Have a Foodsaver? Share your tips

I bought a Foodsaver a couple weeks ago and I love it! I think I can save some money by making my own frozen dinners and by not having to throw away freezer burnt meat. I do find that the bags are fairly expensive and there is quite a bit of waste because of the 3" margin necessary for the machine to work. So far I have used it to seal fresh meat and I have frozen little leftovers that one was going to eat so I could pull them all out one day for a buffet style dinner. I also love sealing cereal, chips and crackers with it but I don't think I can suck the air out first. I attached a picture of the machine I bought (V2830). It stands up vertical on the counter for storage but it lays flat when in use. I am glad I didn't get the newer completely vertical machine since I heard they can be finicky to get the bags to seal and it is harder to use it with chip bags since you have to insert the bag into a tiny slot. Mine opens up and you insert the bag manually. Did I already say that I love it LOL :cheesygrin:

Please share your tips for using the machine and also for saving on the cost of bags ;) I plan to reuse bags that weren't used for raw meat if possible. I have found the the Original Foodsaver roll of bags in the 8" size (2 pk box) are a better value per inch than the seal a meal bags. On the other hand, the 11" size seal a meal bags are a slightly better value than the Foodsaver 11" bags. It just works out that way :shrug: Canadian Tire is also cheaper than Walmart for the 8" bags which is surprising! Ok enough chatting LOL

I never buy the bags, just the rolls. I get those at Costco, I forget the price, about $40, but that's for I think two wide rolls and two narrower ones.

For meat, I recommend freezing it for an hour or two first. That way you a) don't get the juices sucked up into the machine, and b) you don't get your meat frozen together in one big gob. When it sucks the air out it pulls all the pieces together, so if you haven't frozen them separately a bit first, they're frozen into one block. Sometimes I throw chicken pieces for example, into the oven or slow cooker still frozen. Doesn't work nearly as well if they're all stuck together!

I'd also suggest getting the jar sealer attachments. I have a bunch of 1.5 litre mason jars, and also some smaller ones, and I use those to store food in the pantry instead of canisters. It's especially good for things I don't use very quickly, like barley or oats or bread machine yeast for example, it keeps longer, and no chance of pests getting into it. When I buy a big bag of flour, I put as much as I can into the big jars and seal them.

The jars can also be used quite niftily for salad - put your dressing on the bottom, everything else on top, seal on the lid and it's good in the fridge for several days. Just grab a jar and take to work! :)

Lastly, you can marinate meat in a mason jar.Coat your meat with the marinade, put it in, pour the rest of the marinade over it, seal the jar. Apparently the vacuum action pulls the flavours more into the meat.

Thanks :) I plan to get some attachments when I can find them for a good price. I am keeping an eye on online sites like kijiji.

I have had this machine for several years and love it. I buy the bags on eBay as I find them significantly less expensive. For me, there is less waste with these bags than the rolls. There are several bag sizes available and I use most the small and medium bags.

For the past several months, I have been stacking for coffee beans and have been vacuum sealing them and then putting them in the freezer. Expiry will be two years which will give me time to use my 18 bags!

Large blocks of cheese can be cut down and vacuum sealed to significantly extend the expiry. I do this if we are shopping in the US and I find cheese at prices so low, I can't pass it up (i.e. Costco).

We bought the FS when my husband came home from a fishing trip with 60 lbs of salmon fillets. We froze the fillets on cookie sheets and then vacuum sealed them in foodsaver bags. We also froze a few whole fish. Again, a great way to stock up if you fish or if you run across a great sale on fish or other meat. Freezing or slightly freezing meat before vacuum seal gives you the best results.

I have also used my FS to vacuum seal 'fabric markers' as they are an item we used for birthday party crafts, etc. They will last forever that way and you just re-seal the bag after using them. If you are travelling and worry about bottles leaking or spilling in the suitcase...use it to .seal the Ziploc bag they are in.

