Anybody use the Foodsaver (the vacuum sealer)?

[Looney]

If so, is it worth it? Seems a bit expensive, especially when i can get a Black and Decker one for like $30 (compared to like $200 for the Foodsaver). Also, how expensive are the rolls?

 

[Marauder-]

I think you should go for the cheaper one - I mean, @ $200 - that'll take you a while to make back the savings. $30 is nothing. You would probably be able to make that up in terms of cheese that usually goes bad before being eaten.

 

[Glitchny]

just save money and use a damn ziplock bag

 

[dman]

Originally posted by: Glitchny
just save money and use a damn ziplock bag

The rolls are expensive. Don't recall how much, but, when you figure how much you can put in them, and you can't really reuse them much... it's $$$.

I don't have one, mostly because of the ziplock thing, stuff goes bad but I just buy in smaller quantities to reduce that risk. The savings on large quantities of perishable foods, even with long term storage is overrated. You can only store so much food.

Plus, at least for me, if I buy a few quantitiy of something, after a bit of indulgence I'll find I no longer want to consume that thing. Now I've got a bunch left and it won't go bad for a looooooong time.

Then there's the whole uncertainty factor, you've sealed it up, and kept it for 6mo's+, all reports claim it's going to be still good to eat, but, it looks a bit funny... should you risk it and cook it up and screw up dinner or just trash it and go with something else.

Noooooo Foodsaver for me.

 

[aircooled]

You can put your weed in it. 🙂

 

[Caanon]

My grandparents use it...mostly for sealing and freezing meat..but other stuff too....it works well...and fits their needs(which probally don't match alot of people) its good for if you go fishing alot and and want to save the fish....or if your a costco/priceclub type person.
The have a full size freezer and 2 refrigirators for reference =)

 

[Ulfwald]

My wife has one. We use it a lot because she buys in bulk at costco. Vacume sealed meats last longer in the freezer, you can vacume seal leftovers and then take them to work for lunch, they do not dry out. The rolls are a bit expensive, but throwing out 20 lbs of chicken because it is freezer burnt is a lot more expensive.

 

[tm37]

I have had mine for 5 years.

You can pick up the basic model for about 100 at walmart. I get my bags there as well.

I have a small deep freezer and when something goes on sale we load up. I once bought about 40 punds of boneless skinless chicken breasts because it was about a buck a pound.

 

[RossMAN]

$169.99 @ CostCo B&M and it comes with refills of those expensive vacuum bags.

It really does help preserve meats and cheeses.

 

[Spac3d]

Just get that one tool that reseals all of your already existing bags. It heats up the plastic and reseals it. Price: $5 at Walmart and it works great.

 

[Rogue]

Got mine free and use it for meat. Was skeptical of the whole marinate and freeze thing til I tried it a month ago. Took some sirloin steaks and poured some beer, soy sauce, seasonings and some italian dressing in, shook it all up with the meat, then sealed and froze. Best tasting steaks I ever marinated. Usually, I do the whole marinate in the fridge thing with thawed out steaks and they just don't compare to the tenderness and flavor from the vacuum seal.

 

[tm37]

Originally posted by: Rogue
Got mine free and use it for meat. Was skeptical of the whole marinate and freeze thing til I tried it a month ago. Took some sirloin steaks and poured some beer, soy sauce, seasonings and some italian dressing in, shook it all up with the meat, then sealed and froze. Best tasting steaks I ever marinated. Usually, I do the whole marinate in the fridge thing with thawed out steaks and they just don't compare to the tenderness and flavor from the vacuum seal.

We bought the cansiters and use them to marinade boneless chick breasts. I just dump in a bottle of Lawry's lemmon pepper marinade and 5-6 breasts and vac it up let it sit about 30 minutes. when I grill them they are really tasty. OH SO TENDER😀

 

[teckmaster]

I have one and didn't pay anywhere near $200 although I don't remember the exact cost. I use it mainly for meats. I also have the canister set which I have yet to use, but I have it if I need it.

 

[RossMAN]

Originally posted by: tm37

Originally posted by: Rogue
Got mine free and use it for meat. Was skeptical of the whole marinate and freeze thing til I tried it a month ago. Took some sirloin steaks and poured some beer, soy sauce, seasonings and some italian dressing in, shook it all up with the meat, then sealed and froze. Best tasting steaks I ever marinated. Usually, I do the whole marinate in the fridge thing with thawed out steaks and they just don't compare to the tenderness and flavor from the vacuum seal.

We bought the cansiters and use them to marinade boneless chick breasts. I just dump in a bottle of Lawry's lemmon pepper marinade and 5-6 breasts and vac it up let it sit about 30 minutes. when I grill them they are really tasty. OH SO TENDER😀

Sounds like a great idea and oh so delicious!

Question, since you're vacuuming the chicken and marinade together ... does it force the marinade through the chicken?

 

[Kanalua]

I bought a FoodSaver at WalMArt, and went out the next day and got a Deep Freezer at Sam's Club. It's been a great investment. We buy all our meat CHEAP in bulk, seperate, seal and freeze. Got about two months worth of MEat alone, already. I got the jar sealers too (the Mason Jar ones). Great investment. Easy way to marinate meats, and save sauces of all types to use weeks later.

Over all, it's been a great investment. DOn;t by from the TV guy, go to Walmart and buy it. You can reuse the bagsquite a bit or you can use cheaper bags from Sears or something...

 

[Looney]

Originally posted by: Spac3d
Just get that one tool that reseals all of your already existing bags. It heats up the plastic and reseals it. Price: $5 at Walmart and it works great.

I have one of those... but it doesn't vacuum seal.

just save money and use a damn ziplock bag

Well, ziplock bags don't really preserve meat that well.

We bought the cansiters and use them to marinade boneless chick breasts. I just dump in a bottle of Lawry's lemmon pepper marinade and 5-6 breasts and vac it up let it sit about 30 minutes. when I grill them they are really tasty. OH SO TENDER

Yeah, this is the professional model that i saw on TV... it's like $180USD, but comes with the canister sealing. Not too sure how useful i'll find that though.

I think i am going to pick up the Black and Decker one... they use the same bags from what i can tell. I don't really need to crush 48 empty cans of pop, i just need to vacuum seal some meat.

 

[DrPizza]

We received the Foodsaver one as a gift... used it twice, put it away and until recently, rarely used it....
In the past month or so, though, we've started using it more and more....
The bags can be reused (but they get shortened by about an inch each time)
Upon arrival from the grocery store, all our meats are vacuum sealed.. we add the seasonings, such as Lowery's, before sealing them... Then, either toss them in the freezer or fridge, depending on how long til we eat them. Some things that are almost beyond belief: Bought a 5 pound block of mozzarella (because it was $1.40 a pound vs. 2.99 for an 8 oz package of shredded stuff (5.98 a pound)... Used some, resealed the bag... used some, resealed the same bag... etc. The cheese *never* got moldy, where normally, there would have been mold on it within a week. I haven't seen the black and decker ones, but you definitely want one that sucks the air out... (meaning, the walmart ones are no more useful than baggies)

this thread... right after the hungry/pizza thread... I'm starving now! But, marinated boneless skinless chicken breasts await my grilling when I get home. 🙂

 

[LeStEr]

I havnt used one but they look neat on TV 😀