How to make the best use of your foodsaver. The best ways to food saver, unique products that you can, and should be food savering. Enjoy these great Vacuum Sealing Tips and Tricks
Vacuum Sealing Tips and Tricks
Hubby is the undisputed king of a foodsavering. Nothing comes in this house and goes into one of the freezers without his foodsavering it – well, maybe not frozen vegetables or ice cream, but pretty much everything else! Here are some of his vacuum sealing tips and tricks:
Vacuum Sealing Tips and Tricks for Steak:
We recently made a trip to the local slaughterhouse and brought back quite a bit of meat.
So hubby hauled out the old foodsaver:
As well as the bags I bought him as a gift!
And then he choose what meat he wanted to work with.
Since these were simple steaks, it was pretty straightforward. He just place one of each into a bag, and foodsavered:
He uses one steak underneath the other to raise the steak he is currently working on to the correct height. It makes it easier to use your hands to press the button and hold the flap to the foodsaver.
The steak is labeled with date and type and now ready for the freezer.
Vacuum Sealing Tips and Tricks for Flour:
Some items hubby foodsavers regularly are:
Vacuum Sealing Tips and Tricks for Beans and Peas:
Vacuum Sealing Tips and Tricks for Lard and Butter:
● The flour, lard, and butter we keep in the freezer, the beans, and peas in the stockpile. Since I hate the thought of bugs, I definitely am on board with this habit of hubby’s!
Vacuum Sealing Tips and Tricks for Fruits:
● If something is wet, flash freeze it first. I do this with summer fruits. I simply wash them and remove all debris. I then pat dry, place them on a tray in the freezer for 15-30 minutes, and remove. Then, I take the fruit off the tray, and they quickly go into a foodsaver bag. We then foodsaver the fruit.
Vacuum Sealing Tips and Tricks for Nuts:
● When we foodsaver nuts, hubby just makes sure they are laying flat if they are whole pieces. This helps with freezer storage.
General Vacuum Sealing Tips and Tricks:
● When you foodsaver anything, make sure you remove all the air from the bag.
● Make sure you get a good seal.
● Periodically check your seals on your frozen or pantry foodsavered items. If a seal breaks, reseal it!
Are you a vacuum sealer devotee like my hubby? What unique ideas do you have for vacuum sealing?
Note: this article originally appeared on my old blog, Coupons, Deals, and More
● For more Recipes on Ann’s Entitled Life, click here.
● If you enjoyed this post, be sure to sign up for the Ann’s Entitled Life weekly newsletter, and never miss another article!
Michele K says
I don’t have a sealer but I put almost everything in zipper bags, flour for sure, mac n cheese, noodle packets, don’t like bugs in my stockpile
admin says
Me neither, Michele. Once we had bugs in our pantry from some beans Hubby bought and didn’t foodsaver. I called my brother (the exterminator) to get over to the house and kill these NOW! I am not a bug fan.
Ann
Patti says
I have frozen my flour, but never food savered it. I generally am not freezing long term, but maybe will now with the idea of vacuum sealing it. And I am going to freeze my beans now too! Great thoughts.
I sometimes freeze my candles, but generally just use a regular freezer bag. If I find a great deal on the scents I love, I’ll buy in bulk & freeze. Freezing helps keep the scent, keeps them from getting soft if stored in a warm area & they burn more slowly initially (of course.)
admin says
Patti when you freeze your candles, do they come out brittle? And what type of candle do you freeze?
Ann
Patti says
You know Ann on the larger candles, I haven’t noticed any brittleness. I did drop a couple of votives when they were frozen solid & they cracked. When I drop them when they aren’t frozen, I just get nice dents in them. Sounds like I’ve dropped a few………..guess I have! lol. Anyway, they are generally better quality candles with no decor on them.
Here’s another trick on freezing candles ~ & maybe you already know this, but if you are having trouble getting wax out of a glass container, or even the candle itself, put container in the freezer. Wax will peel right off or the candle will just pop out.
admin says
Great trick! Thanks Patti.
Ann
Candie says
OK Ann, I admit I am freezer stupid. I always bag my flour, sugar, mac & cheese, rice, etc and they stay in the pantry. I can freeze all of that, really? I use Land O’Lakes butter with canola oil, only one I use. It is in tubs, can I freeze that? When I get coupons, very rarely, and the large size is on sale I buy 6 or more. Can you freeze pasta? I don’t think a food saver would be good for me, it is just me, although I told you I bought 20 lbs of chicken from Zaycon. Maybe I need one. I just put it in Hefty zip bags. Freeze candles, wow!
admin says
Candie I freeze LOL butter all the time. Not sure about w/ the canola oil though. Contact LOL and ask them.
