Food savers?

[jltimm]

I was wondering if anyone has some advice or info on food saver devices?Which brand is the best,and how the different model #'s differ from each other?

[Paul Waldowski]

I have a FoodSaver model V1205. It's like there middle of the road model. Works like a champ. I use it freezing fish and other kinds of meats. Best use I have found for it has been for icefishing. I will take something and seal it in one of the bags and then "boil" it in water on my Mr Cooker Heater. I have done soup, chili, omelettes, lasagna, and tons of other things this way. Works like a charm.

[Valv]

Lasagna while icefishing.....mmmmh Paul I'll have to come fishing with you sometimes....

[Paul Waldowski]

Valv,

Anytime my friend...anytime

[Ski from FF]

I just used mine tonight to seal up some venison chops wrapped in bacon. The one I have is just a basic Food Saver model v550. It does the job nothing fancy. If I were to buy another one today I would get one with with more power.

Ski

[Animal]

I have one thing to say about a FoodSaver. Buy one.

[Paul Waldowski]

Animal,

I couldn't agree more!

[Steve Foss]

We have had a FoodSaver since they fist came out into the mass market a few years ago. We are on our second one, because we use it so often.

It's not only the removal of the air that prevents freezer burn for so long, but the bags themselves. Most plastic freezer bags allow air to pass through in small amounts over time, which leads to freezer burn. The FoodSaver bags don't.

You can also re-use the bags. If course, we don't re-use bags that have had venison in them to freeze fish later, or vice versa.

[Deitz Dittrich]

For as many bad things I can think of saying about paul his cooking is not one of them. The dude can flat out enjoy some great food on the ice! I too bought a food saver this last year and used it this fall to package my deer. all I can say is SLICK!!! how did I ever go this long without one? I may even venture out and try the ole boil in a bag trick paul showed us!

[Yellow Dog]

Can't believe I'm comparison shopping in the grocery section BUT here goes:

Anybody use the black and decker or walmart great value seal type bags? They are quite a bit cheaper but do they seal as well?

[Bushwacker]

My wife just bought me an early Christmas present last month and it was a Food Saver 1205. That thing is great so far, duck breasts and goose breasts work awesome in them. I have been looking for deals on bags too and I see that there are a few deals on Ebay that seem pretty good. Thanks for the idea Paul, my mind is racing on what I can pull out of the cooler and make the other guys drool over

[IFallsRon]

Bag deals on ebay are good up front but you break even on the shipping. Check for the non Foodsaver bags at Fleet Farm and Kmart. I've seen jumbo packs at Sam's but haven't done the math to figure the savings.

[jltimm]

Good ? about the Black and Decker.Walmart has several brands of food savers which make me confused as to which to buy,brand,model,ect....?

[cdnfisherman]

I have a Foodsaver 825?? I use the B & D bags all the time....they work great and are a lot cheaper than Foodsaver brand bags.

[Steve Foss]

Yep, the bargain bags are way cheaper, and they seal just as well. My only concern is they don't last as long as the heavier food saver bags. Don't know that, just a possibility.

[jltimm]

I will be purchasing one of these devices tommorrow,is there anything special to know about these before I make the purchase?

[BAIT956]

Question re; the Foodsavers--- Does a higher model # indicate a later model or one with more bells and whistles?

I have a model 300. ( bought a year ago at Menards on sale) Lately I have been having problems with it not working in the vacuum and seal function. (vacuums but won't seal) It works in the seal only function just fine.

Do I need a more powerful model or is my 300 just a lemon?

[18 inch Crappie]

I talked to Food saver and they said all models use the same pump. its the size and extra switches that make it more $$$

[iffwalleyes]

Bait yours is the kind that you have to press and hold correct. I think that was how the 300 work I am pretty sure that is the one I had. It started doing the same thing. I found that on the boxes of bags that some were made in America and some were Tawain or some other country. The America were the only ones that would work. I know it sounds stupid but I had a co worker that I was telling about my problems and he said his dad had problems too and that the American made bags were the only that would work in it. So I went home and checked and sure enough the newest box of bags I was working on was from Tawain. I think the others were too thin so that it couldn't keep a tight seel to vaccuum. I decide to just get a new one rather than have to always look for the right bags. Now I just have one of the foodsaver mini kinds and it works great for my needs. I never used the big bags anyhow so the mini is just right.

