We went to a home show last weekend and were very tempted by a vacuum sealer machine... it was a "show special" at $250 and cam with a whole lot of extra bags etc... . i have to say I was very very tempted... . but essentially it was a lot of money and i hadnt researched them or knew about other brands... . this one was an italian one... . the bags were resusable if you were careful tearing them open... . you could wash them in the dishwasher (top shelf)... i would be interested in anyones thoughts, opinions or experience... . we buy a lot of meat in bulk and make into smaller packs, make homemade soups/purees/pasta sauce which i freeze in plastic or glass containers (lost one today when it fell out of the upright freezer box - darn it), also have a nearly 5 year old - thinking of using them for keeping fruit portions like apples fresh for school lunch (she only eats about a third of an apple at a time so we have wastage)... . I would appreciate any comments.
barloo,
May 29, 9:42pm
you can buy cheaper ones! That's would I would do. THEN if I liked it and they did what I thought, Maybe I would buy a more expensive one. With the cheaper ones, use better quality bags and cheaper bags, then you can see the difference. Great to see if its worth the expense of $250! Maybe the cheaper ones do just as good a job with the better bags.
Would love the hear from others with different ones!
raewyn64,
May 29, 10:56pm
I have one of the As Seen on TV ones. They work well and handy especially for bulk meat you want to freeze in smaller quantities. The only issue I had was with liquid. The vac sucks the liquid and then when it gets to the seal part it won't seal. This can be a problem for things like mince with blood and also when i wanted to vac pac casseroles and blanched veg. I worked around it by watching the liquid and once it got to near the seasl I stopped it and vac'd it then so maybe not all teh air had been vac'd out but most of it had and they worked fine.
fisher,
May 29, 11:28pm
raewyn64. . if I'm doing that sort of thing, then I tend to cut/make the bags bigger and hang them down in the sink which seems to help. .
raewyn64,
May 29, 11:51pm
thanks for that tip Fisher - I will remember it for next time.
kiwigoldie,
May 30, 3:05am
oh... I can be of help to those with fluid problems... the lady demonstrating the one I saw said you freeze the fluidy product first and then vacuum seal it... eg you can even do soups by pre-freezing... only thing to remember is that whatever shape you freeze it in it will stay that shape when vacuum sealed.
raewyn64,
May 30, 3:47am
kiwigoldie that is also a great tip, thanks for posting it
pamellie,
May 30, 5:56am
I too have have a adman one and find it great. The bags are very expensive to buy so whatever brand you look at look at the cost of the bags, if they are too dear it will put you off using your machine. I now buy bags off here and use them for most of my meat and only vacuum pack something special that I want to keep for a long time as most of my meat I get through pretty quickly. they don't vacuum seal but I find that's ok. I also use them to bag up soup portions which are great in the freezer as you can freeze them flat. I even use it when I send 'care packages' to my daughter at uni to package her baking! I wouldn't be without it now but as I said if I had to use their bags everytime I would think twice due to the cost.
guest,
Apr 25, 8:29pm
I bought one of the home show ones and its the best purchase I've made in a long time. I use it very regularly. As mentioned already means things stack flat in the freezer. Also fabulous when taking stuff out on the boat. Can put it on ice and it doesn't get wet or ruined when the ice starts to melt. Fabulous fabulous fabulous - well worth the $250.
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