We freeze pasta too. If you are by yourself, some vacuum system may be GREAT if you buy in large quantities. Like how long will it take you to eat 20# of chicken? If you start talking 3+ months, I’d consider one of some sort.
Ann
Lee says
Yes you can freeze macaroni & spaghetti and cheese. I do it all the time. No difference in flavor. Just got my foodsaver last week so I am sure I will be posting more. Let the fun begin.
Candie says
Ann, Do you have an preference on what brand? I don’t think I need a really fancy one but hopefully one that I don’t hurt myself with. Every appliance I have ever bought has bit me, some how or another, this on can burn, that is really frightening.
admin says
We have used FoodSaver.com
exclusively for years now. I don’t see a fantastic deal except the chef kit on the front page, and that may be overkill for you. They had some smaller unit sales earlier this month, but they are all sold out.
There are these coupon codes currently:
30% off $100 coupon C9FC30R
20% off $50 coupon C9FC20R
10% off $25 coupon C9FC10R
And currently free shipping on all orders.
Ann
Lee says
I got my foodsaver on QVC really reasonable.
Myrika says
Costco has a full set up with lots of bags for a decent price. Also Walmart carries them.
Alecia says
Any suggestions for how to foodsaver liquid-y stuff?
Marie-Ann says
FoodSaver sells canisters as well as bags, I use those for liquids, you can get them in different sizes and I find them on ebay for very decent prices 🙂
Arlene says
If you have the mason jar attachment you can put liquids in mason jars and suck the air right out. I do this with pints of broth and put them in the freezer. Most of my recipes call for two cups, so I can just grab one and let it thaw.
Laura says
Place into freezer bags and clamp them shut with chip bag clamps, clothespins, whatever until it’s frozen enough, then you can just use the foodsaver as normal. You can even put your bags into a container and then pop it out once frozen for stacking ease once frozen. That way all your packages are the same size and shape.
Bonnie Sharp says
I’m a foodsaver junkie too… I freeze bread or things like chili before I seal it. I also use my foods saver to reseal chip bags instead of using clips and the chips stay fresh much longer.
Mieke says
Freeze it in a container pop it out quick once frozen and put it in a sealer bag and seal it immediately worked wonders for chicken corn soup and a large recipe for chicken cheddar rice the recipe is to much to make at once and it’s hard to cut it down since it calls for 4 different cans of Campbell’s soup so I mixed it all the liquids up and split them into 4 equal parts put the raw rice raw chicken and the cheddar cheese in each container froze them popped them out and sealed them so now when I make it again I just have to thaw and bake it easy least I’m even thinking of doing small meal bags my kids can just take out of the freezer and pop in the microwave I seal everything including clothes lol I tie dye and the bizarre I’m doing them for isn’t until December (many months away) and I am a smoker so I seal all the items once washed to keep them from smelling like smoke
Jennifer @ Mom Spotted says
Haha! I am! I foodsaver EVERYTHING. It really does help! The walmart brand bags work just as good for a LOT less $$$
Colby says
I was wondering how good they worked on the foodsaver machine. Awesome, thank you.
Dave says
I’m sorry to disagree, but I have tried all different brands, and only the FS specific bags/rolls, work as they proclaim they do. I am now going on a 5 year experiment with both wet(Venicen,Beef, Pork, Hot Dogs, and Italian sausage), and dry (flour, rice, beans,salt, pepper, yeast….ect…..)
All of the SF “compatibles” are failing!!!!! The FS rolls/bags have lifted grooves in one side of the back that allow total air extraction. The others don’t.
I’m not a scientist, but I am a hunter, gatherer, and am always learning new ways to preserve what I work for.
Hope this helps someone
Charlotte says
We need to be better at food saving! Thanks for linking up! x
Joyce says
I’ve never used one of these before, but it looks like a good way to preserve food.
Cindy says
Here are our household tips
1. For liquids… I freeze in Ziplock bags then vac-seal.
2. We use a thick cutting board to elevate the package to seal (like your steak mentioned earlier)
3. Use the seal-only option for to reseal partial packages of frozen veggies
4. Wisdom from the salesman at Bass Pro Shops – remove the sealing gasket when storing. The pressure from the lid can put a permanent dent in the gasket, shortening its life.
