Vacuum food sealer - which to get?
 

Hi, all! I think I want a vacuum sealer for food, but have no idea what to get, so I'm reaching out to you! Are they worthwhile? Which do you recommend and why? How often do you use it?

Thanks for your input!

I've been looking at these also. My SIS has vac sealed many bags of beans & it looks like a great way to preserve food.I'm going to check my local hardware tomorrow.

I have the Food Saver brand & I love it & use it all the time. Last year (2020) when food started to become such a shortage we stocked up on ground beef & I vacuum sealed all of it & am still using it right now. There's no freezer burn on any of it & it's still as fresh & pink as it was when I sealed it. These machines preserve food for a very long time. The bags are expensive but I've learned that I can re-use a lot of my bags by washing them when I'm done & storing things in the used bags. Sometimes they don't seal as well, but I still use them just like I would a zip bag. You really don't need one with all the bells & whistles. Mine will seal jars but I've never used that feature. I plan to buy another one as I've had this one for several years & I know prices will be going up & I don't want to be caught without one. I want to get another microwave sometime soon also (for a spare).
When I have too many eggs, I even vaccum seal them. I crack the egg & stir it up a bit to mix the yolk & white. Then I pour the egg in a little small container & freeze it first. After it's frozen, I take it out of the container I froze it in & vaccum seal it with my food saver & I have frozen eggs for recipes like cookies, cakes, & even breakfast omlettes. Anything that is "liquidy" can be frozen in a regular container first & then vaccum sealed after it is frozen solid.

osewme, which Food Saver do you have?

I also have the Food Saver Brand, V4800. Have had it for about 6 years and love it. I use mine also to reseal bags of chips and the plastic bags of frozen foods. I bought less expensive bags on Amazon and even though they are lighter weight they work perfectly. If I could buy a second one I would try to find one that opens to you lay the bag on the sealing rod instead of sliding it in the slot.. Had one years ago and not sure they even make that model any longer.

I have a Food Saver, too. Not sure of the model, but the top opens on a hinge so you can lay the edge of the bag on it and then close the top to seal and suck out all the air. It also has a hose to suck out air, but I've never used that.
I also bought bags off of Amazon and they are working great and are a lot cheaper, plus they come in 3 different sizes, per box.
I never thought of freezing liquids before I vacuum packed them, I just figured you couldn't do it. Thanks for the tip!
My husband uses it a lot for camping food because he can vacuum pack things to make them small and then cook stuff right in the bag in a pot of water.

Watson

I have a FoodSaver as well. I have had mine a couple of years and use it all the time.

I have the food saver one. It stays on my countertop and I use it reseal packages as much as for freezing and storing food. Mine is over five years old and still working fine. The bags are easy to find at Walmart or order online. It cam with the vacuum jar accessory but I have never used that.

My husband uses one all the time and just replaced his old one. It's a Food Saver.

I had one years ago when they first came out. They're great unless you need to reseal the bag numerous times then the bag continues to get smaller. What I do and it's probably not the great but works for me. I take a plastic straw, close the freezer bag all but about an inch at one end, put the straw in down deep and suck out the air. Close the bag up quickly. Has been working for me for a couple of years now as I freeze my green beans and berries plus whatever sale from the grocery store after cutting it down to fit my needs. I also read as I was interested in Sous Vide recipes how I could seal a bag and get all the air out. They said to lower the bag into water slowly and the air would be pushed out of the top as you lowered it. Then close the bag without getting any water into it. Sounds like a good idea to try for me at least.

I have been using Food Savers for more than 35 years and love them. Now mind you I have gone through several over the years and loved them all. I now buy my bags from ULINE as the rolls of bags cost far less from them. I actually have a brand new one waiting in the wings for when my current one wears out. I picked up this replacement at a thrift store still in the wrapper for $10 and I grabbed it. A good unit will last me 8-10 years. The bags are always the same as far as I know. So anyway I am set for years to come. My Food saver gets used 4-6 times a week depending on what I am doing in the Kitchen.
The quality of my preserved foods when frozen is great.
I also have a small Food Saver vacuum sealer for small refrigerator bags. The bags are a light weight bag similar to a baggie with a vent hole of sorts that you place the little machine over and it draws out the air and the hole closes up. These bags can be rinsed and reused a time or two for dry foods like fresh green beans. These bags are not as easy to find IMHO but the system does a nice job for freshness. You can't really go wrong with Food Saver.
You do not want to confuse vacuum sealing with freeze drying. The equipment for this is far more expensive and the food will last much longer plus it is a different process all together. Good Luck!

I am on my third vacuum sealer. This one I bought at Cabela's, their band. It is the greatest. I vacuum seal everything. Left overs, I freeze in a regular container, then vacuum seal. When we go fishing and have extra fish, I freeze it in a regular container in water, then vacuum seal after it is frozen. It keep almost indefinitely and is still just as fresh as can be when used. I buy meat when it is on sale, in family packs, divide into meal size for hubby and me, freeze on a cookie sheet, then vacuum seal after frozen. Keeps almost for ever. My vacuum sealer is one of my favorite small appliances.

I have the V4800 series FoodSaver. Not sure how long I've had it as I did not write down the date & can't find the receipt.
I really like it.

I've always used the regular FoodSaver brand bags. Maybe I should try the off brand ones. I was always afraid that they would "melt" in the process & ruin my FoodSaver and since I only have one machine right now I didn't want to take of chance of ruining it. Sounds like the cheaper brands work just as well in the FoodSaver machines.

What bags do y'all recommend to use in a FoodSaver machine that will not damage the machine?

We love our FoodSaver! We buy some bags, but like to use their rolls to make our own sizes.We've had ours for years and never have had any kind of issue with it.

We have a VacMaster vacuum chamber sealer. We love it and use it constantly.

Bags

For some reason Food Saver boxes of rolls were on clearance a year ago at Target. I bought every box, even the steam in a bag boxes. I have enough to last a long long time. They are cheap enough at Walmart and seems to always be in stock. I like the roll so I can cut the size of bag I need.

These are the ones I bought, as they came in different sizes and they work great. (Of course, they cost a lot more in Canada. What else is new?)
Watson
Vacuum bags

For all of you who are interested & love their vaccum sealers, here is an old thread from 2016 with a lot more information that might be helpful.

https://www.quiltingboard.com/genera...d-t284571.html

I have a food saver brand and it was old and needed replacing so I bought a new one and the hoses wouldn't fit so I went to their support and they were no help. I found some other brands on Amazon and bought one that had the best reviews. I don't know the brand off the top of my head but I won't buy a food saver again. I know others have had great lick with them but I can't afford to waste the money.

I still have my original Food Saver from probably 30 ago - maybe more. I purchased a second one for our second home in NC (which is now our only and permanent home). The original is still going strong. I also have the attachments to seal Mason jars - which I used a lot in Arizona due to the problem with weevils in all kinds of stuff. When we moved permanently to NC in 2003 I gave all my vacuum sealed frozen foods to my niece - a few of which had been sealed and frozen for at least 2 years. My niece said all the food was wonderful and they ate everything! I’m a believer in the Food Saver and hope that the newer models are just as good as my older ones.

Sandy in Mooresville, NC

How did either of them waste your money? The new food saver didn't work? The new food saver didn't come with the hoses that fit? If mine came with hoses I don't remember, I never needed to use them.

I have a Food Saver love them, I've been using Food Saver for years . My friend bought a off-brand and was not happy
with it . They send you a DVD with it you can do a lot with it .( Good luck love it )