A vacuum sealer is one of those kitchen machines you don’t realize how much you’ll use – until you buy one. We use our vacuum sealer for food storage, sealing jars and bottles, corrosion protection, resealing bags and emergency preparedness. You can also use your vacuum sealer for sous vide cooking. In this post, we’ll discuss ways to use your sealer, do a comparison of Foodsaver models and their features, and share some tips on Foodsaver bags.
HOW DOES A VACUUM SEALER MACHINE WORK?
Vacuum sealer machines sucks the air out of a plastic bag or container and seals it so no air can get back in. When sealing soft or juicy items in plastic bags for freezer storage, it’s best to freeze the items for a few hours before vacuum sealing them. This prevents the food from being crushed or losing its juice during the vacuum process. Vacuum sealing does a great job protecting the contents from oxygen, liquids and bugs.
Here’s a quick demonstration of how to use a vacuum sealer.
WHY GET A VACUUM SEALER?
I’ve put together a list of different ways to use a home vacuum sealer to demonstrate how a vacuum sealer can help in your kitchen and home.
MY TOP CHOICES FOR BEST VACUUM SEALER ARE:
FoodSaver FM2000-FFP Vacuum Sealing System with Starter Bag/Roll Set – for bag sealing only, on a budget. Fits in a small storage area, bags stored separately.
FoodSaver FM2435-ECR Vacuum Sealing System with Bonus Handheld Sealer and Starter Kit – Mid-level machine, includes bag storage and handheled
#1 – FOOD STORAGE
I use my vacuum sealer for food storage more than any other use. Vacuum sealing dramatically extends the shelf life of food in the freezer, refrigerator and pantry.
IN THE FREEZER
Have you ever tossed a bag of produce into the fridge or freezer, thinking that you’ll use it up quickly so you don’t need to do anything special with packaging, only to find it later, freezer burned or moldy?
It takes just seconds to vacuum seal food, and vacuum sealing extends the shelf life of foods to years instead of months. Vacuum sealed meats don’t oxidize and turn brown. We always get our bulk beef purchase vacuum sealed.
PRODUCE KEEPS FOR YEARS INSTEAD OF MONTHS
I use my vacuum sealer for fresh frozen produce such as peas, broccoli, strawberries, peppers, blueberries, kale, chard, green beans and pretty much anything else that is not a puree.
I like to freeze the produce on sheet pans, and then pack into meal/recipe size bags and seal. That way, when I open the bags, the peas or berries aren’t all clumped in one big frozen block, and I can pour out at little or as much as I need at one time. Pre-freezing soft or high liquid items keeps them being crushed and juiced by the pull of the vacuum.
Post time: Mar-05-2021