Foodsaver

Ruth Ann Reyes
Ruth Ann Reyes Posts: 577 admin

How do you use your foodsaver?



Comments

  • Gail H
    Gail H Posts: 359 ✭✭✭✭

    I vacuum seal my herbs in amber glass canning jars. They keep very well that way.

    It can also be used as a prop in a low budget horror flick. Put a face on a small pumpkin, stick some bolts into the side of the pumpkin and put the lid on top. Flip the switch. Nothing really happens, of course, but I did that when I gave a talk on food preservation and people did get a giggle out of it. 😀

  • ines871
    ines871 Posts: 1,283 ✭✭✭✭✭

    okay all you Herbal experts 🙂: Since I can't use Alcohol, here's a new question:

    which preserves Herbs better as well as longer: Alcohol ?, or Foodsaver ? - (Search-engine is sleeeping)

  • Linda Bittle
    Linda Bittle Posts: 1,518 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @rainbow alcohol only preserves the parts of the herb that it extracts, as in a tincture.

    I see the Foodsaver as preserving the whole, dried herb for use in food, as a tea, or for making a tincture or glycerine extraction later.

    You can also freeze fresh herbs in ice cube trays with water or a food safe oil to cover them.

  • ines871
    ines871 Posts: 1,283 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited February 2020

    @Mary Linda Bittle - so either Freeze, or Dry herbs & then preserve them in the Foodsaver for later, you say?

  • Linda Bittle
    Linda Bittle Posts: 1,518 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @rainbow Those would be my choices to preserve herbs. Alcohol (or glycerine or vinegar) extracts a lot of constituents of plants, but the herb is "perfect" as God made it.

    Personally, I don't have huge amounts of herbs on hand. I prefer to harvest or buy in smaller quantities so that I use them before they degrade.

  • Merin Porter
    Merin Porter Posts: 1,026 admin

    @Ruth Reyes-Loiacano, we use it mostly right now for cuts of meat, before we store them in the freezer. Although I have the nifty Foodsaver containers and have successfully used them for washed lettuce, berries, cut veggies, etc. to keep everything fresh in the fridge for longer....

  • Heidi
    Heidi Posts: 29 ✭✭✭

    I use mine to freeze meats and seal canning jars of dry ingredients stored in pantry. We love it and use it at least 3-4 times a week.

  • nksunshine27
    nksunshine27 Posts: 343 ✭✭✭

    have you tried vegetable glycerin to make tinctures?

    @MerinPorter i do the same with meats but also after vacum sealing we wrap on newspaper and label so they dont get any "pin holes" on them from moving them around in the freezer. also have one of those containers like you mentioned and we put bacon or sausage in it and it will last up to 3 months that way

    @rainbow i think drying them without heat then using the food saver on mason jars is really good some herbs dont freeze well and lose thier medicne if frozen and the same goes for heat on some herbs also

  • ines871
    ines871 Posts: 1,283 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited February 2020

    Thanks @nksunshine27

    is there a Chart, or a guide somewhere listing which herbs do Freeze well, as well as which herbs maintain their potency with heat ?

    Having never found one at a Thrift-store like Value-Village, How much does a Foodsaver cost ?

  • Leediafastje
    Leediafastje Posts: 97 ✭✭✭

    @nksunshine27 I replaced my old Food Saver Vacuum Sealer recently. Prices began around $50 and went up as high as $199. I ended up spending around $125 but, I got extra bags also. I wouldn't suggest buying a vacuum sealer at a thrift store because one of the problems a used unit will likely have is the sealer no longer works properly.

    For an herb drying chart you can look at earthnotes.tripod.com/harvest.htm It provides good information. Once you get the basics of which type of herb is dried in a particular way, I think you'll be comfortable not using a complicated chart.

    Have fun! Eat well!

    Agate Hill Farm, WA State Olympic Mtns. Zone 8

  • Torey
    Torey Posts: 5,679 admin

    @Leediafastje Thanks for the link.

  • nksunshine27
    nksunshine27 Posts: 343 ✭✭✭

    @rainbow i agree with Leediafastje i wouldn't buy a vacuum sealer at a thrift store because you dont know if it works right. i bought a food saver 10 years ago and still going strong, i buy bags on sale at our local bimart.

  • SuperC
    SuperC Posts: 952 ✭✭✭✭

    Dry herbs then store in glass jars. Side note, what’s a food saver?

  • shllnzl
    shllnzl Posts: 1,820 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @teachercaryn FoodSaver is a brand of vacuum sealer.

  • SuperC
    SuperC Posts: 952 ✭✭✭✭

    @Ruth Reyes-Loiacano your foodsaver sucks air from a glass jar. Is the plastic lid left on the jar after the hose removes the air? What is that brand you use? so I can do research.

  • nksunshine27
    nksunshine27 Posts: 343 ✭✭✭

    @teachercaryn there are two kind of ways to do it there is a plastic jar that has a special lid that you put the jar attachment with a hose and you set it on top and it sucks the air out and the plastic lid stays there there is a button on top to push to release the suction. the second way is to use a glass jar with a metal canning lid and you put the jar attachment on top and it sucks out all the air and the metal lid is now sucked to the jar and you can put a metal ring on if you want. hope that helps

  • spowell07
    spowell07 Posts: 37 ✭✭✭

    I have 3 foodsavers. My first one was approximately 15 years ago or longer. I still use it when we are camping or on vacation. My biggest one can sit upright on my counter when not in use and lay flat while using it stores the rill to make bags and the tubing to seal jars within the machine. My newest one is about 3 years old and is the hunters setup. We love all 3 of them. We use them to freeze meat different fruits and vegetables as well as herbs dried fresh and frozen. We also have used it to make packets for what we call get home bags to store toilet paper, wipes. Napkins etc as well as emergency meds, matches/lighters, fire starter, granola bars etc. I have even made mini sewing kits and sealed them in a foodsaver bag to send off to college with my kids as well as to take on vacations.

  • chimboodle04
    chimboodle04 Posts: 286 ✭✭✭

    We bought a foodsaver two years ago as we got deeper and deeper into preserving more of our own food and bulk foods that we have purchased. It has been most handy when dividing up and freezing whole chickens/parts, preserving the deer that my husband got this year and also using it to preserve raisins, nuts, dried vegetables and other fruits in canning jars. We also use it to vacuum seal bulk orders of oatmeal and rice in canning jars.

  • Momma Mo
    Momma Mo Posts: 138 ✭✭✭

    We use our Vacuum sealer all the time. Ours is from LEM, and it is my favorite of all the sealers we have owned. We seal meat, cheese, and dried beans in the vacuum bags. I seal my dried herbs, nuts and flours on canning jars. It really extends the life of our bounty!

  • harpiano
    harpiano Posts: 13 ✭✭✭

    YES!!! a lot! In Hawaii it doesn't pay to can, dry, or freeze foods for preservation. First of all everyday is a harvest day, so there are plenty of fresh foods to eat daily if you have planned. BUT what I do love to do is vacuum seal. I bought my second sealer probably 20 years ago and use it all the time here. I can dry herbs etc, but with the high humidity nothing would stay dry without my sealer. As a matter of fact I just bought a 25 pound bag of rice; enough for a year yesterday; and put it up in half gallon jars and sealed them. No bugs, no moister and a product as fresh and dry as the day I put it in there. That's the other part about storage here, is any seeds get bugs in them after a period of time, without being vacuum sealed.