Foodsaver for food storage

When I purchased my house back in 2019 I also purchased a used foodsaver from value village. I didn't have much use for it in the start as I had no gardens and didn't produce any of my own food. It was mostly used for if I bought something in bulk and needed to divide up the portions. I would buy pork loins and cut them up into portions the right size for one or two people for a couple meals, or cut them into pork chops, Seal them and freeze them for later use. I would also pre cut pies or treats into more single friendly sizes so I could remove a section and thaw it out, a part at a time. Have you ever seen a Kirkland pumpkin pie from Costco??? Those things are huge but so so good! Way too much for one person, but it you quarter it, you could pull out a section and have pie for a couple days without the rest of it going to waste.

My used food saver worked, but not perfectly. The function to suck out air and immediately seal did not work. I would have to remove the air, and then manually tell it to seal the bag. This might sound like no big deal, but those of you that have used a foodsaver know that if you do it this way, air will go back into the bag as the machine switches over to seal. Having air in the bag leads to ice crystals, freezer burn,less freshness and spoilage. The amount of time something can be kept frozen greatly decreases with air in the packaging.

The reasons to use a foodsaver or another version of a vacuum sealer are to...

Prevent freezer burn.

Freezer burn happens when air can comes into contact with water crystals around food. If you remove the air, you minimize the chances of this happening. Freezer burnt food isn't a hazzard to your health but it creates a negative taste and texture to the food.

Keeps food fresh longer.

If you remove air from food, you limit its ability to spoil by preventing mold, bacteria or fungus growth. This is true for both frozen foods or shelf stable foods. You can vacuum seal previously opened chips or snack foods to keep them from going stale, as well as dehydrated fruits and veggies to prolong their shelf life.

Dividing up bulk purchases.

Like I talked about previously, repackaging bulk purchases is a great use for a vacuum sealer. Some sales are too good to pass up and being able to properly portion and seal your purchase allows you to utilize the sale and minimize risk of your food going bad before you have a chance to eat it.

Freeze seasonal foods

If you grow or raise food, you know you may get an over abundance of one thing at one time, but none of it later on. Being able to store your excess allows you to use it later on and save money. Eating fresh home grown vegetables in the middle of the winter and not paying inflated grocery store prices for imported produce is a giant plus!

Waterproof documents.

A non food use for a foodsaver is sealing important documents to keep them save from tearing and from water damage.

Over the last couple years I have put in and expanded my gardens, planted some fruit trees and now have also started raising meat rabbits. I plan on doing a lot more freezing and preserving. I do not want my efforts to go to waste due to too much air in the freezer bags,( no one likes freezer burnt food) so I decided it was time to invest in a new foodsaver. I was looking online and the average price currently (March 2022) is around $129.00 here in Canada. It costs money to save money, so I was getting ready to make the purchase when I came across an overstock auction. They just happened to have one and there was less than a day left until closing. I decided for the heck of it I would put in a bid. Well, I won! After tax and the auctioneer fee, my $129.00 foodsaver cost me $66.50! It's new, in box, and I am hopefully picking it up tomorrow.

Having a fully functional foodsaver will give me greater peace of mind that what I am packaging and putting in the freezer will stay fresh and properly stored for months. I can grow my vegetables and raise my rabbits and not worry about excess going to waste. I can hopefully grow enough vegetables that I will only have to purchase minimal amounts in the off seasons and be able to enjoy home grown food all year long.