Foodsaver - worth the investment?

Smokin Tiger · February 2008

I am thinking about purchasing a foodsaver (or similar).

Are they worth the investment?

What brands should I consider?

What do you use it for the most?

Would still buy one today after owning one for a while?

Thanks

TC

AZRP · February 2008

Yes they are very much worth it, if you get one, make sure it has the bag cutter. -RP

kau-boy · February 2008

I've had 2 Foodsavers for almost 10 years, one in AZ and one here. I love them and have had no trouble. Shopping at costco really demands some way to preserve meat, especially when you'ar only cooking for two.

My only problem has been convincing the wife that they need to stay out on the counter, I hate having to dig something out of the cabinet when I need it.

RRP · February 2008

I've had a FoodSaver for 6 years now and I'll never be without one again. We buy in bulk when prices are good and then package in our commonly used quantities. Furthermore I make several different soups and it's so handy to plop a frozen bag in a pot of water and bring the soup back to life without diluting the soup. Furthermore we don't have left-overs - instead I call them make-aheads. Recently I egged a large pork tenderloin using Q-Babe's recipe complete with the red sauce. After one meal I packaged the remaining half and sauce and froze it. When you select one I definitely don't recommend the cheapest, nor see the need fro the most expensive either. Middle of the road $125 to $175 will be a good investment for years to come. Just like your BGE itself you'll be slappin your head wondering why you waited all these years to buy one!

DynaGreaseball · February 2008

Take a good look at Food Saver Model V 2440. I just got one, and it's the bomb! I just froze pulled pork, some pulled beef, some shrimp, scallops, and 3 beautiful salmon filets. Mine was on sale at Target for $119.00. I think it's regularly 149.00.

This model comes with a built in bag cutter. Don't understand why I haven't had one before now.

fishlessman · February 2008

i pretty much only use it for pulled pork. its just as easy to cook 2 or 3 butts instead of one and freeze the rest for later.

Mainegg · February 2008

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE mine and would not be with out it. It is out on the counter and we use it all the time. When I was at the parents last week i used a half a bag of frozen vegis, I looked for the food saver to reseal the bag. they will reseal any plastic bag! chips, brown sugar it is so cool! I also make things in large batches and freeze. I did 6 chicken pot pies after Christmas and froze then in pie pans then took them out and popped into a bag and vacuum sealed them.. In the morning i set one out to thaw and then pop it back in a pan then in the oven to bake for dinner. bags of soup are the coolest.huge batches of pulled pork are vacume sealed in small batches to do pizza or sandwiches. I could go on and on but you get the idea. I will never be with out one again. Julie

Keithww · February 2008

They are great for marinating meat for a trip. I like to prep the meat, put the meat and the marinade in the bag, and seal it. I freeze it if it will be a few days till I cook it, or just throw it in the cooler if I'll be cooking it pretty soon. It is nice not to have to deal with raw meat any more than I have to outside of my own kitchen, also if it is for a meal two or three days out, the frozen package takes the place of some of the ice. Plus a bunch of frozen chicken in marinade can be done several days in advance if you are going to freeze it and the tissue damage from the freezing help the marinade to flavor the meat.

Smokey · February 2008

I saw these at the store yesterday. Looks interesteing, but have no idea if they really work!

http://www.alcoa.com/reynoldskitchens/handi_vac/en/home.asp

Smokey

Double Bogey · February 2008

A food saver is a great investment. My wife was skeptical of my purchase at first but now she insists on everything being sealed. I think it is because that has become my job. She gets the unit out and plugs it in and calls for me to come and seal a few things--usually about 6 or 7 bags worth. I guess that's a bi-product of Costco, Sams Club, and BJ's memberships.
Get one you will not regret it.
Larry

Dr. Strangelove · February 2008

Are they worth the investment?

You'll get the cost of the machine back in the first six months to a year in savings buying in bulk and not throwing things away all the time. I buy chicken breasts $1.99 lb 10 or 20 lbs at a time and seal them in bags of two each.

What brands should I consider?

I have a FoodSaver, they seem to have the most accessories available, however, most of the brands accessories will work with each other. Whatever you get, be sure it built in storage for the roll of bag material and a cutter. The individual bags you can buy premade are convienent but very expensive. The ability to cut off the vaccum at a custom point is nice as you can seal soft things like bread without squishing it.

What do you use it for the most?

As I mentioned above, mine gets the most use for bulk meat purchases. Cheese lasts forever when vaccum sealed, no more mold after a week. I even use it quite a bit for non-food items. When I still had a boat I vaccum-sealed spare batteries, tools, charts, etc. so they didn't get damp and corrode. Nothing like having nice dry toliet paper when camping while everone else has damp, musty stuff to use.

Would still buy one today after owning one for a while?

Yes, no hesitation. If mine died today I would be off to the store to get one this afternoon. One thing - be sure that you leave it out on the counter so you don't have to dig it out to use it! You will soon wonder why you waited so long to get one!

J Appledog · February 2008

I got one for Christmas and I love it! I was skeptical but it's great for small stuff. I still use the Foodsaver for salmon, ribs, etc.

Beanie-Bean · February 2008

I recently picked up the Foodsaver unit from Costco (2490?) and it has performed very well. Before I got that, I picked up one of the $10 reynolds handheld vacuums, but that worked about 50% of the time. The foodsaver does a really nice number on the pulled pork, and the canisters work like champs, too. Whichever unit you pick, I think that you'll find very useful.

PapaDoug · February 2008

I wish that I had room to leave mine out. You forget about using it if you don't see it. Make your bags are long enough so you can just cut off the end and reseal it back up. If you don't have time to marinate something over night, it seem to speed up the process if you vaccum seal it for a few hours.

Frank from Houma · February 2008

Absolutely worth the investment. bouaght one about three years ago primarily for freezing fish. Before I had it I was putting filets in zip locks and adding water. Now just the fish go in - sealed better, lasts longer, and takes up about half the space because water is not added. Also use it for marinating, and storing stuff in the fridge like cheese. I fish a lot in saltwater and my tools which are rarely used tend to rust in the plastic tool box. cleaned them all up and vacuum packed em - now when I need a tool it's not all rusted and the tool (ie. crescent wrench) works fine.

Smokin Tiger · February 2008

Thank all of you for the input. I think I will pick one up the next time I go to Costco.

Thanks Again

TC

Foodsaver - worth the investment?

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