My newest experiment has been vacuum sealing my food. As one who always loved to "put up" food in glass Mason jars and keep a stocked freezer, the thought of further food preservation intrigued me. Vacuum sealing is a simple way of preserving food. If airborne bacteria can't get to the food, the process of natural breakdown (spoilage) can be avoided. It's the way food is packaged for shipping, so why not try it at home? I'm still on the fence as to whether or not it is saving me money, but I certainly am having fun learning.
By packaging a head of lettuce, which is pricey in my area of the country during the winter, in a vacuum canister I can preserve it for more than two weeks. All the while it looks as green as the day I brought it home.
I've even sealed leftover steak rolls in a canister and used them eight days later without noticing a difference in their freshness.
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I have found with my foodsaver you can reseal bags of chips, cookies, cereal, etc..... do not vacuum the bag just use the seal setting.
This is very handy for us as we have several kinds of chips going at the same time and I just cut the bag down and seal, preserving the quality longer with no stale chips
You said:
"If airborne bacteria can't get to the food, the process of natural breakdown (spoilage) can be avoided. It's the way food is packaged for shipping, so why not try it at home?"
I hope you mean dry foods, not wet foods. The commercial wet foods vacuum packed are also heat processed. It wouldn't be safe to only vacuum pack something like soup or meat or fresh fruit/vegetables.
I bought my food saver in 1988, at that time it costs $300 I thought it was horribly expensive and I got it anyway, I had a good job, I used it for years and it finally broke, I went approximately 12 months,After about 8 months, I was really tossing food out, between freezer burn and just that ice on everything, the freezer was Smelling like everything in it, I had to replace the food saver. it was horrible I had to throw away so much food, I was spoiled with the food saver. The 1st chance I had I replaced it.
I also use mine to make individual serving bags out of bread, cereal, etc. bags. Saves me a bundle in time & money when it comes to making school lunches.
I USE MY FOODSAVER VACUUM SEALER FOR VARIOUS THINGS; I VACUUM SEAL MY HOLIDAY STERLING SILVER SERVING PIECES; NEWSPAPER ARTICLES THAT I WANT TO SAVE. I ALSO HAVE SAVED THANKSGIVING CORNBREAD DRESSING FOR A YEAR AND IT TASTES LIKE I JUST "PULLED IT OUT OF THE OVEN"!
IT IS A GREAT TIMESAVER AND MONEY SAVER APPLIANCE.
I use a handy little accessory with my Food Saver on a daily basis. It is not manufactured by any of the vacuum seal companies. It was invented by someone who had an idea and acted upon it.
You can vacuum seal any size jar that has a gasket in the lid, for example -- pickle jar, one gallon or larger jar, baby food jar. It is not a lid but it is attached to the tubing. As long as the lid to the jar has a gasket, the jar can be vacuum sealed.
This little device is a must if you own a vacuum seal system. Go to www.universaljarsealer.com and check it out for yourself. Don't let the size fool you, it's the size of a one gallon milk jug lid but it does its' job. After you see it, you will have a better understanding. Believe me, you'll love it. Instead of using their seals, I use electrical tape to cover the hole.
I vacuumed sealed a one gallon jar containing saltine crackers for one year. Once opened, the crackers were just as fresh as when I put them in the jar.
There are so many things you can vacuum seal in a jar to keep fresh. I vacuum sealed a special glue we had to use. It stated that after six months, the glue would have to be thrown away once it was opened. It was an expensive glue and had to be special ordered. I vacuumed sealed it in a jar and one year later, we could still use it. I really love those vacuum seal systems. I have saved a lot of money especially since I bought the universal jar sealer.
I have no connection to this product other than being a very happy customer. I just wanted to share this great little gadget with other vacuum seal users.
I absolutely love my sealer. I think the cost of bags is totally worth it. I know my food is safer and fresher. That's enough for me!
Jennifer CA
If you buy a Food Saver brand vaccum sealer, you get the accessory that seals/reseals jars. You can order another through the company, so you will have one for both regular and wide mouth jars. These work great if you can and regularly use mason jars--they become canisters that are essentially free. This alone has saved me tons of food. I originally bought my food saver years ago, and recently bought a newer model. These new models are great; the seal is thicker, they can handle wet foods, and have a crush-proof button that is wonderful for breads, cookies, etc. You can use other/cheaper companies brands of bags for their sealers too. I regularly sanitize my bags by soaking them in a hot, soapy water to which I've added bleach or vinegar between uses.
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