Food Savers

[diymom]

I am thinking of purchasing one of these machines and wonder if there are any opinions out there. Could I effectively seal meats, ie. ground beef, roasts, etc.? does it work on items like sandwich meats, fruits, individual portions of soups/stews?

I guess I am asking if it is worth the price and does it save from freezer burn to extend the life of my foods.

Thank you for any insight.

[thelapierres]

I love using the vacuum sealer! It is great for meat when it's on sale and baking to keep it fresh for longer in your freezer. Make sure that you buy enough bags of various sizes, or a machine that allows you to customize the size of your bag. Sometimes you don't need that HUGE bag for just a few little things. If you want to prepare meals ahead of time that have liquids as part of it (marinade), freeze the contents first in the bag and then put it through the vacuum sealer. I did learn that if you want to freeze buns of a softer nature, freeze them first too, otherwise it just flattens them right down to nothing.

[--mary--]

I hate to have to say this and I am almost embarrassed of it... but I cleaned out the old deep freeze in my garage last week to cut the energy bill a bit... I always date everything I freeze so I know how long it's been in there. Well, I think I just threw out a perfectly good looking salmon that was still sealed nicely in a bag by one of those little vacuum machines ( which I love ) The embarrassing part would be the date on the salmon... it was from 1993 and it was almost certainly still edible. I do clean my freezer but I guess I neglected the bottom corners of the garage one for a little longer than I thought!!

[mirandasierra]

Great tips guys! Keep it coming.