Vacuum food sealer

I was going to get one of those for my cheese making (storage after ripening) and the reviews generally say its a good buy apart from having to use their (Andrew James) bags.
 
Andrew James' stuff seems to be pretty good from what I've been hearing.

Surely there must be some alternate bags you can use? Looks a reasonable price as well
 
I have one that i use for my water bath (i have the Sous vide supreme one).
It is decent but i wish i had bought seperately, specifically with the following 2 features:

- Pulse(?) option to allow you to seal stuff that has liquids (you really don't want to get liquid in the sealer)

- The type that allows you to attach to a plastic canister and evacuate them; this is awesome for storing certain foods and even better as it allows you to do instant, or near instant, marinading, pickling and infusing.
 
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f00b4r said:
I have one that i use for my water bath (i have the Sous vide supreme one).
It is decent but i wish i had bought seperately, specifically with the following 2 features:

- Pulse(?) option to allow you to seal stuff that has liquids (you really don't want to get liquid in the sealer)

- The type that allows you to attach to a plastic canister and evacuate them; this is awesome for storing certain foods and even better as it allows you to do instant, or near instant, marinading, pickling and infusing.
Click to expand...

Do you know any models/makes with this on it?
 
I am pretty sure Lakeland have one (Foodsaver brand i think) and they sell the canisters as well.

Btw ignore any bad reviews about:

- people getting bad seals with moisture/liquids; there is a technique to stop this user error (fold back the top of the bag to avoid getting it wet) or they are just not aware of the limitations around sealing liquids (hang them over the edge of a bench but remember this type of sealer is not really designed to seal soups - spend a grand on a chamber vacuum sealer if you need to do that or use Ziploc bags and the Archimedies principle if you just want to evacuate the air)

- the fact that you cannot seal bag after bag; domestic sealers should not be used to seal bags one after the other with no break. You have the option of waiting 30 seconds between sealing items (unless you are just doing a couple) or you can seriously reduce the lifespan of your new toy
 
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This is what i mean by instant pickling (they have used a chamber vacuum sealer for this but it will work with the canister):

http://www.chefsteps.com/activities/pickled-apple-slices

You can also try cucumber in gin etc ;)


Or if you want to try something sous vide (you can do this ghetto style using a large pot and thermometer if you want):

Get some nice forced rhubarb and vacuum seal with ice cubes, sugar and vanilla paste/extract, stick in 61C water bath for 20-40 mins (depending on size of rhubarb and what texture you want).
I make load of little bags of this (cutting down larger ones and resealing), they are awesome in yoghurt or porridge or you can use the rhubarb for pastries and the syrup to glaze them after.
They also freeze really well.
 
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Think so although i am pretty sure you can get cheaper ones - not sure if the cheaper one at Lakeland does it but they can probably tell you.
 
I've got this version.

Not much to say really, it pretty much works as advertised. I've only really used it for sous vide, as it's relatively expensive compared to other methods of food storage.
 
Thanks guys, I went with the one in my op, I will probably regret it, but I just can't afford the liquid ones at 150 ATM. And there's not much liquid I would use.

It's more for home made jerky, sausages etc.

As well as when I buy bulk meats I can portion them out. Lots of feedback saying bags are expensive, but they don't seem bad to me, 22m for £8
 
My first attempt. I've eaten so many nuts. If I didnt eat so many a kilo would probably make 30/35bags. As it is I have 20.

The spice mixture isn't the greatest, so ill have to tweak that.

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Resonably impressed with for the price, getting a vacuume wastes so much bag and can be a bit hit or miss, tugging the bag slightly normally solves it, it also says the vacuum button should seal it as well, but it doesn't even turn the element on, once your happy you have to press the seal button.
I expect these small issues is what you can pay the premium to sort out.
 
I remember helping my Dad as a boy prepare his food for his meat stall.

He paid over a grand for a portable Cryovac machine. It was awesome. Done everything in one hit. Tightly packed as you can possibly get with a lovely seal on. We also used to pick up quantities of diced beef and pork in sauces. After a few days in a vacuumed bag, the meat tasted unbelievable. The lack of air gets the liquid into the meat MUCH faster.

We used it mainly for bacon and cheese. Occasionally we would use it for hams and steaks if we had them that week. I even done a vacuum packed packet of pork scratchings once. They lasted a long time!

I used to find it great fun, sorting the bacon into pound packs, cutting the cheese into various weights and cryovac'ing it all. Happy days.
 
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Well I wish ii had got something better, yet another kitchen gadget I skimped on and now will have too buy again.
It only punctures the bag 1 in 6 times to create the vacuume.

I'm using it a. Fair bit as well, I buy monthly meat packs and break it down int smaller portions, as well as the nuts and jerky.

So the next question is what is a decent make/model.
 
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