre-freeze breaded veggies. That way they won't get smooshed.