Short of my instant pot, my 2nd no regret appliance has been my food savr, https://www.amazon.com/FoodSaver-Vacuum-Machine-Starter-Certified/dp/B0044XDA3S
You can individually package your leftovers into meals with none of that dried out freezer burn of the past. Not to mention reseal most all bags of chips, nuts, dried fruits.
I have this one. I picked it because of the low entry price and because you can also use it to vacuum seal mason jars. Not true canning, but definitely lets things stay longer. It came with a ton of bags and rolls to get started with.
I will say the sealer I have is best for lower volumes. If you are doing a big harvest or processing a deer or something, you would want something bigger. This one you have to let cool down after doing 10 seals pretty quick back to back.
As for price of bags, I would agree with u/97runner that they can be expensive. I only buy the rolls now. They are WAY cheaper and you can cut them to whatever size you want. I cut them way bigger than they need to be, seal them at the top, and when I open them, cut off as little as possible. That way you can clean and re-use them. I've head really good luck with that - they seal just fine over and over.
There are also bags they sell that have valves for re-use and vacuum seal Tupperware type things. If you are accessing things on a fairly regular basis, those types of things might be worth it, but I haven't invested yet.
I have the FoodSaver, and I went with a basic model that doesn't have the bags inside, and doesn't have the auto sensor/sealer thing.
I like it, as I can control exactly how much bag is inside before it seals it, where the "auto sensing" ones it has to go in to hit the sensor before it starts. I find that you waste at least 1" on each seal because of this.
I would also look at getting one where you can easily cheap inexpensive bags. So if it's at Costco, they have a great price on the bag rolls.
amazon has a food saver on sale right now for less than 60 bucks https://www.amazon.com/FoodSaver-Vacuum-Sealing-System-Starter/dp/B0044XDA3S/ref=as_li_ss_tl?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_p=41fd713f-6bfe-4299-a021-d2b94872bb19&pf_rd_s=slot-3&pf_rd_t=701&pf_rd_i=gb_main&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&p...
Just sealed two bags of this recipe with a lower end foodsaver: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0044XDA3S
It has a drip tray in the sealing chamber so some liquid is ok. Only issue I had was the first seal was not 100% so I just closed the lid and sealed again on the same spot, no issues. Granted, it's not 100% air tight but it's pretty close and I imagine will ultimately be fine.
There was also a suggestion on here to freeze the unsealed bag for an hour or so (to get the liquid mostly solid) then seal. I'd imagine that works well.
I got this one end of November for about 50 bucks and it was the best sous vide accessory I've purchased. I can't imagine not having one now. I've started buying meat in bulk, portioning it out and freezing it so I can make it whenever. Plus I've found other uses for storing things. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0044XDA3S
I picked this model up for about $50 http://www.amazon.com/FoodSaver-V2244-Vacuum-Sealing-System/dp/B0044XDA3S
Its cheap and easy to use. It does have problems with liquids, but that means you have to manually tell it to seal or it will get the internals wet. I made a mistake and got my machine wet with a beat balsamic and it broke the machine. Luckily the machine is dead simple and I was able to take it apart and repair the faulty shut off switch. Don't let it scare you though. When I make chicken stock I put it in the vacuum sealer bags which I make from a roll and thrown them in the freezer.
If you freeze foods you will appreciate the food saver. I was on the fence about it, but love how easy everything stores in my freezer with no/minimal freezer burn. Cooking sous vide, I can now do the longer cooks without worrying about my ziploc bag opening up.
This has been my go-to when people ask me for a recommendation on a sealer. Independent vac/seal and seal buttons, clam shell design, and ease of use all are up there for me in what I was looking for.
I have this one. It was recommended to me by some folks on forums and I like it. I prefer the bags on a roll, as opposed to the preformed bags.
I was told there are two caveats in order for it to have a long life:
Beware the duty cycle. Don't overheat it. If you have a couple of bags, fire away. But if you have 10 bags, give it some time to cool down.