[Yellow Dog]

Steve - thanks for info. on the bags. I also wonder about the overall preservative time of the cheaper bags. I have kept game in the Foodsaver bags for over a year with no problems.

Anybody have actual testing of Walmart or B&D bags over a period of time?

[BAIT956]

Yes, Iffwalleyes, mine is the kind that you must press and hold.

I checked my large bags and guess what? "Made in Korea".

I'll get some "Made in USA" and see if that makes a difference.

Whatever happens, I'll report it here.

BTW- My small size bags are "Made in USA". No problems so far with them.

The thing is too big for a paper weight, too light for an anchor. What else is it good for if not sealing bags?

[jltimm]

Well, I ended up buying the 300 Model at Menards=$60.00,and the 1090 model at Walmart= $100.00.I first tried the 1090.After getting frustrated,I tossed it to the side and grabbed the less expensive model,which seemed to have worked much better.These were both the Foodsaver brand.I used the Walmart brand bags,and had a few issues with getting the bags sized right in order to get longer deer sticks in and also not have to oversize the bag to much.I bought the 11"x 18' roll.I could see these being good for preserving food for a long time,but with the expense and time you have to put into it,it makes ya wonder if it's worth the effort?All the bags including Foodsaver,Black and Decker,and Walmart bags were made in Taiwan also.I did not like the more expensive model,as it did not seem to work as well as the cheaper model.It makes me wonder how the Black and Decker or the Rival brand works compared to the Foodsaver brand?

[Steve Foss]

We just replaced our older one with a $50 on sale 300. The bags sure can run some money but, like I said earlier, we re-use them as long as we can. Meat and fish doesn't sit in our freezer that long. We do a LOT of fishing and eat a lot of fish, so it cycles through pretty fast, and re-using the bags helps a lot. With deer, some of it sits there longer because there's so much of it.

We also buy burger in the 10-lb packs at the grocery store and divide it up and use the food saver to shrink wrap it, re-using those bags as well as long as we can.

If you buy the less expensive food saver models, (same size motor as the big models has an easier time sucking air out of the smaller bags allowed with the standard size food saver) re-use your bags as long as possible and use the unit fairly often, it's a very cost-effective way of freezing foods that won't burn over time and, perhaps just as importantly, saving freezer space. Ever figured how much space it takes to freeze fish in water in a milk carton compared with a food saver bag? Not to mention how long it takes to thaw a block of ice with a few ounces of fish in it.

[jltimm]

How do you go about reusing the bags?

[fishingbuddy]

Do you all pre-freeze your fish first? I seem to get fish juice in the seal.

[Yellow Dog]

I use the ones on the roll and make the bag larger than needed. One mistake I made was to make the bag small and just fit the food. By making it bigger, I trim off the seal, wash it in the sink, let it drip dry, and I have another bag ready to use. I've used some bags 3 or 4 times for certain. I freeze soup or chili in a tupperware container overnight, pop it out of the tupperware the next day, and then put it in the foodsaver bag as a frozen block. Nice to freeze a huge batch and have it handy in meal sized portions. Even better--take some in the fishhouse, boil water, put sealed bag in the water--soon you have a meal.

[Gus]

Dab the fillets off with a paper towel. That usually takes off enough moisture to not cause heck with the seal. Same for Duck/goose.

[BAIT956]

I pre-freeze fish prior to sealing. Just enough to keep the juice from running into the sealer. It's a mess gettin' it out.

[fishingbuddy]

Thanks I will try it. I also have had different bags seal different. On my way home to check who makes them

fishingbuddy

[bmc2b]

I was looking at a vac sealer as well. Is there a model that works well to seal soups or chili? Also, can you reseal potato chip bags and other plastic bags?

[Steve Foss]

You can re-seal other bags, but the vaccum doesn't always work on them.

We've not had luck with soups and chilis, because the vaccum sucks the juice into the machine, which isn't good for the machine and won't allow the burner to make a seal. I've just frozen soups and chilis in regular zip-lock style heavy freezer bags, and they work just fine and will stand up to boiling water for the re-heat.