# FoodSaver vacuum sealer



## PolishedTopaz (Sep 1, 2004)

Hey all.... I know that several people here have one, what are the best proporties of it, and why? I have the opportunity to get one and I want to be sure to make a well informed choice. Thanks all!!!


----------



## GB (Sep 2, 2004)

Oh boy don't get me started. I will say right from the start that I do not work for Tillia Foodsaver, but I am sure you will think I do by the end of this message. I love this thing so much. My wife thought I was crazy when I bought mine. She laughed out loud at me, but now she agrees that it is one of the most valuable tools in our kitchen.

I bought mine on eBay (new and in the box) for about half the price they were asking for in the stores. I got the top of the like Professional II model and I am glad I did. I like the pro II model for a few reasons.

1. It is made to vacuum a lot without taking a break to cool down. Some of the lesser models require that you take a break after a few minutes.

2. Once I hit the on button I can walk away and it will finish on its own. The lesser models require you to hold the lid down the whole time it is vacuuming. 

3. The proII has a built in bag holder and cutter. I love the cutter. I know that if I tried to cut a bag on my own with scissors then I would have a very uneven cut which makes vacuuming harder. The cutter makes this simple.

4. The proII has the accessory port. A lot of lesser models have this feature also. This is one of the most important features in my opinion. If you do not want to spend a lot of money on the top of the line model and don't think you will be doing a ton of vacuuming all at the same time then as long as you have the accessory port you should be OK. With this post you can use the foodsaver canisters. The canisters are not cheap, but they work great. My wife put a half a head of iceberg lettuce in one of the canisters and 6 weeks later it was just as good as the day we bought it. With the accessory port you can also use regular mason jars. I do this all the time. My fridge and pantry are full of vacuumed mason jars now.

Some of the things I have vacuumed are rice, beans, flour, cornmeal, corn starch, nuts, fruits, produce, soups, stews, whole meals, etc. I also like to use it to marinate meats. Just pour a little marinade in a canister (preferably the flat one) and place you meat in so that it has a lot of contact with the marinade. Vacuum pack it and in 20 minutes you have a very well marinated piece of meat. 

OK I could go on and on, but I think you get the point. One place that I would recommend you check out is the Yahoo groups. There is one specifically for vacuum packing. It is not specific to Tillia Foodsavers, but 95% of the info there is about this brand simply because it really is the best out there. I highly recommend reading some of the posts on that site (start from the beginning, post number 1) as there is a TON of really useful info about how to use this thing. Here is the link http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FoodSaver/

I hope this helps and if you have any other questions about it please feel free to ask me. As you can tell, I love to talk about it LOL


----------



## crewsk (Sep 2, 2004)

I can't wait to get one! My MIL is getting me one for Christmas! I'm so excited!


----------



## GB (Sep 2, 2004)

My wife was terrified the first day I got it because I went around the kitchen and opened every box we had and vacuumed the contents. When I was done with the kitchen I went to the other rooms looking for other things to vacuum. She ended up hiding the cats just in case


----------



## PolishedTopaz (Sep 2, 2004)

GB said:
			
		

> My wife was terrified the first day I got it because I went around the kitchen and opened every box we had and vacuumed the contents. When I was done with the kitchen I went to the other rooms looking for other things to vacuum. She ended up hiding the cats just in case





LMFAO........That's too funny about the cats. Thanks so much for the info GB. And thanks for the link too, I will have a look before I make a final purchase. BTW ...... I have a 250$ gift card so I was looking in the chefs catalog. Of course lol.... Thanks again.


----------



## GB (Sep 2, 2004)

I just got my latest chefs catalog last night and I think my pen ran out of ink because I was circling so many things that I want in there


----------



## MJ (Sep 2, 2004)

Like GB said, they are great. I use mine all the time. I purchased mine on ebay very cheap. You might want to get the bags at ebay to. They are a tad high.


