Vaccum Sealer

[donut757]

Im thinking of getting my mother a Vaccum Sealer for Christmas. She loves to cook a ton a food and freeze it so she can have meals ready later. Or buy manager special meats on sale. As of now she just wraps them and puts them in bags and i know it cant be easy on her poor arthritic hands.

I dont have any experience using one, but would like to find one for her that is easy to use. If its difficult to use i know she will just keep it in the cabinet and not say a word about it. Any recommendation or help from anybody that using them would be a huge help?

 

[Don Lovel]

We use a Seal A Meal machine. Bags available in various sizes and will protect against freezer burn.
Nice thing is for soups, you just put the package into some hot water to heat it, works great

 

[Mobuck]

I have two units-we've used them quite a bit for packaging home butchered meat. Sealing pre-cooked food may be tricky as the vacuuming process will squish most things into a non-recognizable patty.

 

[Pyromike]

Wife has a couple - don't know the brands but she buys bags at local grocery store. Also can get bags where you can cut your own size for whatever you're sealing. Works great for fish & meat. Most are easy to use. She'll love it.

 

[donut757]

I have two units-we've used them quite a bit for packaging home butchered meat. Sealing pre-cooked food may be tricky as the vacuuming process will squish most things into a non-recognizable patty.

Did not think about that.

 

[nlocke]

About two months ago I bought a FOODSAVER V2244. So far it has worked fine and is pretty simple to use. I like it for its size which is 15"L x 6"W x 4"H. Runs around $50.

 

[tinman]

Just bought a Food Saver (model FM3600) a few weeks ago. Not only will it seal the freezer bags, it will reseal chip and cereal style bags. It also has an attachment to vacuum seal a mason jar. Already used it to freeze 100 egg rolls in packs of 10 and and 5 pounds of burgers in packs of 6. Works like a champ......but be careful when resealing chips.....it will suck every molecule of air out till it crushes them into crumbs.......ask me how I know.

 

[Colonialgirl]

I just use ZIP-LOCK freezer bags and squish all the air out before zipping them up; works great and it DOES keep the meat "fresh" along with other things. Quart and gallon sizes; just buy the ones with the Slide Zipper and marked "FREEZER BAGS".

 

[Viking Queen]

I have a food saver. Very easy to use. I use it for lots of things.

Have packaged up some first aid supplies into little waterproof packets, some fire starter kits, matches and a lighter, extra socks and mittens, to keep them dry when hiking. You can make up your own slushy ice packs to keep in the freezer for putting on injured body parts, swollen knee, twisted ankle, etc. You can seal documents, or copies of documents, like birth certificates, passports, etc., to keep them safe from water damage. I made little tiny vacuum bags and made packets of various over the counter meds to keep in my human/pet first aid kit....Ibuprophin, immodium, benadryl, pepto bismol tablets, pepcid ac, buffered aspirin, each in their own packet along with doseage for adult human and 45 lb poodle . I also made packets with gauze, cotton pads, vetwrap bandages, ace bandage, a packet with bandage scissors, hemostats,etc. keeps this stuff dry and keeps it clean until needed.

In the kitchen Of course I package food for the freezer. If I buy blueberries, raspberries, etc, when they are on sale during season, I freeze them on parchment covered cookie sheets then after frozen I seal them. You can seal things in bags without crushing fragile things by not sucking all the air out and hitting the "seal" only button. You can reseal chip bags, mylar type, without sucking the air out and crushing the chips. I buy big bags of nuts for baking and snacking, when they are on sale, then I vacuum seal smaller quantities to keep them fresh.

I even make tall skinny packets the size that you get salad dressing in if you go to Wendy's , McD's etc and order a salad. I make the packets and fill several with salad dressing, using a funnel, standing them up in a drinking glass. Then I freeze them....then I seal them. Back in the freezer. No more wasted 1/2 bottles of dressing or no more eating the same dressing day after day.

I live alone, so even using zip lock bags to freeze food results in freezer burn ruined food. I don't have that kind of waste with my food saver. It is a really handy gadget. Just use your imagination for possible uses.

Viking Queen

 

[SR1911SHOOTER]

Im thinking of getting my mother a Vaccum Sealer for Christmas. She loves to cook a ton a food and freeze it so she can have meals ready later. Or buy manager special meats on sale. As of now she just wraps them and puts them in bags and i know it cant be easy on her poor arthritic hands.

I dont have any experience using one, but would like to find one for her that is easy to use. If its difficult to use i know she will just keep it in the cabinet and not say a word about it. Any recommendation or help from anybody that using them would be a huge help?

Donut,
Google Food Saver. We have had one for almost 20 years. We still have stuff in the
freezer from the late nineties out of our garden. We just finished the last of the venison
from my last deer. Your Mom will love it, It is very easy to use.
Blackie

https://www.foodsaver.com/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI2OPI0cv51wIVQTyBCh1GnQAyEAAYASAAEgKKevD_BwE&kwid=295965051011x46793341804x905877245

 

[Mobuck]

If you're doing a lot of packaging, get the bags on ebay. About 1/2 the cost of OTC and work just as well. I think I was buying in lots of 250-300 for the quart size that we use for burger. This is a fantastic way to do burger as the packages come out flat and square making freezing quicker and stacking in the freezer more efficient.
It ties up a lot of $$ and freezer space but using the vacuum-able tupperware type containers works great for things like lasagna or casseroles. Spaghetti sauce is a prime use for the bags IF it's not too runny.

 

[Ka6otm]

The wife and I have had a Food Saver for over 20 years. We buy virtually all our meats on sale at least ½ off and frequently buy one, get one free or buy one, get two free. We then vacuum seal them and put them in the freezer. That's another thing you need to get the most from a vacuum sealer in order to save money.

Soft things like perhaps cake and cupcakes and pie and fragile things like potato chips will indeed crush. Firmer things won't.

 

[donut757]

Shoot, looks like i might be getting two of them.


Thanks for replies.

 

[steveodtw]

The first time I used our food sealer, I decided to vacuum pack and freeze some extra blueberry muffins while they were still fresh. It turned them into cookies! Flattened them. That's how I learned to freeze soft foods first, than vacuum pack. Use it a lot to freeze meats. Adds at least a year to storage time IMHO.

 

[lipofsky]

We are on our second food saver, wore out the first one after a bunch of years, this one has an option that you can stop the vacuum process and seal the bag if things ar getting "squished or liquid is getting vacuumed into the sealing area. Wife gets the Food saver brand bags from prety much anywhere and also from amazon, she is not crazy about Cabela's brand. This thing is just great, she also will partially freeze some things to firm them up and then vacuum pack them for the long term.

 

[SAJohn]

I just use freezer zip-locks, stick a straw in them and suck. Works great. I do have a vacuum pump, maybe I will experiment with it.

 

[donut757]

Foodsaver.com is running buy 1 get 1 50% off, and free shipping.

 

[powder smoke]

Food Saver is what we use works great for bulk buys of meat. Game meat also
veggies from the garden we like ours. Blanched corn on the cob is my favorite
In the winter it's a real treat. ps