Food Saver vacuum

[E-orLover]

Does anyone have one of these? I am contemplating on getting one.
Can you give me some pro and cons. Do you use it a lot, a little, not as much as you did when you first got it. Is it easy to use or some what complicated.

If you can me anything else about, please do. I'm sure there are questions I can't thing of right now.

Thank you
Casey

 

[Dax]

I have one, actually on my 2nd vaccum sealer. Our first was not the Food Saver brand. We use it all the time, and it worked great for about a year, then would stop working.

We then got a Food Saver brand one, and honestly, I liked my other brand better. It has issues with pulling out the air, and is also specific about the bags it uses. If I used any brand other than the more expensive Food Saver ones, they never sealed good.

DH finally had enough with the thing, and we bought the $15 Reynolds one. So far, so good.

 

[winnapooh]

Does anyone have one of these? I am contemplating on getting one.
Can you give me some pro and cons. Do you use it a lot, a little, not as much as you did when you first got it. Is it easy to use or some what complicated.

If you can me anything else about, please do. I'm sure there are questions I can't thing of right now.

Thank you
Casey

I love my foodsaver. We bought one a couple of years ago after we had to throw away an entire pork loin due to bad freezer burn. It's very easy to use, and really does work to stop freezer burn and such. You can bag up things like sauces to freeze easily as well. I buy meat in bulk so that's where I use it the most, but I've been using it a lot lately to package up leftovers into freezer meals. I also use it for veggies when they are on a good sale (like peppers and onions for quesadillas and that sort of thing, I make up my own mixes that are so much more expensive in the store). I do think you make up the money easily because you can then buy in bulk and save that way.

Occassionally it does not want to seal, as we've found that when you are sealing more than a couple of bags at one time, you need to wait for 30 seconds or so between sealings for the strip to cool down.

The only downside is the cost of the bags, but I buy them in bulk at BJ's (not the precut ones, I buy the sleeves that I can customize to size), and they are much better priced that way. You can also get generic brands of bags, but I haven't tried those.

Also, I do have canisters with mine, but I have never used them. I seem to forget about them.

I would definitely recommend a foodsaver. I really like mine, and it's still going strong after about 3 years.

 

[bnf2]

Love ours! I also buy the roll of bags and cut them to size.
Wish I was in the market for a new one as the newer design stands upright and looks like it won't take up as much counter space.

 

[worm761]

I just got one the other day because I shop in bulk. One piece of advice I got before I got mine... A friend said to keep it on a counter somewhere where it is easy to get to. She had hers for a while and kept forgetting about it. Then she started keeping it on top of her microwave where it was easy to see/remember and she started using it more often.

 

[bonybroad]

I've had one for five years.
I use it once a month. Because I go grocery shopping once a month.
It also helps me save space in the freezer, because everything is smushed flat. I like it a lot, and I am glad we have it!

 

[cirquelovers]

I've had mine for over a year and I love it. I had a cheaper one before but it stopped sealing. I have the one that rotates to stand "upright" on the counter, you don't use it when it's upright but it's great for storage on the counter.

I second buying the rolls of bags and cutting to size. I also use the different widths so I have the right bag size for the job. I have used the generic rolls and have never had a problem with them sealing.

I agree with the poster who says to let it cool down in between sealings. If you try to do 5 bags in 2 minutes it gets too hot.

I'm not the best at sauces because it can be messy, I'm sure there's a trick, i just haven't figured it out yet

I love mine in the summer because I can pick fresh fruits and veggies and seal them away. I also use it for my dehydrated goods and it makes sure no moisture gets in.

It's a lifesaver when it comes to buying meat in bulk and then freezing in smaller portions. It also works great for cooked meat too. It's great to cook a bunch of hamburger and seal it into smaller amounts to use later. It's so easy to thaw too. Then can be put in the microwave, puncture or clip and end first, or can be put into hot water too.

