Vacuum Sealer Food Sealer How To

FoodSaver Bags are Expensive!

Lisa -Vacuum Sealers Unlimited — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 18:24:55 GMT

This past weekend, my family and I stopped by Walmart to pick up a couple of items. I was walking through the kitchen supplies area, when I noticed a FoodSaver display. Of course, we all stopped to look at the prices, because I am always trying to offer the best quality vacuum sealer bags and rolls at the very best prices.

The FoodSaver brand 11.5" x 16' rolls were $9.74, which translates to $.61 per foot. Our 11.5" x 50' Full Mesh rolls, which are just like the FoodSaver rolls cost $15.99, or $.32 per foot.

Our products are 100% guaranteed to work just the same as the FoodSaver bags or Seal a Meal bags and rolls. Why FoodSaver chooses to charge twice as much is a mystery to me! (Actually, it's not such a mystery. It's because they can!)

I just thought I'd share. If any of you notice other prices out there, please let me know, and I can publish them here to let other people know. Have a great week!

Holiday Leftovers

Lisa -Vacuum Sealers Unlimited — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 16:02:00 GMT

Over Christmas and New Year's, we entertained quite a bit at our house. We agreed beforehand to make our New Year's celebration a potluck-type dinner and everyone brought lots of their favorite homemade recipes.

We all made extra, and at the end of the evening, we packed everying up in vacuum sealer bags and I used my FoodSaver machine to seal it all up. We put all of the delicious leftovers in the freezer, and we were able to enjoy several different meals and side dishes by simply microwaving the leftovers. They were as delicious and fresh as the original meal.

When microwaving FoodSaver bags or Seal a Meal bags , be sure to puncture them first with a fork, so they don't explode in your microwave oven!

Save Money and Time by Vacuum Sealing

Lisa -Vacuum Sealers Unlimited — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 06:18:00 GMT

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!

Quickly and Easily Marinate Meat

Lisa -Vacuum Sealers Unlimited — Sun, 19 Dec 2010 21:16:00 GMT

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.

More sealing tips

Lisa -Vacuum Sealers Unlimited — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 05:14:00 GMT

Vacuum sealing most food items seems pretty straightforward: you put some pork chops in a bag, vacuum seal it, and put the package in your freezer. However, other food items are not as simple. Take baked goods, for example. If you put a muffin in a bag and try to vacuum seal it, the force of the air being removed from the bag will flatten your muffin. If you want to vacuum seal baked goods, you must freeze them first, then vacuum seal them.

The same goes for hamburgers. Form the patties, and put them on a cookie sheet in your freezer until they harden. After they are frozen, you can safely vacuum seal them.

Try to avoid vacuum sealing marinated meats, as you may suck marinade into the engine of your food sealer. Again, anything wet should be frozen before vacuum sealing. Instead of a wet marinade, you might want to experiment with dry rubs.

Keeping Coffee Fresh

Lisa -Vacuum Sealers Unlimited — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 20:47:00 GMT

I don't know about you, but I LOVE a cup of coffee in the morning. I really enjoy getting up early before my kids are awake and having some quiet time alone, and a delicious cup of coffee is part of this morning routine.

I buy my coffee and grind the beans at home in small batches. I store about a week's worth of ground coffee in a Tupperware. However, I discovered that as soon as I opened the package of beans from Starbucks, I had no way of getting all the air out. As soon as the air starts hitting the coffee beans, they start to lose their freshness.

I did some research online and I discovered the following: as soon as the beans come in contact with air, moisture, or light, they begin to lose their freshness. To remedy that, I began vacuum sealing my beans with my vacuum food sealer machine and using my vacuum sealer bags and rolls. ( I tend to prefer using the vacuum sealer rolls, because I cut a rather long piece of material, and as I use the beans each week to grind them, I can simply reseal the bag.) I then store the bag in the back of one of my pantry cupboards.

My coffee beans stay deliciously fresh in their airtight vacuum sealer bags. I've advised my friends to use their Seal a Meal, FoodSaver, or VacMaster machines to do the same, and they reported back that their coffee is noticeably fresher, too! Some of them feel that, after vacuum sealing them, storing the beans in the freezer also helps. I go through my coffee beans so quickly, that I just keep them in my pantry.

Give it a try and let me know what you think!

Bakersfield's Biggest, Baddest BBQ Championship!

Lisa -Vacuum Sealers Unlimited — Sun, 23 May 2010 17:53:00 GMT

I had the pleasure of attending a wonderful BBQ competition yesterday in Bakersfield. All the proceeds raised were donated to the Children's Miracle Network. It was a great day. Lots of fun, lots of great food, and great weather.

One of my customers told me how much fun these competition are. She was amazed at how inexpensive our vacuum sealing bags and rolls were compared to FoodSaver and Seal a Meal. She said that she was going to WalMart and CostCo and buying every bag and roll they had in stock, and paying twice as much for them.

I went to the BBQ competition and gave away free samples of vacuum sealer bags to the participants. No big surprise, almost every one of them used FoodSaver or Seal a Meal food vacuum sealers to vacuum seal their meat, and also to marinate their ribs prior to the competition. They also gave me samples of their delicious ribs, pulled pork, smoked chicken, and beef brisket!

It was fun, and I got to meet some great people.

What is freezer burn?

Lisa -Vacuum Sealers Unlimited — Sun, 09 May 2010 14:03:00 GMT

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.

Vacuum Sealing Liquids

Lisa -Vacuum Sealers Unlimited — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 06:42:00 GMT

One of the most common questions I receive is how to vacuum seal soups and stews. The most important thing to avoid is getting liquid sucked into the motor of your vacuum sealer machine. The motor of your machine can be irreparably damaged by liquids, and neither FoodSaver, Seal a Meal, or any other manufacturer will support replace your food sealer machine if it is ruined by liquids.

An easy way to preserve your soups and stews is to pour your item into a disposable baking tin and place it in the freezer. When it is frozen, you can then pop it out of the baking tin and vacuum seal it. If you can't easily remove it from the tin, submerge the bottom and sides of the tin in warm water, until it loosens and is easily removed.

If you choose not to remove your frozen liquid from the baking tin, you can also effectively vacuum seal the frozen liquid and the tin.

Welcome

Lisa -Vacuum Sealers Unlimited — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 23:32:01 GMT

Welcome to my blog. Please check back soon for new entries.