Foodsaver is also great for camping...if you want to pre-cook and then relax while you're at the campsite, you can freeze and seal spaghetti sauce, entrees, etc. Less dishes, pots, etc to wash while you're camping and you just add the veggies, etc. to the meal. They also take less space and are easier to pack into a cooler than containers. (Also great for matches, etc. if you are on a canoe or cycling trip and are worried about rain).

All of my Glade Christmas 'scented' candles that I bought on sale are in ziploc bags that have been sealed with my FS. My good silverware is also vacuum sealed...keeps in from tarnishing. We only use it a few times a year and I don't have to polish it!

I will wash out and re-use Foodsaver bags that have not had meat in them. When I am sealing but not 'vacuuming' Ziploc freezer bags as they are thick enough to withstand the heat of the sealing strip. Of course, some chips, cheezie bags, cereal bags etc. can be sealed...depends on what they are made of.

I could go on and on about the virtues of the Foodsaver but you probably get the idea that I use this little baby for everything!

I have this machine too. I cut the bag before sealing then I can seal it a 1/4 inch in the bottom in steed of all the waste if you need to vacu seal fresh meat with out freezing I put the meat in the bag and across the top of the bag I will fold a clean dry paper towel.
Then when vacuuming the paper absorbes the meat juices not the machine.
If I am storing dry items like pasta or rice I make the top of the bag long so I can open and reseal with out changing bags. I have made meat loaf ready to bake in the pan vacu sealed the pan and froze then open and cook from frozen I have done the same with lasagna. I have made stew and after cooling you can bag just be sure push the air out of bag by hand and seal.
If you like chocolates and get a good deal you can seal and freeze for latter just make sure to thaw in fridge or the choc. Will discolor. There are so many uses for this I am sure there web site has a lot of tips too.

I think that if you have space to leave the Foodsaver out on your counter, you will get way more use out of it than if you have to take it out of a cupboard. For me, out of site can mean out of mind... If I can see it, all kinds of uses come to mind.

Correction on the price of the rolls. I just bought some at Costco this morning, you get four wide rolls and two narrower ones for $40.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE my foodsaver! I've had it for years now. I too buy the rolls at Costco. FYI you don't need to have a membership to shop at costco.ca and they sell the set of rolls online!!! That's what I do. Sometimes they have free shipping on them too otherwise it's like $5 I think.

I bought the Foodsaver a few years ago and I love it! No more freezer burn (I live in a rental so the fridges are never up to par). I buy the bags at Walmart (the cheapest ones I can find that is) and they work well with the machine. When I bought it (on sale of course), it came with a set of rolls and a jar canister too...;)

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Originally Posted by Cat_Ottawa

I bought the Foodsaver a few years ago and I love it! No more freezer burn (I live in a rental so the fridges are never up to par). I buy the bags at Walmart (the cheapest ones I can find that is) and they work well with the machine. When I bought it (on sale of course), it came with a set of rolls and a jar canister too...;)

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I am going to try this!!! I take it the Walmart ones vacuum seal properly? Is there a brand name that I should look for?

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Originally Posted by DianneS

I am going to try this!!! I take it the Walmart ones vacuum seal properly? Is there a brand name that I should look for?

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Yes they work very well. They are the Rival Seal a meal bags:
- box of two 8" rolls - 20' total with a bonus 3 one quart bags
- box of two 11" rolls - 20' total with a bonus 3 one quart bags

They "work with other leading brands vacuum sealers" . You can use them in the fridge or the freezer and you can microwave or boil foods in the bag as well :). I do not recall the price but way cheaper than FS. I haven't shopped around much for those so I might look into it. You might want to check the OP (seems that CT is cheaper for the 8")...

Oh, I totally forgot, I also have a handheld Foodsaver that I use to seal jars. It was $20 at XS Cargo, and came with several sizes of canisters that I sometimes use for marinating meats.

Thought these were cool....

http://onceamonthmom.com/homemade-yo...-gogurt-fakes/

heh u guys you should all consider advertising on this machine.

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Originally Posted by Insane

Thought these were cool....

http://onceamonthmom.com/homemade-yo...-gogurt-fakes/

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Ha, I've thought of this before but never bothered figuring out the logistics to make it happen! We love yogurt tubes. :)