Mixed Feelings

Nature Boy

I feel like such a sucker. I had heard people talking about those foodsaver vaccuum packers, and thought that would be pretty cool. Then I flipped on the Food Netwrok Saturday morning, and they had one of those infomercials on. I never watch those things, but they were doing all kinds of cool stuff with that Food Saver. Pretty cool to vaccuum seal meats, I thought. And maybe veggies from the garden. Maybe even backpacking foods. Pretty cool, I thought. Cool.[p]When I was in Costco today to stock up on meat after reading about Dr. Chicken's shopping spree. Dang if that Food Saver Ultra machine didn't jump into my cart. Along with a big box of all different sized bags.[p]I am all geared up to vaccuum seal some of the babybacks, spare ribs, salmon, and filet mignons I bought.[p]Problem is, I feel like maybe it wasn't a great purchase. Kind of large and I have to find a place to store it. Kind of expensive at $179. But it vaccuum seals jars and containers if you get their special lids. Looks like it might be a hassle, but those vaccuum packed filets look pretty cozy in their air-free homes.[p]Here is the big question for those that have these vaccuum packers.[p]DO YOU USE THEM OFTEN??? Or do they just collect dust like that foot massage bath we bought?? Do they really allow you to store foods 3 to 5 times longer?? Did I do the right thing by dropping 180 bucks on this thing??[p]Confused in Fairfax.
NB

sprinter

Nature Boy,[p]I'm waiting with baited breath to see the answers to this one NB. I too have been taken in by the infomercials etc. about these things. I have a garden every year and make a TON of stuff to freeze/can/store but just have not made the leap to get one. Guess in a way that answers your question in a way? Just cant see the value in it. I can buy a LOT of mason jars and lids and freezer bags for that $180 and then have to get their bags too? Just cant justify it to myself. Not saying that I WONT, just saying that it hasn't happened yet. Looking forward to the answers to this one from those who use them.[p]Troy

Dr. Chicken

Nature Boy,
My wife bought one of those things a few years ago. Now I'm beginning to learn to use it! I'd always buy cryovac bags of NY strips, sirloin, brisket and chicken anytime we'd see a sale. Now I get in the middle of it, to make sure I've got the rub applied, marinade done right, meat cut to perfection! You get the gist! It is truely a food saving tool! Now we use it as such, not just a gimmick! The more often you use it, the more money it will save you! If you garden or grow fruit, it will save you a bunch that way!
My only regret, is that I wish she'd have gotten a commercial duty one to start with! Just my opinion though![p]Good luck! Dr. Chicken

Nature Boy

Dr. Chicken,
Thanks. I got the Ultra model, whatever the hell that is.
Thanks for the feedback.[p]NB

Dr. Chicken

Nature Boy,
Now you've got (2) views on the things! One for, one against! We put up a lot of garden stuff with ours, in addition to regular canning. Anything we freeze, goes into a vacume-lock bag! The produce lasts us a long time, and it generally stays as fresh as the day we bagged it! There are other gizzmos we've bought that didn't work as well, but we still got our use out of them. This one we plan on using for a long time to come![p]Dr. Chicken

Nature Boy

Dr. Chicken,
Thanks. Once we get our veggie garden going, there are lots more uses for it. I was just over at there web site, and saw this interesting tidbit:[p]"Meat and fish will marinade in minutes instead of hours. Vacuum packing opens the pores of the meat or fish to allow the marinade to penetrate."[p]If that is true, that would be a great way for quick marinade action. With y'all's help, I just might be able to rationalize myself into keeping this thing!![p]Thanks
NB

BluesnBBQ

Nature Boy,[p]It ought to keep your squid fresh! :-)

