More Kitchen Toys!!

TastyReuben said:
I also picked up a Foodsaver vacuum sealer yesterday. Never used one before, so I'm excited. Fresh herbs, you're first to be placed into suspended animation!
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Just so you know, fresh herbs vacuum sealed in the freezer don't look fresh when you thaw them for use. They taste fine. Just look wilted. I use them for cooking, and they work great. Just don't plan to use them as a garnish. Same goes for things like peppers -- plants with a lot of water in them. Again, frozen peppers are good for cooking, but they are not crisp like fresh off the plant.

Just wanted to make sure you know what to expect.

CD
 
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TastyReuben said:
I also picked up a Foodsaver vacuum sealer yesterday. Never used one before, so I'm excited. Fresh herbs, you're first to be placed into suspended animation!
Click to expand...
I have a vacuum sealer that I have used for sous vide preparations:

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I have also used them for prepping things like meats before grinding (cut the meat, mix in the seasonings, vacuum seal it, freeze it until I want to grind it).

Finally, a non-food use. My wife has been gradually selling her entire wardrobe on Poshmark. A friend of hers makes masks, and she's selling them for her. The people buying masks are happier when they get their masks in a vacuum-sealed container. It made me laugh, but of course I did it for the pack of 5 masks she just sold.
 
Well, after trying it out for a few days, I can say that I'm not terribly impressed with the vacuum sealer. Out of maybe 20 attempts to vacuum and seal something, it's worked...once.

What usually happens is that I'll press the Vac/Seal button, which is supposed to suck all the air out, then heat seal the bag. What mine does is just suck and suck and suck some more, and I mean that literally. It just never flips over to sealing. It's sucking the air out, tightens up around whatever I'm sealing, but never moves on to the seal function.

I can press that button manually to interrupt the vacuuming, but then a small amount of air gets back in, which defeats the whole purpose.

Internet research shows this is a common problem with vacuum sealers, that they're incredibly fussy and everything has to be exactly right for it to form a good seal and suck all the air out.

I talked to my brother, who's had four of these over the years, and he confirmed that was his experience, until he spent about $400 on a better-quality one. Mine was $100. "Yeah, those cheap ones never really worked for me." - Thanks for mentioning that the 6000 times you raved about these things. 😠

I even called Foodsaver, which was useless. The most they would say was, "Sounds like it's not getting a good seal. Return it for another one or your money back. Bye!"

For those here who use one of these - any issue like that?
 
TastyReuben said:
Well, after trying it out for a few days, I can say that I'm not terribly impressed with the vacuum sealer. Out of maybe 20 attempts to vacuum and seal something, it's worked...once.

What usually happens is that I'll press the Vac/Seal button, which is supposed to suck all the air out, then heat seal the bag. What mine does is just suck and suck and suck some more, and I mean that literally. It just never flips over to sealing. It's sucking the air out, tightens up around whatever I'm sealing, but never moves on to the seal function.

I can press that button manually to interrupt the vacuuming, but then a small amount of air gets back in, which defeats the whole purpose.

Internet research shows this is a common problem with vacuum sealers, that they're incredibly fussy and everything has to be exactly right for it to form a good seal and suck all the air out.

I talked to my brother, who's had four of these over the years, and he confirmed that was his experience, until he spent about $400 on a better-quality one. Mine was $100. "Yeah, those cheap ones never really worked for me." - Thanks for mentioning that the 6000 times you raved about these things. 😠

I even called Foodsaver, which was useless. The most they would say was, "Sounds like it's not getting a good seal. Return it for another one or your money back. Bye!"

For those here who use one of these - any issue like that?
Click to expand...

I only have an issue with mine if I over-stuff a bag, so it can't seal well. Otherwise, I'd estimate my success rate at 90-plus percent.

I also have a higher end Foodsaver. It has setting for dry or moist foods, and regular and gentle, for things like hamburger patties that you don't want to smash. The moist setting makes the sealing element stay on longer to seal through moisture sucking out.

On yours, it probably is a bad seal. If I get a fold in my vacuum bag, it will prevent a good seal, which will keep the heat strip from coming on. The Foodsaver thinks the vacuum process is not complete, since air is leaking around the fold in the bag.

