vacum sealer

[reefer]

Just bought a vacuum sealer and I am a little confused about what you can do and not do. The video that comes with the sealer says that anything that is refrigerated before sealing needs to remain refrigerated. I have a friend at work that used a sealer to prepare food for hunting trips. One thing he said he did was scramble up some eggs with onion and peppers and drops the sealed bag in boiling water to cook on the trail. He said he would pack them up to 3 days in 70-degree temperature before cooking. Also I wonder why you couldn’t open a can of tuna or other canned meat and vacuum seal it and expect it to last as long as if it were still in the can. Just wondering

[MOWGLI]

Just bought a vacuum sealer and I am a little confused about what you can do and not do. The video that comes with the sealer says that anything that is refrigerated before sealing needs to remain refrigerated. I have a friend at work that used a sealer to prepare food for hunting trips. One thing he said he did was scramble up some eggs with onion and peppers and drops the sealed bag in boiling water to cook on the trail. He said he would pack them up to 3 days in 70-degree temperature before cooking. Also I wonder why you couldn’t open a can of tuna or other canned meat and vacuum seal it and expect it to last as long as if it were still in the can. Just wondering

Dehydrating allows you to carry foods that would spoil otherwise. You can't vacuum seal something that is perishable and expect it to last. A decent dehydrater costs less than $50.

[Alligator]

Just bought a vacuum sealer and I am a little confused about what you can do and not do. The video that comes with the sealer says that anything that is refrigerated before sealing needs to remain refrigerated. I have a friend at work that used a sealer to prepare food for hunting trips. One thing he said he did was scramble up some eggs with onion and peppers and drops the sealed bag in boiling water to cook on the trail. He said he would pack them up to 3 days in 70-degree temperature before cooking. Also I wonder why you couldn’t open a can of tuna or other canned meat and vacuum seal it and expect it to last as long as if it were still in the can. Just wonderingSomeone who worked in a supermarket once told me that eggs are not nearly as perishable as most people believe. But I think they were referring to them while in the shell.

If you open the canned goods, you have negated the sterilization process and exposed the food to the air. So I don't think the meats would keep as long as canned. Just buy the foil packs of meat, the variety is pretty good these days.

The sealer will keep items longer, substantially more for some. The refrigeration is probably still needed though. I know for MREs, if they are kept in cool environments they last longer. Temperature plays a role, plus packaging then. But the increased temperature may negate any vacuum sealing gains.

I exclusively use mine for dehydrated foods, which get eaten long before their shelf life is up.

[orangebug]

I discovered that "Just Corn", even when kept in the freezer, goes bad after a couple of years. Probably not "bad", but really stale and unappetizing. Even if you are sealing freeze dried stuff, I'd try to consume it within a year.

Bill...

[Texas Dreamer]

about eggs: If fresh off the farm and not washed, eggs will keep at room temp for weeks. Eggs from the supermarket have been washed however and so they need refridgeration to a greater extent, but will still keep a week or so. Chickens are clever little darlins and put some sort of coating on the eggs which helps keep 'em fresh as long as it is not washed off. Even the storebought ones will keep better in the shell than in a baggy, if you can figure out a way to keep them from...uh...cracking up.