Freezing good cuts of meat

[Bigjim68]

Has any tried the sumermarket hand pump baggies that I see advertised on TV? They would make sense, if they work.

[mcnerd]

Originally Posted by pacanis

After looking at a few, I honestly would have to say that the potato ricer is one thing I can do without.
Now, something that cubes potatoes into 1/8"-1/4" pieces I need. Just ask my now healed thumb

I use the equivalent of the "as seen on TV" Chop Wizard by slicing 1/4" rounds of potato first and then chop into cubes. Works great.

Back on the other topic, the potato ricer actually "is" a very versatile tool, but I don't think most every day cooks would remember to use it (though they should).

[Katie E]

Originally Posted by Bigjim68

Has any tried the sumermarket hand pump baggies that I see advertised on TV? They would make sense, if they work.

Yes, Bigjim. They're called HandiVac and I have one. Really, really like it. In some ways it's better, and certainly less expensive, than a FoodSaver, which I also have.

The thing I like best about using the HandiVac is that, in the case of nuts or shredded cheeses, I can open the zipper part of the bag, use what I want, and vacuum-seal the bag back again. That's not an option with FoodSaver bags.

[mcnerd]

I love my Handi-Vac for the same reasons. I recently learned Reynolds spent over 5 years of laboratory testing before putting it on the market and it has paid off. Excellent product. I'm more amazed that I'm still working on the original set of batteries and it has been months and months.

[pacanis]

Same here mcnerd. I'm wondering if that first battery is ever going to quit.

Thanks for that chop wizard info.

[GB]

Originally Posted by Katie E

That's not an option with FoodSaver bags.

Well not with the bag, but you can certainly do that with the foodsaver canisters.

[pacanis]

I don't like the canisters. Besides taking up a lot of room, they don't seem to work as well at keeping the food good, whether it's in the fridge or in the freezer.
I can get hot dogs to last much longer, both fridge and freezer, using a handivac bag rather than a FS canister. Maybe it has something to do with the plastic being vacuumed tight against the dogs???
I'm sure they have their place with cereals, grains and such if you have a problem with those foods, but I won't use my canister anymore. Not for food anyway.
JMO from my use.

[GB]

There are many different size canisters pacanis so you can get really small ones. Also they are not designed to go in the freezer so if that is what you have done then that is probably the reason you have found they do not keep food well. You probably ruined the seal.

I use the canisters 95% or more of the time. They work amazingly well. There are times that they loose the seal, but I find the same thing with the bags.

[mcnerd]

There may be some truth about the canisters not doing as well as the bag, especially if you only have a couple hotdogs in it and a lot of open space. The vacuum-seal is not absolute, otherwise it would probably crush the plastic container, so there "is" some air in that open space.

The moral to that story is, for maximum freshness, FILL those containers as much as possible so there is very little residual air left when you vacuum seal.

Personally I love my canister (of all sizes) and they work well for their intended purposes; flour, coffee, teas, rice, marijuana (just joking), leftovers, etc.

[GB]

Originally Posted by mcnerd

The moral to that story is, for maximum freshness, FILL those containers as much as possible so there is very little residual air left when you vacuum seal.

If you do that they you will not be able to pull a vacuum. You need some head space otherwise it will not work.

Yes there is still some air in the canisters, but that is true of the bags as well. The amount is negligible though.