Anyone have a food saver?

[manning]

Do they work?

 

[pat fan]

I have one. Bought the Rival brand at Walmart and it works GREAT! It's not the top of the line brand, but we've had it about 3-4 years and use it quite a bit. I like to buy the rolls of material so I can make my own size bags instead of buying the quart or gallon bags.

 

[Swimalie]

We had one for about a year and, despite cleaning it regularly, it stopped sealing. We got rid of it.

 

[lucyem]

We have a foodsaver one. Love it! We usually grow a lot in the garden and pick a lot of berries in the summer. Seal them up and freeze and it works great. I had one that lasted about 10 years but it eventually stopped sealing. The one i have now is about four years old and still going. I know people who will buy meat and or veggies in bulk and then use this to seal/freeze.

I am honestly not sure how much money you save, if any, if you are a casual user. In that case a freezer ziplock is going to probably be the least expensive choice. But if you do a lot of freezing it will be worth it.

 

[SamSam]

I've had one for years and love it! I split up bulk meat, seal and freeze...will last forever. I also cook extra for meals...chili, smothered steak, stir fries, whatever I'm cooking...put into individual serving containers (like frozen meals come in) stick in the freezer till frozen then take out and seal in a bag. When heated up, they taste like you just cooked them.

Love it!

 

[jedijill]

Love mine! I'm single and use it to divide up meat and other bulk food I get at Costco. 10 years old and going strong!

Jill in CO

 

[Mickey527]

I had one for about 5 years and loved it. Used it for bulk meat and to freeze cooked foods for storage. (I put the bags in boiling water to reheat and nothing gets dried out like reheating in the oven or microwave would.
I bought a new one when that one died and I don't like it as much. The old one you could make the seal close to the edge of the bag. the new one won't seal unless you push the bag right up to the back of the machine, causing you to waste about 2" of bag material. This is a big waste of bag material and it really bothers me that they made that change in the machine.
but I do love the fact that I can buy in bulk and not waste meat. I haven't had a freezer burn or ruined piece of meat since I have owned these.

 

[LovemesomeDW]

Love mine! I use it for bulk meat!

 

[wiigirl]

We had one for about a year and, despite cleaning it regularly, it stopped sealing. We got rid of it.

Same here!

 

[Jerseymomof2]

Love mine! I use it for bulk meat!

I have one for about 5 years. I buy bulk at Sam's or Costco and then freeze. Works great. I also have a garden in the summer and freeze alot so I have veggies all winter.

I find it worth it.

 

[kgwoozle]

I've had a few over the years. The first one lasted for years. The second was a dud and stopped sealing after a year. I've had my current one for a few years and love it. If I were you I would buy it at Costco or some place with an outstanding return policy. When they work they are great. Also make sure you get the jar adapters. I use those more than the bags.

 

[LJSquishy]

I don't have a FoodSaver but I really want one! My parents have had one for a few years and they love it.

I also recommend getting one at Costco if you can. They usually have the best price/bundle, but the main reason is their return policy if you either don't like it or have any problems with it. I'm not one of the (many) people who would return it after 3 years though if it broke...please don't do that.

I would only use a FoodSaver if you're planning on freezing items for longer than 1-2 months. If you are using up what you froze before that timeframe, it will be much cheaper to just use a freezer zip bag. The FoodSaver rolls are not cheap when you calculate how many "bags" you make out of a roll. They are better to use for more long-term storage or things that need to be airtight. So, using them to freeze 10lbs of chicken breasts would be a poor use of it. Freezing 50lbs (assuming you got an amazing price on the chicken) would make more sense, as well as freezing leftovers that you know you'll want to stock up and not use immediately within a few weeks.

 

[Crystal824]

I've had one for 4 years. It is great when buying meat in bulk at warehouse stores. You can break up the package and it is so much better than just wrapping and freezing in saran wrap, freezer paper, or foil.

 

[bedogged]

We had one for about a year and, despite cleaning it regularly, it stopped sealing. We got rid of it.

This happened to me as well. I called the company to see if they could do anything and they offered to sell me a new one at a "discounted" price. Of course, it was more than I had paid for the broken one!

 

[manning]

I don't have a FoodSaver but I really want one! My parents have had one for a few years and they love it.

I also recommend getting one at Costco if you can. They usually have the best price/bundle, but the main reason is their return policy if you either don't like it or have any problems with it. I'm not one of the (many) people who would return it after 3 years though if it broke...please don't do that.

I would only use a FoodSaver if you're planning on freezing items for longer than 1-2 months. If you are using up what you froze before that timeframe, it will be much cheaper to just use a freezer zip bag. The FoodSaver rolls are not cheap when you calculate how many "bags" you make out of a roll. They are better to use for more long-term storage or things that need to be airtight. So, using them to freeze 10lbs of chicken breasts would be a poor use of it. Freezing 50lbs (assuming you got an amazing price on the chicken) would make more sense, as well as freezing leftovers that you know you'll want to stock up and not use immediately within a few weeks.

The foodsaver 4800 is $149.00 at Costco with $15.00 rebate for a total of $119.00

Best I've seen elsewhere is $199.00.

 

[mickeyboat]

We have one and use it all the time. It got a good workout this week as we processed and packaged two deer.

Ours is quite old, and seems to like the thicker Rival and Ziploc brand bags better than the Food Saver ones. The Food Saver brand bags are rough on one side and smooth on the other, and the older machine does not seem to like that.

 

[Angie789]

I got one for my Mom 6 years ago for Christmas and she still tells me it was the greatest present I have ever given her She uses it for meat & produce, and she also will make big batches of stew, lasagna, etc. and freeze smaller portion sizes. Seriously considering getting one for myself now...

 

[GraysMom]

We've had a Foodsaver for a number of years and mainly use it for freezing hamburger (I grind it in large quantities when angus roasts are on sale). We love it! The best deal I've found on the Foodsaver rolls to make the bags is at Sam's Club.

 

[jessrose18]

i just bought the costco one this week on sale and already love it.... also bought the pack of bags they had for $40. already used it on hamburger, venison, and hard salami...i've wanted one for years glad i finally got it!

 

[LJSquishy]

I'm going out today and buying myself the FoodSaver at Costco! It really is a great price right now and since I like to freeze extra meals it will be really nice to have without worrying about freezer burn. I have portions of butternut squash & spinach lasagna to freeze right now.