QandleQueen says
We were given a foodsaver a couple years ago and will NEVER go without one ever again. We use it all the time. Hubby hits all of the food sales and I become a freezing maniac. Our tip is to grill your meat to rare, then portion down and freeze. Burgers and steaks can be tossed into the microwave for a quick meal and come out at a perfect medium (if that’s your preference). I’ve also done poultry this way but it has to be finished off properly in the oven before serving. We maximize our grill with those hot coals lasting for hours on end and get to enjoy the smoky grilled taste any time without all of the fuss.
Debbie says
It is really good to freeze bulk cheese with vacuum sealer. Also if your meat or item you are freeing is to moist and doesn’t want to seal just put a paper towel in the top of the bag and it will soak up the extra juice.
Sue Richardson says
we have used the food saver for more than 30 years it really comes in handy now. I became disabled this year so things are very tight!
We buy an 80 lb. case of hamburger and split it with our daughter and her family. Also do the same with chicken when it is on sale.
But since I became disabled, we really use it. We go to the grocery store early in the morning and buy our meats that are reduced for quick sale. Bring it home and then run it through the Foodsaver. We never buy full priced meat anymore. We just plan on the reduced for quick sale for our menu.
Rosanna Jones says
I wrap my meats with plastic wrap, then place in foodsaver bags, it keeps in the food safety, no meat juices on the sealer or the spill compartment. No cross contamination.:-)
Tracey says
Here is my all star tip-You know all those bottles of bbq sauce and salad dressing that get shoved to the back of your refrigerator when they get low and you crack open a new kind of dressing? I pour them in the bag with the raw chicken breasts I am sealing. They freeze very well and marinate the chicken breasts so they are ready for the grill after we thaw the packages in the fridge. They no longer clog up our fridge and we have a new flavor every night…Ranch Chicken, Italian Chicken, Raspberry Vinegarette Chicken, etc.
Martha says
Can I cut my ice cream up amd vacume pack the pieces to keep it from going bad?
Ann says
Martha, I asked Hubby what he thought as we have never done this. He felt if the ice cream was really frozen (not soft), you could cut up that solid ice cream, and then hurry and freeze it, it might work. You need to make certain to work quickly. If the ice cream melts at all, you probably will not get a good seal and it will degrade the quality of the ice cream.
Good luck!
Ann
Nicola says
Foodsaver Addict here! Started with the basic model about 4 yrs ago, used it to the point I would have to hold the lever and press on the top of it to make it work haha. This christmas my daughter bought me the fancy one from Costco, with the little accessory wand thing. I have the canisters and the marinator. My favorite part about this new model is you can just vacu-seal regular food bags, like chips, seeds and lots of other types of bags…not just specific sealing bags. Much easier on the budget! Also it has a “pump” feature, meaning you can vacuum breads etc, slowly, controlled so you don’t squish stuff. I learned the hard way though, to always use parchement paper between cheese slices, soft tortillas, hamburgers etc….makes life soooo much easier when trying to separate!
Melaney says
Does vacuum sealing butter before freezing it extend it’s storage life past the normally stated 9 months?
Ann says
Melaney, I am not a scientist and do not know the true answer to that question. I do know I use the butter I freeze well after that 9 month cut-off with no obvious repercussions.
Ann
Anna says
Great tips , I vacuum sealed fresh veggies they weren’t very good after I open them ,what did I do wrong? I was hoping to get them to last longer …. my avocado looks great .
Ann says
Anna, did you look at the package you took from the freezer? Sometimes the seal breaks, or was not very good to begin with. All the air needs to be taken out at the time of sealing.
Ann
Mary in mn says
Some fresh veggies need to be blanched before freezing. Check a freezing book on how to do it. Each veggie is different.
Stewart says
I’m still running the 600 model I bought in the 90s. Still works great. Only drag is the food saver bag quality has deteriorated dramatically over the last 30 years. Modern bags are approx half as thick as they used to be so by default storage life has been sacrificed as well. Sadly more profit squeezed is the goal. Original bags kept most things perfect for 2-3 years in freezer. Now only 1-2 years.
Good tip:
Double seal each end of the bag. I heat seal then offset by a quarter inch and heat seal again. With double seals on each end I no longer get any surprise bag leaks later on in the freezer.
Shirley says
What size bags do you use to store 5 lb. bags of flour ? Any tips for storing flour ?
Ann says
Hi Shirley,
Use the gallon-sized freezer bags.
We leave the flour in the freezer until we need it (run out) then place it in our flour bin to have on hand for baking and cooking.
Ann
Hannah J Parrish says
I would LOVE to have one for all the food for dinner we have as left overs and also to seal my hubby deer meat. This will save us tons of money.