WHAT DOES EACH OF YOUR FAMILY MEMBERS WANT FOR DINNER? OR LUNCH?
“I want chicken!!! I want meatloaf!!! I want ribs!!! I want chili!!!”….great, you think, how am I going to do that?
Vacuum sealing machines for food could be your answer…they have been around for quite some time for commercial purposes, and more recently have been developed for home use. They can be used for sealing a variety of bags, glass jars, bottles, and plastic containers. Your response to the above meal requests could be “OK, dinner will be ready in about 20 or 30 minutes”.
Keep reading to find out how you can benefit and save $$!!!
Reduce Wasted Food
Ever have leftover lasagna? Meatloaf? Chili? Soup? Just couldn’t pass up that really cheap price for ground beef, but had to buy 5 lbs. of it? Did any of those just sit in the refrigerator until they got a little fuzzy? Did you freeze some, only to find out later that FREEZER BURN had set in? I imagine you have experienced all of this–I have too.
No sweat!!! Here we go…you are about to find out how to get out of the woods with those and more issues.
Wait–What About Freezer Burn?
Don’t know the answer to that one yet…haven’t had any with anything I have vacuum sealed and put in the freezer. I had a rib eye for supper a couple of months ago that I vacuum sealed and put in the freezer almost 2 years ago…it was as good as the day I bought it.
Freezer burn is best explained here…the vacuum sealer sucks the oxygen out, and–bingo!!! So, freezer burn is no longer an issue…at least I haven’t experienced any yet.
VACUUM SEAL FOR THE FREEZER
Do you often find yourself with leftovers that you don’t know what to do with? Do you pass up really good sales at the grocery store because they are in bulk?
With a food vacuum sealer, you can freeze whole or individual servings of the above examples, AND MORE!!!
Buy that 5 lb. package of ground beef/round/chuck, portion it to 1/4 lb., 1/2 lb., 1 lb., individual patties, freeze for an hour or two, then vacuum seal in individual portions and freeze…or the same for ground turkey, pork, chicken. Take advantage of reduced cost buys on steaks, roasts, stew meat, etc.
Buy that package of 12 of your favorite chicken pieces, freeze separately, then vacuum seal in individual servings and freeze.
Cut that lasagna into individual serving sizes, then freeze for an hour or two. Then vacuum seal each separately. Same for the meatloaf–I had a meatloaf sandwich the other day, made with a piece of meatloaf that I baked a month and a half ago, then vacuum sealed and popped the individual servings in the freezer.
Leftover turkey from Thanksgiving, ham from Christmas or Easter–just size to your most convenient serving sizes, vacuum seal and freeze.
For soup, chili, stew, casseroles, etc, freeze in individual plastic freezer containers until solid, then pop it out (you may need to run a little warm water over the bottom to ease it out) and then vacuum seal for the freezer.
For supper just now, I had vacuum sealed chili from the freezer, and a corn muffin that I made three weeks ago and vacuum sealed in a pint Mason jar and stored in the refrigerator…yes, vacuum sealed in a pint Mason jar
The same applies to leftover vegetables, etc., that can be frozen. You can buy large economy bags of frozen vegetables and fruits and vacuum seal in smaller quantities and freeze.
While I have read in places that it is OK to freeze canning jars, I cannot recommend it since I have not tried it–if you have I would appreciate your comments.
VACUUM SEAL FOR THE REFRIGERATOR
Lettuce? In the freezer? Nope, absolutely not, at least as far as I know…if you know of a way to do that, please drop me a comment below. What you can do, however, is layer salads in Mason jars, vacuum seal them and then store them in the refrigerator–I’m not sure what the shelf life is on those though, but there are multiple recipes on Pinterest.
You can bake cookies and brownies, freeze for an hour or two, then vacuum seal and back into the freezer.
A note for vacuum sealing in canning jars–while this method will extend the shelf life of dry and refrigerated items, it is not a substitute for standard canning procedures.
VACUUM SEAL FOR THE PANTRY
Coffee and/or tea…and alternative to pre-filled K – Cups is to buy ground coffee (or grind your favorite coffee beans), then when you are ready to use it, measure into amounts that you would use in about a week. Then vacuum seal all but the one you are going to use in the coming week, and just store in the pantry. I personally use pint Mason jars, but any brand or size canning jar should work. There are other suitable vacuum sealing options available also.
Great big bag of rice? Dried beans? Flour? Cornmeal? Sugar? Oatmeal? Vacuum seal in Mason jars and put them in the pantry. I even have a jar of small round tortilla chips (I wouldn’t advise using a vacuum seal bag for those).
Potato chips corn chips, tortilla chips, pita chips, other chips? NOT IN BAGS!!! Whew–hope I caught you in time…vacuum sealing chips in bags is not going to work…so vacuum seal them in canning jars!!! Been there, done that…my neighbor is pretty picky about fresh chips to go with the Corn, Black Bean and Tomato Salsa that I make, vacuum seal in jars, and refrigerate. She asked if I had any Salsa that she could take to work for lunch…I did, but no in-an-unopened-bag scoops chips, so I opened a vacuum sealed jar of scoops and put some in a ziploc bag for her, and had her check their freshness (I didn’t tell her that they were from a 3 month-old vacuum sealed jar)…she said they were fine.
A note for vacuum sealing in canning jars–while this method will extend the shelf life of dry and refrigerated items, it is not a substitute for standard canning procedures.
Grocery Buys
Find a great buy on a pork loin? Have the butcher cut it into roasts sized for you family, as well as some pork chops. Freeze them individually for an hour or two, then vacuum seal. Ribs? Cook them to your liking, then freeze in meal-sized servings, freeze, and seal. Same with ground beef, steaks, chicken, etc.
How about seafood–fish, shrimp, crab, lobster–get a good deal and seal it and freeze it.
Does your deli ever have a sale on sandwich cold cuts? Cheese? Oh, yes…portion it, vacuum seal it, freeze it.
Don’t forget coffee beans…vacuum seal them in portions and freeze them, also…
VACUUM SEALER MACHINES
There are a number of manufacturers of vacuum sealing machines, with various capabilities to choose from.
Which vacuum sealing machine do I have? The machine that I have is a 2 – In – 1 system that seals bags, and with a special hose attachment, seals special zipper bags, jars, bottles and containers.
CAUTION
Plan well–I didn’t, and charged into vacuum sealing “like a kid in a candy store”…if you do as I did, you are probably going to need a bigger freezer. If you do have a family, maybe you will want to consider a separate freezer.
Also, make sure you have an ample selection of each of all vacuum seal bags.
OVERVIEW
While there are many, many, more uses for vacuum sealers, the examples that I have provided here are ones that I have actually done myself.
YouTube is an excellent source for tips on vacuum sealing, and the manufacturer of the machine you choose will have methods also. Once you start working with one, you will come up with your own uses, too.
If you are at all curious about my website , then click here for more information.
I hope I have given you some idea of the advantages of food vacuum sealing, and opened interest for you. If you have any questions or comments, please leave them below and I will get back to you as soon as I can.
Happy sealing and best wishes,
Joe