Watch out for the rubber gasket. It ships with a little piece of cardboard wrapped in plastic that keeps it open, and prevents the unit from compressing the gasket for weeks at a time. Use that gasket, you can ditch the rest of the packaging. I actually just cut the top off of the box and use it for storage.
well, I agree with the sous vide if you have a vacuum sealer. you can get a foodsaver one on amazon for the price of a couple ribeyes. This is the model that I have and it's suited me very well. It's also great if you like to buy in bulk. I've found that I've saved a lot of money using this thing. However, I'd say put it somewhere where you'd see it or else you're easy to forget about it. /end mini commercial
The sous vide makes the meat really tender and you can add your marinade right in there when you vacuum it in, saving yourself a ton of time. I usually finish it off using a cast iron pan or under the broiler.
I have a FoodSaver V2244 and love it. I also got it on the rare occasion when Amazon had it for $29.99.
Getting a Food Saver or equivalent will literally pay for itself 10Xs over. Saving hops, meat, freezing fruit/vegetables etc it’ll save you money.
Quart sized Mason Jars from Wal-Mart $12 Fit 1LB of hop pellets perfectly
Regular Mouth Mason jar Vacuum sealer attacment $9
Total $101 + around $6 shipping from Yakima.
EDIT: Whoops. Disregard. Didn't realize it was a gift card to your LHBS. I'd buy a bunch of grains.
Eventually, you'll want a FoodSaver vacuum sealer, but in all honestly, I rarely use mine. It's still worth having, though.
Wow is that pricey. Foodsaver is much more affordable.
FoodSaver V2244 Vacuum Sealing System with Starter Kit https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0044XDA3S/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_8dYVybZQ0C0PR
Good luck!
I ordered one of these and going to put a desiccant pack inside. May only use it for Nylon and seldom used PLAFood Saver
FoodSaver V2244 Vacuum Sealing System with Starter Kit https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0044XDA3S/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_Zr4rxbB7XN4CB
Think it is the white version of this one...
Handy if you want to try sous vide cooking
Amazon also shows that there is an update for this model at $69.50.
You can place your food in vacuum sealed bags, like via this fine bagger: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0044XDA3S/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1#
Anything can be bagged, and eaten straight out of the bag if necessary. Tack in place to your slanted surface hot plate with rare earth magnets, or immerse in hot water. At 160° it should not melt, as it can be dropped in boiling water no problem.
Along this line, food in glass "canning" jars. Although you will have to poke a hole in lids to vent.
Farther out of the box: You could get a pressure cooker and paint it black and then place it in the sun. (Ferran Adria of ElBulli fame and Jose Andres - think food group talked about this).
There's some other stuff out there on internet about solar ovens, it works but is slow. You can also do the jar in a jar with canning jars listed above. Think greenhouse effect; black jar inside clear jar. POKE HOLES IN LIDS
The other thing would be to bring along your own power supply like: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009YR00MI/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Then you could bring whatever hot plate or warmer or slow cooker, sandwich press, coffee maker for hot coffee in the cab etc if you wanted.
Do you have or know anyone who owns a vacuum food saver?
If not, you can try those Space Bags you attach your home vacuum to. I tried the Space Bags for some extra pillows but, it seemed to slowly leak and expand with air again. It could've been because I over stuffed it though.
Whatever you end up doing, try and make sure they're clean, dry and coated all over with oil. Wouldn't hurt to toss in those little Silica Gel packets, either.
Absolutely. There are some caveats though. My wife and I have this vacuum sealer (Amazon link) and we also have a smoker so we'll do 30 pounds of pulled pork at a time and that sort of thing. Here's the catch though. There can't be any moisture when you vacuum seal or it just pulls the liquid out and won't seal. So, you end up having to slightly freeze everything (about an hour or so) and then seal it. It isn't a big deal but it does take a bit of time.
The other thing though is that it does give us the freedom to buy in bulk when stuff goes on sale and really helps pay for itself very quickly. Costco sells the freezer bags and Amazon does as well. Those seem to be the two cheapest places to get them.
Like /u/skwibby said, it's an essential kitchen item.