Vacuum Sealing...

[Gris]

Who's doing it, with what foddstuffs and with what results...? Been playing around w it a bit myself...

 

[rhihn]

Who's doing it, with what foddstuffs and with what results...? Been playing around w it a bit myself...

We've done it with home-cooked meals, meats, cheeses, you name it. It works for almost anything, and is a space saver as well. They recommend against liquids, though.

 

[hikingfish]

Hi Dick,
Which one do you use? My mom experimented with one but the vacuum pump most of been extremely weak because it couldn't properly suck out all the air. Are the plastic bags expensive?

Thanks!

David

 

[Nessmuk]

We've done it with home-cooked meals, meats, cheeses, you name it. It works for almost anything, and is a space saver as well. They recommend against liquids, though.

Hi Dick...
Every time I see a vacuum sealer I get really tempted to pick one up. Both for myself and as a part-time guide I dry tremendous amounts of food, much of it similar in type to what Enertia produces for sale (trailfoods.com). But when I look at the price of bags and wonder what the long term availability of a particular brand might be, I just stick to my double zip lock method. How do you do on the price of bags per meal?

 

[Gris]

BTw - bags are re-usable, tho they do get smaller and smaller...

 

[rhihn]

Hi Dick,
Which one do you use? My mom experimented with one but the vacuum pump most of been extremely weak because it couldn't properly suck out all the air. Are the plastic bags expensive?

Thanks!

David

Hi David and Nessmuk. We use a Food Saver. We've had no problem with the air suction. They are noisy. Yes, the bags are a little expensive, but it depends upon how you buy them (size, number of bags). 48 bags go for $20.99 on their site. Ours was a present, so we didn't research the various brands. Here is their site. They are rated here.

 

[Pete_Hickey]

A Warning

Don't try to vacuum pack beer. Trust me.

 

[Remix]

I got one at BJ's. It can crush bagels and rolls so that they are almost flat. This is useful if you want to pack bread. But mainly I just use it to split up portions of meat and poultry which is cheaper to buy in family sized quantities.

Don't pay any extra for the ones with extra vacuum plastic jars and lids. After 2 uses, both lexan jars cracked and now leak.

Edit- I have the FoodSaver, too. It has no problem with vacuum power.

 

[HughK]

Food Saver

We use the Food Saver and build the bags to length from the rolls. Have had very good success freezing meats and fresh veggies (surplus from the garden). The meats seem to freeze harder, if that is possible no air pockets as with ziploc and stayed frozen longer in the cooler we took camping this summer.

The bags are boilable. We learned that if you are trying to freeze something with a lot of liquid (beer or spaghetti sauce) - if you pre-freeze it to slush you can get the vacuum system to work with limited mess. Dehydrated food should hold indefinitely, though we haven't have the Food Saver long enough to try.

Hugh.

 

[spaddock]

The grocery store deli I go to will vacuum seal any of their lunch meats/cheeses if I ask. it's a wonderful service. You might want to ask about it at your local supermarket.


-Shayne

 

[rhihn]

The grocery store deli I go to will vacuum seal any of their lunch meats/cheeses if I ask. it's a wonderful service. You might want to ask about it at your local supermarket.


-Shayne

If you're going past Warrensburg NY, just off the Northway at exit 23, Oscar's will do the same thing.

 

[dug]

FOODSAVERS!!

These things are worth their weight in gold for winter camping. Make a nice home cooked meal, shrimp alfredo is a favorite. Make sure there is a sauce, creamy, but not too runny. Watery meals don't seal very well.

Vacuum seal the meal you've allocated. DON'T MAKE IT TOO BIG.

Once sealed, shape the meal to fit inside of the pot you use for boiling water in the winter. I have a small bowl I use which is the perfect size to make a mold. Freez the meal inside the bowl. Make sure the size of the meal isn't more than 50% the size of your pot so you have enough room for boiling water. You can always make two meals if you have to make them small.

After arriving at your campsite, take your still-frozen meal out and plop it -still in the bag- in your pot of boiling water. 10-20 minutes later, when the sauce looks creamy and the meal is unfrozen and warmed up (getting the right temp takes some practice), remove the bagged meal from the water.

Toss the water out, and slice open the bag. Eat the meal from right out of the bag. Here's the best part: No clean up!! Look your fork (or spoon, or spork) clean, throw the bag out, and you're done!

While some are fussing with Spaghetti-o's or tortellini's or what have you, I'm eating a great home cooked meal with no preservatives. The clean up is minimal.

We got the idea when Stauffer's used to make their Boil-in-a-Bag meals. These worked slick, but the selection was iffy. With the vaccuum sealer, I've made beef stew, three different shrimp meals, sliced beef over wild grain rice with holandaise sauce, chicken -n- rice, and a great salmon meal. To be sitting in -20 degrees eating salmon while sitting on a camp chair cannot be beat!!!

 

[Lawn Sale]

So can you guys recommend a decent sealer? I picked one up last year but it was junk and wouldn't vacuum well.

 

[Neil]

Just the other day a friend showed me his sealer. Except he only uses it for the maps he prints. Seems like a good idea to me. Birch bark and matches would be worth a thought.