Vacuum Sealer.
- Thread starter NatersXJ6
- Start date
pugslyyy
Expedition Vehicle Engineer Guy
48 liters. It's the freezer portion of my Dometic 3-way absorption fridge.
I have one and use it all the time. Co-worker talked me into getting one.
Some things I do:
many items I freeze first in a "disposable" ziplock type hard sized container, then the next day I take them out of those and vacuum seal into bags. To remove from the ziplock containers I just run the closed container under warm water for a couple of seconds. Freezing this way means easier for me to control portion size, and the frozen items all have a nice uniform size that's easier for me to store, and I don't have to worry about sucking liquids into the gizmo. I end up with little hocky puck shaped portions. I wash out the ziplock containers and re-use them many times.
I use the thing to portion things. Uncooked meat is frozen in portion sized containers. Cooked food like chili, spaghetti sauce, soup/stock the same.
Vacuum sealer is best paired with a "frosty" freezer. A no-frost freezer does horrible things to food, things just don't keep well in them. Vacuum sealed cooked food like spaghetti sauce will last many months in a chest freezer.
The combination of a pressure cooker to easily make chicken or beef stock, and the vacuum sealer for freezing has changed the way I cook things. Homemade stock is so much better than packaged. And easy to freeze a 4 oz condensed portion to be able to make a single serving of home made soup.
Some things don't freeze well - cream sauces, potatoes come to mind. Pasta is "eh". Tomatoes are surprisingly fine for me. Most veggies OK. Beef, chicken, pork freezes great.
I don't buy the bags, I buy the rolls in different widths, and cut what I need.
Some things I do:
many items I freeze first in a "disposable" ziplock type hard sized container, then the next day I take them out of those and vacuum seal into bags. To remove from the ziplock containers I just run the closed container under warm water for a couple of seconds. Freezing this way means easier for me to control portion size, and the frozen items all have a nice uniform size that's easier for me to store, and I don't have to worry about sucking liquids into the gizmo. I end up with little hocky puck shaped portions. I wash out the ziplock containers and re-use them many times.
I use the thing to portion things. Uncooked meat is frozen in portion sized containers. Cooked food like chili, spaghetti sauce, soup/stock the same.
Vacuum sealer is best paired with a "frosty" freezer. A no-frost freezer does horrible things to food, things just don't keep well in them. Vacuum sealed cooked food like spaghetti sauce will last many months in a chest freezer.
The combination of a pressure cooker to easily make chicken or beef stock, and the vacuum sealer for freezing has changed the way I cook things. Homemade stock is so much better than packaged. And easy to freeze a 4 oz condensed portion to be able to make a single serving of home made soup.
Some things don't freeze well - cream sauces, potatoes come to mind. Pasta is "eh". Tomatoes are surprisingly fine for me. Most veggies OK. Beef, chicken, pork freezes great.
I don't buy the bags, I buy the rolls in different widths, and cut what I need.
Last edited:
pugslyyy
Expedition Vehicle Engineer Guy
Sounds like our use is similar - buy bigger slabs of meat, portion, season, seal, and then freeze flat. We were amazed that we could fit 3+ weeks worth of dinner protein into the freezer that way.
Had a FoodSaver upright.
Hated it. Wasted too much of a bag to make a seal. 3" were wasted on every seal.
Now have this: http://www.cabelas.com/product/Cabe...Filter=AllProducts&x=10&y=6&Ntt=vacume+sealer
LOVE IT !!! Works soooo much better & does not waste nearly as much bag to make a seal, & it makes a double seal if you want with the touch of a button. I can also use it with zip lock style bags with great results by using the hose.
Hated it. Wasted too much of a bag to make a seal. 3" were wasted on every seal.
Now have this: http://www.cabelas.com/product/Cabe...Filter=AllProducts&x=10&y=6&Ntt=vacume+sealer
LOVE IT !!! Works soooo much better & does not waste nearly as much bag to make a seal, & it makes a double seal if you want with the touch of a button. I can also use it with zip lock style bags with great results by using the hose.
Doc_
Sammich!
I have the Nesco VS-02 vacuum sealer, I use it heavily and frequently and am absolutely enjoying it.
I bought it based on personal bias, my dehydrator and kettle are Nesco units, and I think that they're just downright functional and reliable. Thus far, this unit is proving to possess the same merits.
The built-in bag storage bay is a huge plus, as are the controls with pronounced Seal, Vacuum, Vacuum and Seal buttons and a selector that allows me to use a high or low-temp seal. I'm genuinely happy with it.
The only quirk is that you have to remember to not cut all the way through the bags on the roll, or you can't feed the next one out of the bay. To get around this, I slide the cutter up to the last two inches of material, pull the next run of bags out, and snip the join with scissors. Works every time.
You pretty much can't go wrong buying a vacuum sealer, just be sure to buy one that gives you the option to choose sealing, vacuuming, or the combination thereof. My old seal-A-Meal unit didn't give that option, and it was a pain in the backside.
I bought it based on personal bias, my dehydrator and kettle are Nesco units, and I think that they're just downright functional and reliable. Thus far, this unit is proving to possess the same merits.
The built-in bag storage bay is a huge plus, as are the controls with pronounced Seal, Vacuum, Vacuum and Seal buttons and a selector that allows me to use a high or low-temp seal. I'm genuinely happy with it.
The only quirk is that you have to remember to not cut all the way through the bags on the roll, or you can't feed the next one out of the bay. To get around this, I slide the cutter up to the last two inches of material, pull the next run of bags out, and snip the join with scissors. Works every time.
You pretty much can't go wrong buying a vacuum sealer, just be sure to buy one that gives you the option to choose sealing, vacuuming, or the combination thereof. My old seal-A-Meal unit didn't give that option, and it was a pain in the backside.