Food Saver

Dave Smith

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Jan 10, 2021, 4:30:47 PM1/10/21

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My old Food Saver died a couple years ago and I bought a new and
improved model. At least I thought that it was improved. I always seemed
to have trouble with it and ended up putting it away and looking for
excuses not to use it. Today I had to use it. I had bought my wife a big
block of aged cheddar at the local produce store. She used to get some
every couple weeks but they close from New Years to Easter. Today I had
to break into that 6 pound block and then vacuum pack it.

Dang there is a lot of waste with those things. You have to cut a piece
big enough to put the items into and have enough extra to reach into the
vacuum compartment. It's a good thing the sale deal on this one included
a bunch of extra rolls.

If I start using this thing a lot I will have to keep an eye out for
deals on bags and rolls. That stuff ain't cheap.

Sqwertz

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Jan 10, 2021, 8:06:40 PM1/10/21

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Don't buy the Foodsaver brand rolls. There's a lot cheaper ones out
there. I used to use dessicant.com, but there are supposedly even
cheaper p[laces out there. You can choose thicker or thinner bags.

Looks like dessicant.com is out of business (Foodsaver was suing
them when they still had the unexpired patent on the channel bags).

-sw

cshenk

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Jan 10, 2021, 9:20:36 PM1/10/21

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Actually Food Saver is fine, just not at the grocery store. Use a bulk
order like Amazon for this.

Sqwertz

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Jan 11, 2021, 12:59:49 AM1/11/21

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No, they're not. There's much cheaper out there, even on Amazon.
Just like I said.

-sw

Gary

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Jan 11, 2021, 8:15:09 AM1/11/21

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For short term freezing, the vacuum bags are not even necessary. For
long term, I just immerse the bag in water, holding the top out. The
water pressure removes all the air. Just give the bag a few twists
underwater, then put on a twist tie.

Those supermarket produce bags work well for this.
Even fold lock baggies for small amounts.

Daniel

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Jan 14, 2021, 8:18:38 AM1/14/21

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Brilliant idea.

--
Daniel

Visit me at: gopher://gcpp.world

Dave Smith

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Jan 14, 2021, 10:46:46 AM1/14/21

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I don't know about it being brilliant. Thinner bags will definitely work
for short term freezing. I did specify that I was using it to vacuum
pack cheese, which cannot be frozen, it it would get moldy if loosely
packed with air inside the bag.

Ed Pawlowski

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Jan 14, 2021, 10:53:04 AM1/14/21

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On 1/14/2021 10:48 AM, Dave Smith wrote:

> I don't know about it being brilliant. Thinner bags will definitely work
> for short term freezing. I did specify that I was using it to vacuum
> pack cheese, which cannot be frozen, it it would get moldy if loosely
> packed with air inside the bag.

Cheese is one of the best uses for a vac sealer. Frozen is less
critical if you have a 30 to 60 day turnover. Vacuum sealed, I've had
cooked meat for over a year and it was as good as the day packed. For
thing I'm using in a month, just a plain bag works well enough.

Dave Smith

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Jan 14, 2021, 11:25:23 AM1/14/21

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We don't stockpile a lot of stuff in the freezer, so meats often go into
the freezer in the store packaging. Once in a while I get a deal on
things, like family packs or economy packs, so I split them up and use
the FoodSaver.

My wife loves this particular cheese but the produce market that sells
it closes from New Years to Easter. A whole block of that cheese is near
the top of her Christmas wish list. I cut it into 6 or more chunks and
vacuum pack them.

cshenk

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Jan 15, 2021, 6:05:50 PM1/15/21

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Humm, I freeze some types of cheese all the time.

cshenk

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Jan 15, 2021, 6:08:41 PM1/15/21

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Agreed.

Dave Smith

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Jan 15, 2021, 6:25:14 PM1/15/21

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On 2021-01-15 6:05 p.m., cshenk wrote:

> Dave Smith wrote:

>> I don't know about it being brilliant. Thinner bags will definitely
>> work for short term freezing. I did specify that I was using it to
>> vacuum pack cheese, which cannot be frozen, it it would get moldy if
>> loosely packed with air inside the bag.
>
> Humm, I freeze some types of cheese all the time.
>

Sure, some cheeses can be frozen, but the texture takes a cooking. This
is a nice aged cheddar. It is a special cheese and I am not going to
take a chance on ruin
ing $60 + worth of aged cheese.

itsjoan...@webtv.net

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Jan 15, 2021, 8:51:38 PM1/15/21

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On Friday, January 15, 2021 at 5:25:14 PM UTC-6, Dave Smith wrote:
>
> Sure, some cheeses can be frozen, but the texture takes a cooking. This
> is a nice aged cheddar. It is a special cheese and I am not going to
> take a chance on ruin
> ing $60 + worth of aged cheese.
>

If you've gotten a good seal on that cheese it will last for months
in the refrigerator with no problem. It won't need to be frozen as
you've extracted all the air out.

Dave Smith

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Jan 15, 2021, 9:27:24 PM1/15/21

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Yep. That is why I vacuum pack it and put it into the fridge instead of
freezing it. This is really good cheese. I don't want to ruin it.

Daniel

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Jan 19, 2021, 12:21:56 PM1/19/21

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If you insist, I take back my compliment.