Geri B

Anyone have one? I just tossed a few ziplock bags of veggies from summer garden away...freezer burn...will this gizmo eliminate that waste? Just curious...

Diannia

I have one and LOVE it. I leave it out on the counter and use it all the time! I got mine at Costco. I had an older one that I left in the cupboard and rarely pulled it out to use it. I like to go to the store and get meat on sale or discounted and then vacuum seal and freeze it for later. I also use it on bags of frozen veggies. I just snip a small slit in the bag and then put it all in a vacuum bag. Works great!

gramajo

I've had one for years and love it. It is great for preventing freezer burn.

Homespun

I like mine for preventing freezer burn.

marge954

I have been using one for many, many years and think it has saved me lots of money. I've not lost anything to freezer burn when using the sealer. I also like that the packages are all about the same size and stack easily so I can find things. You can also use the bags for something smaller (think chopped onions) after you've emptied and washed them.
I hit the grocery store early morning when the meat market makes reductions. I remove things like roasts, chicken, bacon, sausage from the store package and repackage it into meal portions. I make several batches of soups, hot dog chili, spagetti sauce and chili and portion that out also. I also figured out I can cook the whole box of spaghetti and freeze portions. When I need it I just take it out of the bag and defrost it in the microwave without any added water. When I do the you pick fruits and veggies in the summer I put them on a cookie sheet and freeze for a couple of hours and then seal them up in a bag. I also spend a day making different types of cookie dough and freeze for when DH wants milk and cookies at night. When I'm tired and don't want to cook there is always something in the freezer to toss in the microwave. The main thing is to write what's in the package on the outside because you won't remember what it was in a couple of months and you can't go on looks! Now that it's only DH and me I do have to make sure to date and rotate what is in the freezer.

Nammie to 7

Love my sealer - bought one for my daughter last year. I also buy meat on sale and freeze it after using the sealer. Just used a package of meat that was 2 years old - no freezer burn and not rancid! Best thing I ever bought!

mac

Where would I be without mine? I got mine from Costco about 10 years ago or so and I love it.

To let you know how wonderful they work, I got one of those really huge decadent chocolate cakes from Costco one time for my birthday. There was a lot left over and I decided to seal it in pieces. We ate the cake little by little and it stayed really fresh.

One day I was cleaning out my freezer and found 2 pieces that we forgot were there and the date on the package made them over five years old. I couldn't resist finding out if they were still good tasting and they were. They didn't taste old or freezer burned, they tasted just like the day I bought them.

I also use my sealer for non-food projects. If you have screws or small items that you need to keep together and want to make sure they don't go wandering, sealing them is a good idea. One time I needed to send out some cookies to a friend, I sealed the bag as much as I could without crushing the cookies and with some air bags around them in the box. The cookies arrived safe, as they couldn't move around in the bag. Just letting you know that there are a lot of things you can do with a sealer. They are well worth having.

romanojg

I'm on my 2nd one in close to 20 years, I only got the 2nd one because I love the upgrade. They work really well. Such a difference in the quality of meat. Sometimes I end up throwing away food only because my moods have changed. But mostly when that happens, I cook it for the animals and give them a special treat without freezer burn

b.zang

Echoing every one else here - LOVE my vacuum sealer. I bought mine for freezing fresh salmon after fishing trips and stopped canning salmon. Far easier and always fresh-tasting. I have one "fail" to report, though. I bought a pile of hamburger buns after a barbeque fund raiser as a way to donate to the group and thought I could vacuum seal them. The sealer basically sucked the air out of the buns, too, and they shrank in the packaging. Looked hilarious and weren't worth using afterwards. I should have just donated the money and thrown away the buns. I did turn most into dried bread cubes which I sealed up and they are great. I cut the top off, use what I want, then re-seal the bag. I will confess to becoming wasteful with bags as I used to wash and re-use them but don't anymore.
There are some good ideas here for more uses, too, I just might have to try some of them.
A vacuum-sealer is the BEST kitchen tool investment!

miriam

I love mine, too. I have the accessory that seals ball jars. I love that. You can cut up fresh fruit, put it in there and it stays fresh. Onions keep nice and don't stink up the fridge. Freeze left overs. Seal up salads in the jars.
The bags can be reused if you scrub them out good. But the jar sealer lids and jar for sure can be reused after going through the dishwasher.
You can marionade your meat with a food saver. The vacuum opens up the meat pores and makes the marinade soak in faster and makes it more tender.
Put your dried beans in the jars, bugs can't go through glass.
They also make canisters but you don't want to put the lids in the dish washer...
If you need to keep track of important papers you can seal them.
I use mine to seal chips, dried beans, crackers or cookie packages but I don't use the vacuum part when I do that - stuff gets crushed. We don't go through that stuff very fast so they stay fresh until we get back around to it.
You can make a small firstaide kit or some other kit to keep in your purse or car.
I freeze excess spaghetti sauce or home made soup. I can cook in big batches but not get bored with the leftovers.
I have done up frozen garden produce using the Foodsaver and love it - quick and easy.