Recently I noticed a lot of tables in the empty FoodSaver system and thought: “Wow, that’s great! No more food will fail, except for money, etc.”. Then I send my parents on day to a similar product probably twenty years ago, Seal -a- Lunch. It seemed great at the time, too, until the supplied volume was gone from the material of the bags and mom told me that the bags cost more than the food that was to be stored in them. Was FoodSaver a new, service-oriented system, or just an old system from two decades ago for fresh packaging?
I wanted to, but I didn’t want to use something with 100+ dollars a part. I asked for the opinion of others on-line and was surprised at the number of people singing the praises of the FoodSaver system. However, I have seen some comments about the price of the bags. With the majority in favor of the system, I decided to take the plunge. I went to Sam’s Club and walked away with the latest and greatest (at the time) FoodSaver V2830 vacuum system for packages of 140 rams. A system with a main unit, 2 baskets, a jar sealer, and two volumes of bags.
Of course, like a kid with a new toy kid, I went home and everything started empty package (tip: the deviled eggs don’t end on the plate good outcome). I am very impressed with the power of the vacuum. I’m not impressed with the jar sealer to be used with canning jars. Baskets, these are great! Now that I’ve had the system for a while, I’ve mostly used it for leftovers, cereal, sugar, etc. I bought another hundred dollars worth of baskets and containers and I believe I have more than enough food to throw away. a few days in the refrigerator. When stored in empty containers, they will last and be used much longer. I still use the bags for items bought in bulk that are frozen or stored for a long time before they are needed. Thanksgiving bagged and frozen dinners tasted great after about 3 weeks.
When I bought the foreign containers, I also bought a model of the handle. These are sold as either CoffeeSaver or WineSaver, and can be had for 20 and 40 dollars. This seems to be the most powerful of my main units, and easier to use in baskets. Using the main unit, there is a hose to help you port, the handle is just inserted into the box. I have both sides side by side and the handheld 10 is just a great unit to use. I still don’t regret buying the big unit, as I feel like I’ll see my money’s worth from it, plus the cool factor of watching things crush things in my wallet.
Tips to help you get the most from your investment:
Don’t use a 30 cent bag for anything else worth 20 cents hot dogs.
Consider purchasing a maintenance-only model if baskets and containers meet all of your food-saving needs.
Shop the FoodSaver website, but only good deals. Often they will be in close bags and have a note attached for half price.
Sacks are used unless they contain meat.
Label and date freezer bags with a permanent title.
In the end, I feel the FoodSaver system is a good investment, just make sure it suits your needs. If you don’t have leftovers from lunches, you don’t like to buy in bulk, you don’t want to prepare food ahead of time, and use all your grain before it goes dark, this isn’t worth it to you.
