FoodSaver Systems.. Anyone ever used them or have one?

[cackydoodledoo]

You know the machine that vacuum seals your food! They go by different names but curious if anyone has used one and the pros and cons??

 

[flowerhippie]

Hello, I use food saver food sealer and I love it, I have boy's and there always catching fish I smoke it and it freezes alot longer than the sugested time of other instructions, I butchered 175 or so meat birds and put them in the bags, let the gagget do the whirling for me, I did not eat all the meat within a years time it was about 6 months out of date, and the meat did not get freezer burnt. I always freeze my flower and when I have pancake mix or other things such as bread crumbs from my day old bread I will whirl that and it saves wonderfully. If I have nuts that do not need freezing I use the melter to reseal the manufactors bag. The food saver bags will wash out and you can reuse as long as there was no meat in them. I have not tried this but someone used the bag to boil there food in. I use the bags for freezing blueberrys in every year and last year I had left overs from the year before. so they have been frozen for 2 years going on 3 in a sub zero freezer, It is fresh and I just made a batch of blueberry jam. I hope this helps on your decision, Good luck with your new kitchen gagget ! fondly, lil chicken farmer

 

[MandyH]

I have one and love it. I've had mine for years and actually have a spare one I bought on sale just in case. We hunt and fish and the meat stays good forever. I buy whole ribeye and pork loins, slice them myself and seal into portioned sized bags. You can use the sealer to reseal chip bags, cereal bags etc. The money you invest in one will pay for itself in no time. I started with a little one but soon bought the biggest one they had. You can also get the food containers that are great for fresh fruits. Seal them up in the containers and the fruit lasts a long time whereas it would be ruined in a few days without it. You will not be dissapointed.
THe one it shows on the homepage is the two I have.

http://www.foodsaver.com/Index.aspx

 

[Wifezilla]

I have an old Seal a Meal and I really like it.

 

[Karrie13]

I have one and really like it. The only complaint that I have is I need more of an industrial one than the one I got at wal-mart. Mine likes to stop working if I use it to much at one time. I will have to do like 5 packages then let it take a break for an hour then continue on. I use it for chicken, venison, veggies, and strawberries. They all come out of the freezer in great shape.

 

[Arcnadius]

I have one but haven't used it for quite some time. I learned the hard way that you should freeze anything with liquid before sealing if you use the bags. Also, don't bag seal any soft items like cookies or brownies or they'll get smushed during the sealing. Food does keep much longer with the system so you save money by having less stuff go bad. I reuse our bags after washing them and giving them a diluted bleach water soak. Hope this helps.

 

[cackydoodledoo]

Thank you everyone for the replies. Cabela's has the Food Saver System on sale for $99 and I thought about getting it. Not sure what other brands are out there but know this system is advertised heavily on TV. I would definitely like to stop wasting food and never thought about doing fruit in it. I wonder has anyone done vegetables in it as well?

 

[Teach97]

I think I have put just about everyting in a bag! once tried to put a kid in one but that went badly...kidding!

meat of all sorts, veggies (fresh, cooked, blanched, um...battered....um...lots of ways)

We always freeze stuff like hamburger and such first because of the juice factor be carful with bones as the can puncture the bags....

 

[rileysgranny]

Thanks for the tip on the Cabela's sale. I'll have to jump over and check it out. I've been wanting one of these for a while now.

 

[TerriLaChicks]

I just scored a 2240 brand new in the box on Ebay for $70 including shipping -- they retail on Amazon for $179. The main reason I got it is to put up veggies out of the garden -- blanche & cool beans & peas & then vac seal them. And also for when we buy a side of beef this summer.