Vacuum sealing food is a great way to save time and money on your family's monthly food bill. Our family food budget immediately reaped the benefits.  In the past, I would only buy meat on sale, if I knew that we would be able to eat it within a week or two, because after that, I knew that it would start to develop freezer burn and the texture and taste of the meat would be affected.  Now, when I see chicken breast on sale for less than two dollars a pound, I will buy twenty pounds at a time.  I divide it into serving sizes, place each family-sized serving into a vacuum sealer bag, and seal it.  I pop it into my freezer with the confidence of knowing that this chicken will stay as fresh and delicious as the day I bought it. I recently defrosted and barbecued baby back pork ribs that I had vacuum sealed and frozen almost two years ago.  They were perfect and delicious and had absolutely no freezer burn. 

You can also use a vacuum food sealer on other types of food other than meat.  I have a large vegetable garden every summer, and I vacuum seal all sorts of fresh summer vegetables.  The most important thing to keep in mind when you are vacuum sealing vegetables is to blanch them first. Blanching keeps the vegetables tasting fresh and delicious and preserves their flavor and texture after you vacuum seal and freeze them. Blanching is briefly boiling vegetables and rapidly chilling them again.  If you like to grow your own vegetables, or you enjoy shopping locally at farmer's markets, give it a try! Wash and trim the vegetables that you want to blanch and put them in a pot of rapidly boiling, salted (if desired) water.  Boil them just briefly, so that they are barely cooked through and then immediately remove them from the boiling water and transfer them to another large pot full of ice water. When they are no longer warm remove the vegetables from the ice bath, and spread them out on paper towels to dry.  When they are completely dry, they are ready to vacuum seal.  Be sure to place meal-size portions into individual vacuum sealer bags, and you will be able to enjoy your summer harvest all year long! FoodSaver bags and Seal a Meal bags are both microwavable and boilable, so you can take your vegetables straight from your freezer to your microwave or stovetop quickly and easily.

Having a freezer stocked with vacuum sealed vegetables, chicken, pork, and beef also saves me time.  I only need to shop for perishables on a weekly basis, and I know that I always have meat available for dinner.  With three boys who are involved in Boy Scouts, sports, and other extracurricular activities, meal planning is made easy by vacuum sealing.  Because everything is sealed in an airtight and water tight bag, I can simply take a family size portion of vacuum sealed meat and place it in my kitchen sink with some cool water.  The meat will defrost quickly without making a mess.

Experiment with your vacuum sealer machine and let me know how it works out for you!

Many professional and home chefs know that the secret to tender, juicy, flavorful meat is marinating.  People have been marinating for years, but the process is slow and can be rather messy.  Typically, you must put the meat in the marinade and let it sit for hours, and often over night, and optimal results are only attained by frequently turning over the meat, so that the surface of the meat is evenly exposed to the marinade.

However, the quickest and most effective means of marinating your favorite chicken or steak dish is with a vacuum food sealer.  This method quickly opens the pores of the meat, so the marinade is sucked inside the food immediately.  This will result in the marinade being evenly infused throughout the meat, and you will be amazed at how juicy, tender, and delicious your favorite recipes will become.  Our own family marinates this way prior to grilling either outside during the warm summer months, or broiling the food inside during the winter time.

There are two methods you can use to marinate with a vacuum sealer.  The first one I will discuss is recommended; however, you will need to purchase a special container that is designed for marinating.

If you want to marinate using a container, you simply purchase a vacuum sealing canister that is designed for such a purpose.  We have two containers to choose from that will do the job nicely. Simply place your food into the container and pour your marinade over the top. Attach the accessory hose that came with your FoodSaver food vacuum sealer and suction the air out.  If the marinade doesn’t appear evenly distributed, then just turn the container over a couple of times.  Be sure to place the container with the meat into your refrigerator.  It will be ready to grill in less than an hour.  Please try to wait at least 20 minutes.  Your food will be delicious and taste as if it was marinated overnight.

The second, and more economical, way to marinate is to put your meat and the marinade in a vacuum sealer bag and vacuum seal the bag.  However, this way is not recommended, because you run the risk of sucking the marinade into your FoodSaver or Seal a Meal vacuum sealer and ruining its engine.  If you are careful not to pour too much marinade into the vacuum sealer bag it can be done.  The trick is to take a paper towel and fold it several times, until it becomes a narrow strip.  Pour the marinade over the meat and place the strip of towel at the end of the bag, right before the area you want the seal to be. The idea is for the paper towel to absorb the liquid that will be pulled towards the vacuum, thus preventing it from being vacuumed into the FoodSaver or Seal a Meal vacuum sealer’s motor and ruining it. Foodsaver bags and Seal a Meal bags can be expensive too, but there are inexpensive online options available to purchase these bags at a deep discount.  In addition to canisters, we also carry bags at 40 – 60% off   the price you will pay in your local stores.

Freezer burn is a condition that occurs when frozen food has been damaged by dehydration and oxidation, due to air reaching the food. It is generally induced by substandard (non-airtight) packaging.

Freezer burn is not a food safety issue. It appears as grayish-brown leathery spots on frozen food, and occurs when air reaches the food's surface and dries out the product. This can happen when food is not securely wrapped in air-tight packaging. Color changes result from chemical changes in the food's pigment. Although undesirable, freezer burn does not make the food unsafe. It merely causes dry spots in foods.

The condition is primarily caused by sublimation. Water evaporates at all temperatures, even from what appears to be solid ice. When the constantly oscillating water molecules in the meats and vegetables stored in the freezer migrate to the surface, crystals of ice outside of the solid food are formed. The parts now deprived of moisture become dry and shriveled and look burned. In meats, air can cause fats to oxidize.

This process occurs even if the package has never been opened, due to the tendency for all molecules, especially water, to escape solids via vapor pressure. Fluctuations in temperature within a freezer also contribute to the onset of freezer burn because such fluctuations set up temperature gradients within the solid food and air in the freezer, which create additional physical motivation for water molecules to move from their original positions.

The best way to avoid freezer burn is to keep food in vacuum sealed in air-tight vacuum sealer bags and vacuum sealer canisters.  FoodSaver, Seal a Meal, and other food vacuum sealers have become many customers' choices in keeping food fresh up to 5 times longer than just freezing alone.