CD
 
I've also had issues with my vacuum sealer (part of a sous vide). It seems to be very critical exactly where you place the top of the bag. Once I get the knack it works. But I always forget the knack as I don't use it much!
 
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By coincidence I just happen to have the manual from my old Foodsaver on my desk. I've had two, and always got on very well with them, although they both expired after a couple of years. My last one expired during the early phase of lockdown, so I was unable to return it for a warranty exchange. I bought another brand off Amazon and I really don't like it. It doesn't even have a roll dispenser/cutter built in, so I ended up keeping the old Foodsaver to dispensing/cutting, and using the new one just to vac and seal. It may seem trivial, but when you're vac packing fifteen portions of smoked salmon in one go you don't want to be faffing about with a pair of scissors and cutting the bags by hand.

I've never experienced problems with sealing, other than the odd occasion when the bag contained runny liquid - stocks, for instance. I get round this by popping the bag in the freezer before sealing.
 
Morning Glory said:
I've also had issues with my vacuum sealer (part of a sous vide). It seems to be very critical exactly where you place the top of the bag. Once I get the knack it works. But I always forget the knack as I don't use it much!
Click to expand...
That's what I'm finding out from reading online. Most of the models I'm watching videos for seem to have a slot (the vacuum channel) where you're supposed to insert the open end of the bag. That would seem pretty foolproof.

My manual even says "insert top of bag into vacuum channel...," but there is no channel or slot on my machine, the bag just lies in there, and from what I'm reading online, if you get it a millimeter too far or a millimeter too short, it's not going to work.

I think this is why my unit came with 100 sample bags - it's like siting a howitzer. Put in a bag, try it, fail. Put in another bag a little farther, try it, fail, etc, until you hit the sweet spot.
 
TastyReuben said:
That's what I'm finding out from reading online. Most of the models I'm watching videos for seem to have a slot (the vacuum channel) where you're supposed to insert the open end of the bag. That would seem pretty foolproof.

My manual even says "insert top of bag into vacuum channel...," but there is no channel or slot on my machine, the bag just lies in there, and from what I'm reading online, if you get it a millimeter too far or a millimeter too short, it's not going to work.

I think this is why my unit came with 100 sample bags - it's like siting a howitzer. Put in a bag, try it, fail. Put in another bag a little farther, try it, fail, etc, until you hit the sweet spot.
Click to expand...

Something is wrong with your Foodsaver. You shouldn't be having these issues. Mine is one of the higher priced units with a slot you slide the bag into. When the bag hits a plastic bar in the machine, it automatically starts to vacuum, then automatically starts to heat seal. I can also manually stop/seal the bag, if I want it to seal before liquids get to the part of the bag to be sealed.

Your Foodsaver should have a long, rectangular seal with rounded corners. In the middle of that rectangle, should be a drip channel to catch liquids. You should lay the open end of the bag right over that channel. If that doesn't work, something is wrong.

CD
 
The biggest thing I've found that affects the vacuum sealer's ability to seal is moisture. I thought there was something wrong with mine, too, until I tried using it to seal the masks, which were totally dry: it was flawless.

Moisture anywhere near the sealing point will affect how well it seals.

  • You might have to add extra slack in the bag just to keep moisture away from the end of the bag. The gap shown here looks about right, but if it's still not sealing you might need to get a bigger bag. It might feel wasteful, bit it's worth it if the bag seals.
foodsaver-vacuum-sealer.jpg

  • Another thing to try is to put the bag with the food - unsealed - in the freezer for a bit. This will solidify the wet bits. Then, dry as much as you can off the inside of the bag with a paper towel.
 
Ok, after much futzing around, following some of the advice here and elsewhere, I've finally found the knack to getting this thing to seal.

Whether these are all completely necessary or not, I don't know, but now that it's working, I'm not messing with success:

1. Manual says three-inch headway on the bags, I'm using four.

2. Set the bag on a book to lift it up to be more even with the opening of the machine, which lessens the likelihood of bending/crimping the bag.

3. Make sure the bag is placed textured side up and smooth side down.

4. Get it positioned exactly, and I mean exactly, on the top edge of the gasket that goes round the drip tray. A hair's width off up or down, and it ain't working.

5. Raise your left foot, cover your eye with your left hand, turn around once, and say, "I command thee, seal my meal!"
 
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