Great idea on the peppers and things. I just found a great deal on red, yellow and green peppers for 50 cents. I think I'll go buy a bunch and freeze them in litle packets for later use in fajitas and such. Thanks for the great idea!!

I love mine and can't imagine life without it. I can see if you didn't use it much it might not be worth the expense but I find mine invaluable. Plus food doesn't get wasted anymore!

 

[Crystal824]

My mom got me one for Christmas. I really like it. It was easy to use. I keep it on the counter. As pp mentioned, if I didn't I would probably forget about it or just not take the time to get it out.

 

[GC&S]

I was just using mine today - had a marathon cooking session during my child's snowday. I love it - I usually buy meat on sale and then divide it and seal it. Make sure and label it (what it is and date) because everything starts to look the same once frozen. I also buy the bulk bags. Ours also came with the canister and I have never used it.

 

[winnapooh]

Great idea on the peppers and things. I just found a great deal on red, yellow and green peppers for 50 cents. I think I'll go buy a bunch and freeze them in litle packets for later use in fajitas and such. Thanks for the great idea!!

You're welcome I also do other veggie mixes when I get a good deal, like celery and onion for soup (I've not had good luck with freezing carrots though, they get really weird textured even in soup); cut up potatoes with onion (they are slightly off in texture when you cook them, but still good and cheaper than potatoes o'brien that you buy...I didn't add green pepper at the time cause I didn't have any!). I'm testing out freezing the soft bananas for banana bread (haven't tried using it yet).

I've been on a mission not to waste any food so my foodsaver is getting a good workout lately. I even just took two leftover rolls, buttered them and with garlic and parsley and froze them for garlic bread!

I definitely think foodsavers are a good investment!

 

[DebMcDonald]

Ok, don't flame me , but I have one and we don't use it, it's not that I don't like it, I do not have the counter space for it and it's a pain to get it out and put away all the time. When it was new I used it all the time and really liked it, but the newness wore off and the rest of history. I think as with everything, if its at your fingertips you will use it, but if you have to drag it out every time it's not going to get the use it deserves.

 

[cirquelovers]

That's why I bought the one that goes into the upright position for storage. I just place it against the wall and it's there when I need it. I agree my old one would get put away and then I'd forget to bring it out.

Thanks Winnapooh! I don't really like potatoes once they've been frozen. I guess I just don't treat it with enough chemicals like the frozen food companies do Sad to hear about carrots, I was going to try them next, although corn works wonderfully, on the ear or off.

It also works great for other snacks. If you open a big package of cookies, crackers or the like you can seal away some of them to keep them fresh, or just make them into smaller sealed portions. It works great for traveling too! It keeps things small and compact.

 

[lady9]

My mom, SIL, and I bought one together and share it. We all live within a few minutes of each other. I mainly use it to freeze food I buy in bulk. I recently bought 3 center cut pork loins and asked the butcher it this cut would be good for pork chop. He said yes so I had him cut them into boneless pork chops. I got 71 chops for less than 61 cents per chop.

We have also used it to make "boil in the bag" type meals especially when we camp. So easy.

I would yes, they are a great thing to have if you use it and I definitely do!

 

[LaurieG]

I have one, the food saver brand, I am actually on my third one! I love it, I use primarly for freezing, but have found that I really enjoy the canisters that I have now as well.

 

[winnapooh]

I don't really like potatoes once they've been frozen. I guess I just don't treat it with enough chemicals like the frozen food companies do

I had the same thought!

 

[bear74]

I have a food saver one and it stopped vacuuming.

 

[mandynee22]

I have a little handheld one that you use with these special ziplock bags. I use it everytime I buy meat packages in bulk. It was like 5 bucks

 

[umaangel00]

I have the Reynolds one and jury is till out. I used it on some cookies but the cookies were sharp so they poked holes in it. I like it alot better than my counter top one though. My counter top one has decided it no longer wants to seal.