Food Saver any one?

[norgeskog]

I purchased a Food Saver about 4 years ago and love it. It does exactly what they claim it will do. So, I can buy large amounts of cheese and meats without the fear of spoilage. With the cheese I usually get 2 lbs of Tillamook sharp cheddar and cut off 1/3 for immediate usage, and FS the rest. I find that freezing meat works better if I freeze it first then bag it.

I have their containers that work well, but not as good as the bags. In these I put vegetables that cannot be put in the bags for fear of ruining. Tomatoes would be mush, etc.

Any ideas, suggestions, etc. that you have ???

:roll: GO DUCKS

 

[kitchenelf]

My idea is to carefully package it - lots of bubble wrap - and send it to me

FINE!!! I knew you weren't going to fall for it!

I can't help here - I'd love to have one but every square inch of my kitchen/butler's pantry is chock FULL of stuff - I'd have to hold it

 

[wasabi]

Thanks for the info. Thinking of getting one. Those d*** freezer baggies are worthless......

 

[Psiguyy]

I'll be honest with all of you. I've had a Foodsaver for many many years. I only use it if I'm planning to keep whatever I'm freezing for more than a couple of months. If I'm going to use it within two months, using the expensive Foodsaver bag doesn't make sense to me. I just use el cheapo bags for 1 month or less storage.

It's not like I don't have any Foodsaver bags. Over the years, I've managed to collect about 2 dozen rolls of bags. I just buy whenever I see them at a good price.

 

[GB]

Ohhhh don't get me started. I love my foodsaver. I have written very long posts praising this machine in the past so I won't bore anyone with another recitation, but here is a link to the foodsaver message board on Yahoo. This board has TONS of great ideas, tips, tricks etc. I highly recommend that anyone who is thinking of buying one read through the first few posts. It will really help you understand how to use this thing and give you some great ideas!

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FoodSaver/

 

[mudbug]

I have enough junk on my counters without adding another item.

 

[buckytom]

i need more counter space so i can get one, always drooled over them but i got yanked away like a little kid by dw. i've become my father when it comes to wrapping up cheddar cheese. you can never have enough plastic wrap, foil and rubber bands around a hunk o' cheese to keep it fresh. it could start off the size of a softball, but there's a teeny chunk of cheese left in the middle of it somewhere.

 

[mudbug]

Grinning at your cheese wrapping method. And do you keep adding resh foil when the old stuff gets all wrinkly and rippy?

 

[buckytom]

yep, mudbug. it only gets thrown away when the cheese is gone (every last bit of it).

 

[crewsk]

My mil is getting me one for Christmas!!! I can't wait! She is also getting me a deep fryer with a lid. But I'm more excited about the food saver. The kids may need to hide from me for a while or I may be tempted to save them!LOL!

 

[SizzlininIN]

I've considered getting one of these in the past but my fear was that the machine would be discontinued and then what would I do when I ran out of bags.

So.....if the above were to happen could I use another brand of bags and not the type that comes with the machine?

Whats a good brand of sealer to buy?

Thanks
SizzlininIN

 

[GB]

There are other brands of bags out there that work, but I have heard they do not work as well. Tillia is the best brand around and they have been in business for over 20 years. If you get a machine that has an accessory port then you can use regular mason jars to seal things in instead of just using the bags.

 

[SizzlininIN]

Thanks GB!!!

 

[GB]

You're welcome

Oh with the accessory port you can also use foodsaver containers. They are somewhat pricey, but I find I use these more than the bags or mason jars. Geez I could talk about this thing forever. They should hire me to do a commercial or better yet, infomercial

 

[SizzlininIN]

I just saw a zip lock baggy commercial and they were talking about adding your meat and marinade to the bag and then freezing. Has anyone tried this either with the freezer bag or the foodsaver?
Will this work if you use lemon and lime in the marinade or should I only do marinades that aren't acidic? Just thought that while it was thawing the acidity would cook it some?

SizzlininIN

 

[Juliev]

should be fine Sizzlin... I have bought skinless, bonless chicken breasts before, separated them, and frozen them in their own baggies with marinade that contained lemon, lime, or orange juice.

I forgot what I was going to say now.. lol.. OH.. crewsk..that's not much of a Christmas surprise that you know you're getting one.

 

[crewsk]

She asked what I wanted & then went & got them both. They are sitting in her dining room! My mil is not big on keeping suprises from the adults. She dosen't care if we know what we are getting as long as the kids don't know what they are getting.

 

[GB]

I have frozen steaks with marinade (store bought ) and put it all in a foodsaver bag. It works great. As it thaws in the fridge the marinade penetrates the meat.

I have also used my foodsaver containers to speed marinate meat. It only takes about 20 minutes.

 

[SizzlininIN]

Thanks again GB....think I'll have to go look for one this weekend.

SizzlininIN

 

[cookienut]

I love mine too. When they first came out I bought the regular size one. But when I saw how much I was freezing and using the containers, I gave it to my SIL and got the big one. It is a great kitchen appliance. What really sold me even though I already had it was, I had gotten some coconut slices at a county fair. When I got home, they were hard as a rock. I decided to put them in the foodsaver container and in two days, those puppies were like they were just made. It's also great that you can use and reuse the bags. My SIL can't thank me enough for giving my small one to her. And now her daughter got one. They just love theirs too. And it is just great that you can marinate anything in 20 minutes.