Anyone have recommendations for a vacuum food sealer?
Brands & Models liked or disliked, and why. I’d appreciate getting some feedback from owners.
Thanks.
Tried one but it sucked.
Deni Magic Vac
I have a Deni Magic Vac. It’s 10 years old and still going strong.
Like most food sealers it’s a bit of a pain to use, especially for foods with a lot of liquid (you have to be careful not to get the liquid in the area you are going to seal), but for certain uses it’s excellent.
I bought mine after a codfishing trip where I came home with over 100 lbs of cod and pollock fillets. I found a a sealed package of cod in the back of the freezer 3 years later and it was in great condition and tasted fine when cooked.
I’ve also use it for sealing spices (if I make a BBQ rub and have extra, I seal it and it stays practically forever), for sealing dried foods (fruits and jerky) for backpacking trips and I even used it once for sealing cigars and they were still fresh after sitting for over a year in a geocache.
A good food sealer is not cheap, so you really need to consider how often you are going to use it.
Mine will sometimes sit for a few months between uses, but when I need it, I need it
vacuum sealer - chocolate chip cookies
– Last Updated: Jul-19-08 9:04 AM EST –
http://www.ideasinfood.com/ideas_in_food/2008/07/vacuum-sealed-cookie-dough.html
first there was an article in the NYT about a quest for the perfect chocolate chip cookie. the recipe didn't seem to be all that important but there were three steps that seemed to be critical:
1. size - the cookies should be on the large size
2. salt- the cookies should be sprinkled lightly with salt just before baking
3. rest- the cookie dough should rest in the fridge for up to thirty six hours and this is where the vacuum sealer comes in - in a follow-up on a blog, the url posted above - a vacuum sealer was used instead of aging the dough.
I don't know what you want to use yours for, but when you get it do try this out, I mean who wants to wait for the best chocolate chip cookies ever???
Foodsaver V2860
I love my Foodsaver, it works GREAT. We dehydrate our own meals, and then vacumn seal them with the Foodsaver.
We also vacumn cheeses, leftovers, meats, and use the jar sealer to vacumn coffee, nuts, baking supplies in mason jars, use the bottle sealer to vacumn wine bottles that haven’t been drank in one sitting, :-).
Everything lasts longer when sealed, and it makes our trip planning and packing easier. We are able to make delicious meals and have more food because we vacumn seal them into smaller packages.
Donna
Second the Food Saver
It is easy to use, seals reliably. We buy fresh fish fillets from a local source and freeze them using the food saver. When thawed even delicate fish taste fresh. There is a provision for dealing with liquid but it can only handle a small amount with normal bag sealing.
Foodsaver Pro Sport.
Have had it for at least 3 years and love it. You waste less food because it keeps much longer in the freezer. You can even heat/cook your frozen food right in the bag in a pot of boiling water (obviously not every type). Get a marinade container and it will do the job in much less time. A very versatile appliance!
Tom
OK to leave in kayak?
Are you comfortable leaving vac packed food items in your kayak? I would think this would eliminate the smell factor for un-opened items.
Unfortunately no,
it does not restrict the smell factor. We still practice extreme smell/bear protection whenever we are out. I can still smell coffee, or cinnamon, or meat smells through the bag, so we will put them in our Opsacks, Ursacks, or use a bear locker.
The Foodsaver just makes is easier to organize and pack food, as well as help in length of freshness. I know some folks might think they are spendy, but we use ours on an every day basis at home, and it is well worth the cost in preserving food.
Donna
Yep
I have the hand held Reynolds vacuum sealer. You have to use their bags(not expensive) It works great and doesn’t take up counter space. You can even take it camping since it runs on batteries.
I told my wife about this thread
and she gave me that it’s-already-on-the-Christmas-list look! 
Reynolds Sealer
About the Reynolds sealing system, the device is pretty cheap, about $9, but it is not comparable to something like a Foodsaver device.
The Reynolds bags are subject to puncturing pretty easily. You may have to wrap paper around what you are saving to avoid this. Also, if any kind of dust, lets say from cookies, gets in the top seal part, you won’t get the suction.
It’s quirky, but still good depending on what you want to use it for.
-Capri
Foodsaver Professional II
We’ve had our Foodsaver Professional II for several years and it’s still going strong. We’ve never been sorry we purchased it (at Gander Mtn).
We buy meat when it’s on sale, place it on cookie sheets, cover it (optional), place it in the freezer overnight, and vacuum seal it the next day. This way you don’t deal with liquids.
For meats with cuts that have a sharp bone, we pad the area with trim material from the bags or the soaker pad from the store trays.
Black & Decker freshGuard, about $40?
I’m pretty sure that’s what it cost me 4 years ago. Easy to use, works pretty well. Not what I’d consider equivalent to commercial-strength vacuum bagging, though it costs much less. There will be a little air in the bag (scrunch the contents around and you’ll find it), but for my purposes it has been good enough.
Just vacuum sealed my rain gear.
I have Frogg Togg rain gear. I put the pants and jacket in their own gallon bags and vacuum packed them. It really reduced their packed size…