Darn that Vacuum Sealing is good stuff :0

[peakbagger]

I was in rush today to get some backpacking clothes washed after a 5 day trip last week. My washing machine is in my gear room where I have my gear piled high along with my dehydrated food inventory. Prior to my trip I raided my dehydrated chicken stash. I buy it in a #10 tin can and then reseal it in smaller one cup packages. Somehow the can full of the vacuumed sealed packages made it into the bottom of the washing machine between then and today I filled it up clothes and ran a load. Beyond a bunch of bits of paper from the label. I had a clean #10 tin can and multiple packages still vacuum sealed full of chicken. I did put about half the 1 cup packages and sealed them for the long term. The only damage was the large bag did leak but the ones inside didn't. Out of about 10 packages of chicken only one is suspect and it may be fine. Oops :o

[lesliedgray]

What brand of vacuum sealer ( and bags) do you use?.. mine very often will not hold a seal ( especially with moust stuff like meats or blanched corn on the cob) or i'll come back to use my frozen meal or to rearrange/organize my dried foods and notice that there is air in the bag, even when the seal appears intact.


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[HooKooDooKu]

I use the basic Food Saver and their brand of bags.

Usually I get a good seal. About the only time I frequently have sealing issues is if I'm sealing anything with liquid in it. The vacuum draws the liquid and it can sometimes prevent the bag from getting hot enough to seal. So if I have any question about the seal, I simply leave the bag in the sealer in the locked position, and once the internal reset timer allows it, I simply press the "seal" button to heat it a second (and sometimes a third) time.

If the food is particularly juicy that I know I can expect liquid to get drawn to the edge, I'll cut a section off a paper towel and place it inside the bag below the point it's going to get sealed and let the paper towel absorb the liquid (they sell bags with built in absorbers like this, but they are simply too expensive).

[jefals]

What brand of vacuum sealer ( and bags) do you use?.. mine very often will not hold a seal ( especially with moust stuff like meats or blanched corn on the cob) or i'll come back to use my frozen meal or to rearrange/organize my dried foods and notice that there is air in the bag, even when the seal appears intact.


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Check out "sous vide" (french for 'under vacuum' ) bags on amazon. The vacuum bags I've gotten from the supermarket leak. These sous vide bags don't. They're also thicker and reusable. I repackage mountain house meals in them and cook in them on the trail. Also -- they're a little more costly.

[peakbagger]

I have a Rival Brand sealer I got refurbished from some mail order catalog. I got my bags from Amazon. They are the textured finish bags that seem to allow a tighter vacuum than a ziplock type bag. They come in rolls so I have to cut the bag and seal it on the bottom before I use it. I also have had luck with resealing MRE type bags which are very heavy plastic. I find that the bigger the bag the less successful the sealing so I stick with quart size bags and usually only seal 1 cup of material.

[One Half]

When sealing liquids in a food saver machine I used to let them freeze up a little first. It can be a little "tricky" but I'm sure y'all can figure out a way to lay them in a piece of tupperware or on a tray, "clip" the end so liquid doesn't spill out. Let it freeze up a bit and then seal the bags. Keeps the "juices in place" and you get a clean seal.

[SoFlo]

Another great use that I've found for vacuum seal bags is for toilet paper. It shrinks down to nothing in size, so I keep a few at the bottom of my pack for back-up situations.

[Navy Salad]

I've found that it helps to make/use bags that are a little bigger than you need, so you have some slack. Whenever I don't allow enough room, even a small amount of pressure on the seal can cause it to leak eventually. I also usually seal the bags twice, maybe 1/4" apart.

[sherryamber]

Agree! I sealed a corned beef and a pork tenderloin in a vacuum sealing machine (https://www.cuou.net/food-vacuum-sealer.html)for cooking.
For corned beef, I first freeze the marinade in the bottom of the bag and then put the marinated beef in. The bag is then vacuum sealed as no liquid rises and damages the vacuum seal.

[atraildreamer]

I have a Rival Brand sealer I got refurbished from some mail order catalog. I got my bags from Amazon. They are the textured finish bags that seem to allow a tighter vacuum than a ziplock type bag. They come in rolls so I have to cut the bag and seal it on the bottom before I use it. I also have had luck with resealing MRE type bags which are very heavy plastic. I find that the bigger the bag the less successful the sealing so I stick with quart size bags and usually only seal 1 cup of material.

The MRE bags are probably sealed using directed microwave energy to melt and bond the plastic. After the vacuum is formed in the bag, the microwave beam is pulsed through metal guide channels that clamp down on the two layers of plastic so that the RF energy has no effect on the product in the bag. This is definitely an industrial process designed to produce a long-term storage, (years long), product that would be very difficult to duplicate at home.

[CalebJ]

The MRE bags are probably sealed using directed microwave energy to melt and bond the plastic. After the vacuum is formed in the bag, the microwave beam is pulsed through metal guide channels that clamp down on the two layers of plastic so that the RF energy has no effect on the product in the bag. This is definitely an industrial process designed to produce a long-term storage, (years long), product that would be very difficult to duplicate at home.
MRE bags aren't vacuum sealed. The internal components can be, but not the outer plastic bag that (I think) peakbagger was referring to.

[peakbagger]

Well unfortunately looks like my trusty vacuum sealer has given up the ghost. I got several years of use off it and it was a "factory rebuilt" but when I try to use it it will pull a vacuum it will not shut off and go into seal mode. I think the pump is leaking by so it just doe not pull enough.

[Farr Away]

Well unfortunately looks like my trusty vacuum sealer has given up the ghost. I got several years of use off it and it was a "factory rebuilt" but when I try to use it it will pull a vacuum it will not shut off and go into seal mode. I think the pump is leaking by so it just doe not pull enough.
Mine is doing the exact same thing! Frustrating. And mine wasn't factory rebuilt. Think I'm going to have to replace it. :(

-FA

[RangerZ]

I haven’t had any problems with liquids but I’ll try the idea of partially freezing them.

I just dehydrated some apple slices and vacuum sealed them. One bag leaked and I had to make a new one. I wrap sharp stuff in a paper towel first to prevent holes in the bag when the vacuum crushes it.


< After you’ve been married for 40 years you get a vacuum sealer for your birthday and a dehydrator for Christmas. I bought her a chain saw for her birthday one year. >

:banana