Unknown

Nature Boy,[p]I have had a Food Saver Deluxe for over a year and it's one of the most used appliances in the house.[p]The key thing to remember is to keep it on the counter so that you use it. I use the Food Saver bags as well as the canning jar sealer. The canning jars are great for powder items as well as for things that may be crushed in a bag.[p]While all of the Food Savers do the same job, the following is some of the basic differences:[p]Professional ($300 - $330 street) has a large footprint because it can store a roll of bag material inside. It has auto locks so that you don't have to manually lock the top before sealing, and is the only model to offer the auto lock. It has seal settings from one second to five seconds. It also a single press seal process, and a manual seal button.[p]The Deluxe ($200 - $220 street) is the a lot smaller becuase it does not store the bags. It has 3 seconds or 5 second seal time. It does not have an altitude adjustment (the only model not to). Has a single press seal process, and a manual seal button.[p]The Ultra ($170-$200 street) has a press and hold seal process, and a manual seal button. It has a 3 second preset seal time.[p]The Compact II ($140-$160 steet) has a press and hold seal process. It does not have a manual seal button. The seal time is preset to 3 seconds.[p]The Bag Vac is almost the same as the Comact II but does not seal jars.[p]Note that there are a lot of packages around that include a variety of different accessories such as jars, bags and bottle sealers. One of the best deals is from QVC (when they have them,) and the warehouse stores.[p]I hope you like the new "toy" once you use it. It sounds kind of expensive, but I have found it to be a good investment.[p]Larry

YB

BluesnBBQ,
The fish hooks will poke holes in the bags and won't let them seal.
YB

Unknown

Nature Boy,[p]
"Meat and fish will marinade in minutes instead of hours. Vacuum packing opens the pores of the meat or fish to allow the marinade to penetrate."[p]It's been my experience that it works. I smoked some Salmon last weekend and I did the marinade in a FoodSaver canister in a very short time.[p]Larry

Nature Boy

Larry Jenkins,
Thanks Larry. Great information.
I got the Ultra, and it comes with Wide Mouth Jar Sealer, 8 inch roll of bags, 11 inch roll of bags, 3-piece Saver Mate Canister Set, 2 VacuTop Bottle Stoppers, 4 and 5 inch universal lids.[p]I see on the accessories sheet, that the canisters and lids are fairly expensive.[p]Sounds like the one-touch seal would be handy on the Deluxe.
I wonder how long I have to hold that button down??[p]Thanks for the info, and encouragement.
NB

Nature Boy

BluesnBBQ,
I was wondering what I was in for when I saw your name next to a response! Better be nice to me if you want me pass food to you on stage at the Eggfest!

Unknown

Nature Boy,[p]You got a GREAT DEAL!!![p]All of that for $180? Take a look at the prices of the canisters and bottle stoppers and you will see that the package price is very good.[p]With the hold to seal buttons you hold the button down and the unit will pull the vacuum then seal the bag once all of the air is removed. The only difference between the one touch seal and the hold and seal is the few seconds it takes to pull the vacuum while you hold the button. The manual seal is nice to seal bags without first removing the air. I believe, although I have never tried it, that you can seal other bags such as chip bags, etc. I have used the Compact II model and I didn't find the hold to seal any problem at all.[p]The only thing I like about the Deluxe is the longer seal time, although I rarely use it. When I purchased the Deluxe it didn't come with any of the "goodies" that you got with the Ultra. If I were to do it again I would likely buy the Ultra just to get the canisters, bottle stoppers, bags and jar tops.[p]Give it a try....

Grill With Bill

Nature Boy,[p]I bought the same FoodSaver you did (also from Costco) and I use it all the time. I use it most often to seal mason jars. But I also use the bags. It's great and it was worth every penny.[p]bill

BluesnBBQ

Nature Boy,[p]They're gonna give us a break for lunch, so I can say what I want here! :P

Nature Boy

Grill With Bill,
Thanks. I just fired it up, and packed up those filet mignons I bought. Man, those are pretty.[p]Also trying to marinate some country ribs I am cooking in a couple hours...using the vaccuum-packed-marinade-acceleration process that is supposed to work so good.[p]Kind of exciting. Now back upstairs for my next experiment.
Gonna vaccuum-marinate-freeze a couple batches of Cat's Killer Babybacks, and see how that works out. I love that recipe, and am forever indebted to Cathy for providing it.[p]Happy Suck Sealing.
NB

Nature Boy

Larry Jenkins,
Thanks. I feel better now! I hate making stupid purchases.[p]Seems to work very well. Does the 5 second seal time just suck the package tighter?? I noticed the larger bag I just did with my turbo-vaccuum-marinated country ribs wasn't extremely tight. It is sealed, and most of the air was pulled out, but it doesn't seem as tight as the smmaller filets I did.[p]Thanks for all your help.
NB