----------



## Psiguyy (Sep 3, 2004)

I use it to pack and freeze fish.  Go salmon fishing once a year.  The fish lasts a year in the freezer.  I once cleaned out the freezer a couple of years ago and found a side of salmon that was packed 3 years prior.  

It definitely wasn't 100%, BUT, it still tasted good.  I stuffed and baked it.


----------



## momcooks (Sep 4, 2004)

I'm on my second one.  Got my first 12-15years ago.  Can't live without it.  I use 2 qt canning jars more than I do the bags.  Put everything in it. Corn meal, mesa, flour, cereal, sugar, etc.   Have gotten a few larger canisters off ebay for chips.   Walmart now sells a decent 3qt size container.  I use very little tupperware anymore.   I also have the Pro 11


----------



## cookienut (Sep 4, 2004)

*Vacuum Sealer*

I started out years ago with the smaller one but ended up getting the Pro Line one too.  It is such a great thing to have.  When I first got my original one, my husband and I had some coconut slices we got from the State Fair.  When we came home and wanted to eat one, they were as hard as a rock.  I had an idea.  I put them in the canaster and vacuum sealed them.  A few days later I opened the canaster and couldn't believe it, they were fresh and soft as new.  We use the vacuum sealer for just about everything.  You just have to make sure you freeze meats, fruits, breads, etc. before you vacuum seal.  It sounds funny to say, but many people don't seem to know that.  For anyone wanting to purchase one, don't hesitate.  It is a great product.


----------



## mullietucksmom (Dec 25, 2007)

*Tomato*

any one find a way to keep a tomato fresh..longer then a few days.  We know the lettuce will keep for a long time...but what about tomato? can we FS them?
Thanks


----------



## sattie (Dec 25, 2007)

I just recently upgraded to the model that GB speaks of.  I love it and I have had a FoodSaver in my home for 8 or 9 years now, I could not imagine life without one!  One of the best kitchen gadgets I have ever purchased!


----------



## sattie (Dec 25, 2007)

mullietucksmom said:


> any one find a way to keep a tomato fresh..longer then a few days. We know the lettuce will keep for a long time...but what about tomato? can we FS them?
> Thanks


 
Not sure about tomato, maybe try it out in the canister if you have them, but I don't think they would fair well in the bags.


----------



## Hungry (Dec 26, 2007)

momcooks said:


> I'm on my second one.  Got my first 12-15years ago.  Can't live without it.  I use 2 qt canning jars more than I do the bags.  Put everything in it. Corn meal, mesa, flour, cereal, sugar, etc.   Have gotten a few larger canisters off ebay for chips.   Walmart now sells a decent 3qt size container.  I use very little tupperware anymore.   I also have the Pro 11



Hi Momcooks,
Where do you get the 2 qt jars?
Do they use the regular wide mouth lids?

Some people on the Yahoo Food Saver Forum said they buy the 1 gal jars of pickles, seal the pickles in packages, and use the jar for other large volumn items.

I get a lot of my frozen veggies from Schwan's home delivery. They are in zip lock bags that I can never reseal.  The use regular Food Saver bags for sealing the unused potrtion would be too costly.
I'm about ready to try freezing a canister.

BTW if you get a canister with a crack in it, try sealing it with the clear plastic packing tape.  
I have one that the bottom got spider web cracking.  I taped it and have been using it for brown sugar for over 3 months.

TIA,
Charlie


----------



## Hungry (Dec 26, 2007)

mullietucksmom said:


> any one find a way to keep a tomato fresh..longer then a few days.  We know the lettuce will keep for a long time...but what about tomato? can we FS them?
> Thanks



If you are going to use the tomatoes for cooking I would say "No problem" vacuuming and freezing them.

However, I doubt it the tomatoes would work on a BLT Sandwich!

When I have a question on what I can freeze I will check the frozen foods at the supermarket.  I know a lot of the foods at the S-Market are flash frozen before they are packed. Still, you can get an idea if they will freeze for you or not.

Charlie


----------

