OT - What not to do with your new FoodSaver.

epcotisbest

OK, I never claimed to be the sharpest knife in the drawer and here is proof.

At a Christmas gathering last night some friends gave us a freshly baked loaf of apple cinnamon bread from a local bakery. We had a slice each for breakfast this morning and will do the same tomorrow. It is delicious, just fantastically yummy. Then, brilliant me decided to save some of it for later using the new FoodSaver. 

Carefully cut a couple of really nice, thick pieces, prepped my storage bag and then hit the vac/seal button and promptly sealed it right up, vacuuming out all the air and crushing the bread at the same time. It could not be flatter if I stomped it. Lesson learned...you don't seal up fresh bread in the vacuum bags. Maybe that is what the optional canisters are for.

theyolksonyou

You're not the first, nor will you be the last to do something bad happens with food saver. 

RRP

Don't feel bad, but if you plan to use your FS in the future to protect soft goods like that FS offers several styles of containers with lids with ports that you attach a tubing to that works great. I have some canisters, a marinading container and some other styles as well.

Eggcelsior

As soon as the bread starts to compress, hit seal so suction stops. That stuff will make some fan-fuckin-tastic French toast, so "re-shape" it in the egg wash

bohemian

The proper way to vacuum seal bread is to put it in a wrapper and then freeze for 2 or 3 hours, until it's solid. Then take it out of the freezer and unwrap it.  You can then put the frozen bread into the Foodsaver bag and vacuum seal it without crushing it.  Don't worry, I did the same thing as you my first time!

bigbadben

Freeze it first.  

bgebrent

bigbadben said:

Freeze it first.  

And freeze anything (eg pulled pork) with moisture first, in the FS bag before food saving it.  This prevents fluid migration into the seal which compromises the seal.

HeavyG

Does a Food Saver not allow you to manually stop the suction before "crush depth" and then seal?

bohemian

HeavyG said:

Does a Food Saver not allow you to manually stop the suction before "crush depth" and then seal?

You can stop the suction and seal, but you will still have air in your package, and it would not be truly vacuum sealed. The air in the package would cause freezer burn quicker, and defeat the purpose of vacuum sealing.

bohemian

bgebrent said:

bigbadben said:

Freeze it first.  

And freeze anything (eg pulled pork) with moisture first, in the FS bag before food saving it.  This prevents fluid migration into the seal which compromises the seal.

Correct. These kind of things seal best in the bags. Also the containers with the hose attachments are great for sealing liquids, like soups and stews.

nolaegghead

Bread doesn't do very well in the fridge...goes stale way faster.  But pastry breads are a different animal, more like cake.  Put them in a zip lock and throw in the fridge.

HeavyG

nolaegghead said:

Bread doesn't do very well in the fridge...goes stale way faster.  But pastry breads are a different animal, more like cake.  Put them in a zip lock and throw in the fridge.

But freezing bread does work ok.

HeavyG

bohemian said:

HeavyG said:

Does a Food Saver not allow you to manually stop the suction before "crush depth" and then seal?

You can stop the suction and seal, but you will still have air in your package, and it would not be truly vacuum sealed. The air in the package would cause freezer burn quicker, and defeat the purpose of vacuum sealing.

I'd agree if one is looking for long term storage in the freezer.

If you are just looking to keep something in the freezer for a couple or three weeks or so you don't have to remove all the air and freezer burn isn't going to be a problem.

gmac

I have also learned that taco shells are also not a good choice to shrink wrap. If the Mrs didn't pitch them I will try to add a picture. 

Shiff

RRP said:

Don't feel bad, but if you plan to use your FS in the future to protect soft goods like that FS offers several styles of containers with lids with ports that you attach a tubing to that works great. I have some canisters, a marinading container and some other styles as well.

The canisters are a great solution to this problem. Just be careful, the original canister designs are very weak and prone to crack or implode in your refrigerator or freezer.  They have recently designed new canisters that are stronger with more reinforcement so they won't crack.  I had one of their cheese grater canisters that imploded in my refrig causing a mess. I contacted Food Saver and they sent me a replacement. That one lasted about 1 month until it cracked while storing some potato chips on the shelf in our pantry. They sent me one of their new canisters as a replacement for that one. Other old canisters also cracked.  From reading reviews on Amazon, it seems this is a common complaint.

Canugghead

thanks for the reminder 

mindfulwanderer

I have been using a Food Saver to vacuum seal various foods for about 3 years. Your experience with bread is unfortunately the norm. Yes there are different bags for different applications. BTW on a different blog I came across a suggestions, which worked for me and you may want to try.  Tightly wrap the bread or pastry with plastic wrap, freeze until stiff and then vac seal using the pulse function. Hope this works for you.

gmac

gmac said:

I have also learned that taco shells are also not a good choice to shrink wrap. If the Mrs didn't pitch them I will try to add a picture

Carolina Q

Time for salsa or guac!

bohemian

HeavyG said:

bohemian said:

HeavyG said:

Does a Food Saver not allow you to manually stop the suction before "crush depth" and then seal?