Grillin' Bill

Nature Boy,
Well I didn't do what you did but my brother gave me the Compact II for christmas. I've started using it. How long things keep, I don't know.But I have gone to Sams and cut up whole Beef Tenderloins, Strip loins. One night I made a huge dish of macaroni and cheese. The wife and I had a ton left over. Packaged it with Foodsaver. Last weekend I did a cooking demo with all kinds of exotic sausages. Used half and packaged the other half with foodsaver. I like it and think its great. As one person suggested I think if you can keep it out on a counter you will use it more. My wife hates kitchen gizmos so I have to pill out of closet each time I useit.[p]I dont think you will be sorry.[p]Grillin Bill

Nature Boy

Grillin Bill,
Thanks. My wife is the same way. Plus she hates stuff on the counter anyway. Oh, well. If it works as well as people say, it should be no problem to pull it out.[p]I'm kind of excited after my trial run.
Bags seem expensive though. Costco charges 26 bucks for a box that has 40 feet of 8 inch bags, and 40 feet of 11 inch bags.[p]Any good sources for cheaper bags??[p]NB

Smokin' Todd

<p />Nature Boy,
DOnt feel like a sucker. I admire your passion for qin' great food, and storing it to keep it fresh. I go all out for my passion for rock n roll...u think my guitars are cheap? no way...i buy the best to perform the best, as u should buy the best to keep it fresh.

Spin

Nature Boy,[p]I agree with everyones possitive comments and also agree that the unit will get used if it is kept where it is easily available. I have used a Deluxe since 1993. I have had no problems with it. Open you can of favorite nuts and enjoy the fresh taste. Pour what is left (if any:))in a mason jar and vaccum the lid. Two weeks later you will still have fresh tasting nuts. The unit still impresses me and has become a necessity in our kitchen.[p]It will require an adjustment period to use the unit to your best advantage. We value the canisters and square container as much as the use of the bags. Hand wash the containers as the dishwasher will tend to crack them.[p]I would recommend that you use the Foodsaver bags. Air is the bain of frozen foods and not all "sealable" bags are created equal. A plastic bag CAN hold water yet (slowly) breathe air. I have experimented with other bagging plastics and can report that these bags (IMHO) are the best.[p]Feel free to email me. I'll trade you .[p]Spin[p][p]

Unknown

Nature Boy,[p]Nah man, it's pretty cool. I won't be squeezing the air out of marshmallows or crushing cans like the infomercial. The cannisters alone are fairly expensive, so it's a godd deal. I'm going to use one to store coffee after a bag or can has been opened. Let us know how your marinade experiment with it works out. [p]Later,
Jobu

sprinter

Nature Boy,[p]THANKS ALOT NB. Just one more thing to put on that ever growing list of things that I want to buy. After all of the glowing recommendations for this thing, how can I pass it up? My wife is really starting to dislike you NB (hehehe). At least she didn't see this thread over my shoulder like the clay stuff. BTW, did you ever get that and how did it work?[p]Troy

Nature Boy

sprinter,
Heeee!
No the ceramic roasting dish has not arrived.
I will have to email her again, but I seem to have lost the link.
Anyone save that link for Tufty Ceramics??[p]Thanks
NB

Teslamania

Nature Boy,
Here is the link
[ul][li]Tufty Ceramics[/ul]

Grillin' Bill

Nature Boy,
Do you have a Sam's Club???????
you might compare

Nature Boy

Teslamania,
Thanks.

Nature Boy

Grillin Bill,
Yeah. Have not been in there. Costco is 5 minutes away, Sams is 12 minutes away! Don't they get the same type of stuff??[p]NB

Mr Beer

Nature Boy,
The best thing I like about my Deluxe Food saver is the lack of freezer burn. I just pulled out a steak from the freezer that was frozen for about 8 months. Tasted just like the day I put it in the freezer. Start buying food in bulk and vac pack it and you will start to pay off that small investment you made.[p]Mr Beer

Nature Boy

Mr Beer,
Thanks for the feedback. I sealed a bunch of stuff today to test it out. Cool. The larger bags weren't as tightly squeezed ad the smaller ones, but sturdy and sealed! Those bags are heavy duty. When I go backpacking, I always have a problem with bread getting stale. On a 7-14 day trip, it would be cool to have single serving vaccuum sealed bread!![p]The possibilities are there.
Cheers
NB

Unknown

Nature Boy,[p]The seal time does not result in a higher vacuum; rather, the longer seal times are sometimes needed if you are sealing bags that contain items with a lot of moisture. The longer seal times simply melt the plastic and create a bit wider/deeper seal at the edge of the bag. For the most part, the three second seal works well. If you don't think the bag is sealed enough you can always do a second seal at the opening edge.[p]Larry