Tuesday, February 28, 2023

A Review of the Foodsaver Vacuum Sealing System


Foodsaver Vacuum Sealing System

Considering the price of food today, it is ridiculous to let it spoil.  It is like throwing your money in the garbage!  If you are like me, you have a lot of good intentions when it comes to the food you buy.  

Such as:

You buy a family sized package of pork chops, thinking how many meals you are going to make with all that meat and when you get home from the store, in a rush as always, you just toss it in the freezer.  Then when you want to make porkchops for dinner, you go to the freezer, only to see six porkchops frozen together in a big lump.  Now you know if you thaw them all, the ones you don't cook will probably spoil before you decide to have them again for dinner, so you just leave them in the freezer and have spaghetti instead.

This same scenario is played again and again over the next few months until that package of porkchop is darkened and dried up with freezer burn.   With regret, you take it out of the freezer and throw it in the trash.

You know this has happened to you, it has happened to all of us!  I cannot count the number of times I have bought large portions, intending to save money by meal planning, only to end up thowing it out.  It either spoils or gets lost in the freezer.  

The day I decided to change this pattern of behavior was the day I cleaned out my chest freezer when we were preparing to move.  I just could not believe the amount of freezer burned meat and other items that were in the bottom of that freezer.  The food that I ended up throwing out could have fed us for a month!.  I said right then and there, no more!!!

After much research and talking to friends, I decided to buy a Foodsaver V4400 Vacuum Sealer.  

Foodsaver Vacuum Sealer

It is their middle of the road sealing machine, not the top end or low end.  I had recently had a dozen meat chickens butchered (we moved out to the country) and I thought this would be a great time to try out our Foodsaver.  With only two of us in the house, those 12 chickens would be in the freezer for a long time and I did not want them freezer burned.

My husband and I sat down and read the directions and found them very clear and easy to understand.  We grouped the chicken pieces how we wanted to freeze them and we were off!  We were both surprised how quick and easy it was to package all that chicken.  While we were at it, we decided to package up some green beans that I had picked and cleaned the day before.  They came out beautifully.  Even after packaging all that, we still did not use up all the bags that came with the machine when we bought it.  We were impressed!


How to Use a Foodsaver Video



In case you are thinking that you only need a vacuum sealer if you raise your own chickens and garden, nothing could be further from the truth.  We also use it for cheese, lunch meat, fruit and many other things that we buy at the grocery store.  It cuts way down on food spoilage.  A block of cheese that is vacuum sealed will not mold for weeks if stored properly.  You can also vacuum seal all kinds of leftovers, from steak to Sweet and Sour Pork.  It will lengthen the shelf life of just about anything in the refrigerator.

As many bags as they did give us with the machine, they did eventually run out.  To buy more, I took a look on Amazon, and found the Foodsaver bags to be pretty pricey. However, there are perfectly good bags of other brands that work well and are less expensive.  The kind I use and like best are Reli Vacuum Sealer Bags.  You get 4 rolls of 8" wide x 50 feet long, so they can be cut to any size.

vacuum seal rolls


While a Foodsaver is not an inexpensive purchase, if you use it, I guarantee that you will save money on food and you will recover the price you paid.  You will also find that your food tastes better when stored properly.  It is definitely worth it.



Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”


9 comments:

  1. I agree. A vacuum sealer will definitely keep your meats from getting freezer-burned. I experienced that several times before learning to properly package them in meal-sized packs. Labeled with date, it's so much easier to take out just what you need and find it in perfect condition. I also like your hints about preserving leftovers and other foods. Thanks, Tracey.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! You are so right, it is very important to label with a date every time you put something in the freezer.

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  2. I have been considering one of these for a while. Thanks for sharing your positive experience and the brands and models of the vacuum sealer and replacement bags you chose.

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  3. I too have been considering one of these. Thank you for sharing your experience.

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  4. Wow! You explained how much we all need a Foodsaver Vacuum quite well. Sealing my own meat is not something I ever considered doing before I read your review. What a great way to save money, meat, veggies, fruits, and leftovers. Like you, I do hate throwing out food. This definitely sounds like something I would love to start doing. Thanks for the information and encouragement!

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  5. I’ve had more than one of these machines and having more than one wasn’t due to any defect of the machine but due to me using these all the time! Just an FYI they now make a zip lock resealable bags which are really great for things that you use on a daily basis! A separate hand held sealer is needed with these. Tracey this was a great and informative article!

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  6. Thanks so much Tracey for this informative review. I also have been considering buying one of these. I want to smoke some cheeses and you need to vacuum seal the cheese after it is smoked. By the way the video was very helpful.

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  7. Years ago we used to have one of these (a different model) - it absolutely served our purpose when the family was younger - we used it a lot.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thank you for this informative review. I agree I hate wasting food and especially with the price of food these days we do not want to be throwing anything away! This Foodsaver vacuum sounds like a very useful and practical product that will be well used. Thank you for explaining it all so well.

    ReplyDelete

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