You can stop the suction and seal, but you will still have air in your package, and it would not be truly vacuum sealed. The air in the package would cause freezer burn quicker, and defeat the purpose of vacuum sealing.

I'd agree if one is looking for long term storage in the freezer.

If you are just looking to keep something in the freezer for a couple or three weeks or so you don't have to remove all the air and freezer burn isn't going to be a problem.

Yes, I agree with you. The bread would not be crushed and it would be good for short freezer storage.  But if you wanted to save it until next Christmas, that would be a different story.

RRP

bohemian said:

Correct. These kind of things seal best in the bags. Also the containers with the hose attachments are great for sealing liquids, like soups and stews.

I make and freeze a lot of soup and here is my trick. Cut the bottom out of a plastic glass and insert it in the FS bag and then pour in a pint of soup. That keeps the bag walls clean. I then fold the bag over and temporarily close with a chip clamp. Into the freezer those go and once frozen within 24 hours I seal them! As for reheating I let the bag thaw and then place in a Dutch oven with water and warm up.

nolaegghead

We just pour liquids into zip-loc freezer bags, push out the air and zip close.  We make broth/stock frequently and store it like this, stack them in the freezer - they're like big flat ice cubes and that shape lets them thaw out quickly - more surface to volume ratio.

EggHeadinFlorida

Just got my sealer Food saver on Black Friday. Ended up paying $65 for the machine, a bunch of bags, marinator, jar sealer, and a few other goodies. Retail for everything was about $200.

EggHeadinFlorida

Did this with my extra fire starters 

JRWhitee

I thought Flat Bread was popular!

JacksDad

RRP said:

bohemian said:

Correct. These kind of things seal best in the bags. Also the containers with the hose attachments are great for sealing liquids, like soups and stews.

I make and freeze a lot of soup and here is my trick. Cut the bottom out of a plastic glass and insert it in the FS bag and then pour in a pint of soup. That keeps the bag walls clean. I then fold the bag over and temporarily close with a chip clamp. Into the freezer those go and once frozen within 24 hours I seal them! As for reheating I let the bag thaw and then place in a Dutch oven with water and warm up.

A picture is worth a thousand words! Thanks for this tip, will be using on my next batch of chili! 

epcotisbest

RRP said:

bohemian said:

Correct. These kind of things seal best in the bags. Also the containers with the hose attachments are great for sealing liquids, like soups and stews.

I make and freeze a lot of soup and here is my trick. Cut the bottom out of a plastic glass and insert it in the FS bag and then pour in a pint of soup. That keeps the bag walls clean. I then fold the bag over and temporarily close with a chip clamp. Into the freezer those go and once frozen within 24 hours I seal them! As for reheating I let the bag thaw and then place in a Dutch oven with water and warm up.

Good tip that I would have never thought of. Thank you.

gmac

RRP said:

bohemian said:

Correct. These kind of things seal best in the bags. Also the containers with the hose attachments are great for sealing liquids, like soups and stews.

I make and freeze a lot of soup and here is my trick. Cut the bottom out of a plastic glass and insert it in the FS bag and then pour in a pint of soup. That keeps the bag walls clean. I then fold the bag over and temporarily close with a chip clamp. Into the freezer those go and once frozen within 24 hours I seal them! As for reheating I let the bag thaw and then place in a Dutch oven with water and warm up.

Love this idea. Been struggling with mine getting a consistent seal, even when just doing the first seal on a bag. This will help a lot, maybe even for things that aren't liquid. 

Toxarch

bgebrent said:

bigbadben said:

Freeze it first.  

And freeze anything (eg pulled pork) with moisture first, in the FS bag before food saving it.  This prevents fluid migration into the seal which compromises the seal.

Use a slightly larger bag. Fold part of a paper towel and put it between the meat and the seal. It will absorb the moisture that's headed for the seal.

bigbadben

RRP said:

bohemian said:

Correct. These kind of things seal best in the bags. Also the containers with the hose attachments are great for sealing liquids, like soups and stews.

I make and freeze a lot of soup and here is my trick. Cut the bottom out of a plastic glass and insert it in the FS bag and then pour in a pint of soup. That keeps the bag walls clean. I then fold the bag over and temporarily close with a chip clamp. Into the freezer those go and once frozen within 24 hours I seal them! As for reheating I let the bag thaw and then place in a Dutch oven with water and warm up.

I fold the top edge of the bag outward before adding anything. After you fold it back up it should be clean. 

fishlessman

toast it, freeze it, bag it, can be reheated in a toaster im putting that up there with instant frozen p&j sandwiches that can be found in the frozen section with that bread it would have been eaten day one, good breads a weakness. whatever happened to bread boxes