food saver system questions

[coastiewifern]

I just picked up a foodsaver vacuum system at a garage sale. If you have one tell me all the great ways you use yours and what kind of bags do you buy for it and where to you find the BEST price on them?

 

[jedijill]

I use mine for dividing up bigger packages of meat mainly. I also bought a big chunk of parmesan at Costco and reseal it every time I cut a little bit off. I bought several rolls of bags when Target was clearancing out a different brand but the bags work just fine. I've also bought bags at Kohl's when they were on sale and I had my Kohls coupons.

HTH

Jill in CO

 

[worm761]

Buy the food saver brand bags. They are worth the extra cost. I buy meat in bulk and separate it and use the food sealer to package it back up. It is also good if you marinate anything to freeze the marinade right in there with it.

I buy my bags either at Sam's Club or Walmart since they have the best prices around me. Though if you have a 20% off coupon and can find them at Bed Bath and Beyond then it would probably be cheaper that way.

 

[Marionnette]

I just picked up a foodsaver vacuum system at a garage sale. If you have one tell me all the great ways you use yours and what kind of bags do you buy for it and where to you find the BEST price on them?

I use the Foddsaver brand bags. I order them directly from Foodsaver's website when they have a good coupon code. I keep an eye on Livingrichwithcoupons because Cindy usually posts when there's a good deal on them.

My big money-saving hint is to take your leftovers and package/seal them then toss them in the freezer when you're cleaning up after dinner. I portion them out into one or two servings. Then I send them off with my college kids when they come home for the weekend. They get a home-cooked meal when they're away at school and I don't have to eat leftovers. If you don't have college kids, just save the leftovers for a night when you don't want to cook. Just tell the family what you have in the freezer and let them pick what they each want to eat.

 

[Disneypeach]

I love mine and buy the bags at Costco...not sure if it is cheaper but the box has multiple rolls and sizes of materials. I also cut up meat to freeze but additionally buy the bulk cheese at Costco (ched and moz) divide them up, seal and freeze.

I've even used the foodsaver to seal and freeze muffins...
just be sure to use the "pulse" vacuum feature otherwise the darn machine will pull all the air out of the muffin...not a good thing...don't ask me how I know....
Peach

 

[Dish]

I've used both Foddsaver brand bags and those bags from Costco, but I really like the ones from Foddsaver brand bags.

 

[Marionnette]

I just wanted to give a heads up that Foodsaver's website has 30% off of bags and rolls. Spend $100+ and get free shipping. Go through ebates and get another 5% cash back.

You also get a discount for "volume" orders. 10% less on 3-4 of the same item. 20% off of 5-7 and an additional 30% off of 8 or more.

I know that it can be a lot to spend on the bags at one time but it's not like they go bad or anything. $100 worth of rolls will last me for 6-8 months of sealing and freezing. And the money it saves me instead of using the reusable containers that I would have sent off to college with the kids (the ones that never seem to find their way back home), is worth the initial cost.

 

[junebugTN]

We have had one since they first came out ages ago and still use it nearly every day. I buy our bags from Bed Bath & Beyond with the 20% coupon they usually offer, or just snag them when I see them on sale.

One of our favorite uses is to place an order for great cheeses from a dairy farm in Wisconsin. They only ship during the cooler months, so then we cut up the cheese into smaller packages and freeze them to use throughout the year. The cheese thaws out good as new, and it's fun to "shop" for different cheeses in the freezer.

Another good use is for packing. I'll vacuum seal my liquids before packing in my luggage to take up less room on a trip. I try to only pack what I'll use so that I don't have to pack them on the return trip. I have also used the Foodsaver to vacuum-pack fragile holiday decorations. You'll be surprised at all the nifty uses you'll find for it!

 

[Plumeria9]

Right now thru 11/4 Costco has the rolls that you make bags out of on coupon for $8 off. I bought the rolls from the FoodSaver website (Jarden?) once and I don't know if they sell different qualities of plastic, but the rolls I got were much flimsier than the rolls I got originally w/ the FoodSaver and what I get at Costco. So I would rather just buy a box from Costco and be all set for a few years.

I use the FS mainly for cheese - it is the best to keep mold from ruining it. Also I use it to save half of a large fish package from Costco. I par-freeze the fish first, so it's solid, and then do the FS. Otherwise your fish will be squashed out of shape. I use it fairly regularly, enough to keep it on my counter. The plus is that mine matches my kitchen, stainless & black. My old one was white, not so matchy.

I never had much luck w/ the hard plastic-like containers that came w/ it. I don't understand how you know that the air is actually sucked out, it looks the same as it did before doing FS. So I gave up on it and just use the bags.
Have fun w/ it!

 

[JessB320]

A little OT but you can reseal other types of bags with your foodsaver as well. chip bags, cereal bags and most frozen veggie bags can be resealed. I just skip the vacuum part and go for the seal. Keeps chips from going stale and is a great help if you have lots of open bags of veggies, they don't spill all over anymore.

 

[lindsmom]

I make a ginorous lasagna, cut and freeze portions, also same as PP mentioned I throw leftovers in, as long as it is a portion size. When I make tacos, I double the recipe for the meat and throw half in a vaccuum bag in the freezer. All with the intention that we can have "homemade" dinner at microwave tv dinner speed when I don't feel like cooking on future evenings.