Is my Vacuum Saver good enough

Tony,

You might need to practice a bit to get it right. Can you see any air bubbles in the bag? If so you haven't got all the air out. We have an eBay machine and bags and it/they work fine, but we did have to experiment a bit at first.

Cheers,

Val

Hi Tony

The small units (non commercial) are great for when you are away and want to pack meats purchased while on the road.

When you start out get the meat from a butcher and pack it in small meal size bags (most butchers will pack it free for you) the use the small unit while away.

The small unit will extent the life by about 14 days in the fridge provided the seal does not let go.

Follow the instructions and like the first reply said practice before you go. the bag quality also plays a big part of the keeping ability. go the stronger bags for off road use, the cheaper bags for hi way touring.

If the seal goes look at the following before eating.
Cooked meats
- any sign of slippery moisture (bacterial is slippery to the touch)
- any un pleasant odour when you open the bag.
- discolouration (ham ect should colour up when it is open this is the cure working with the air. if this reaction does not happen then it is most likely the preserving action of the cure has been used up and the seal has already gone)
- Vacuum sealing will extract the moisture from the meat so expect some moisture.
Red meat
- don't pack anything with bone and expect the seal to keep (even from the butcher)
again expect some moisture when you open the bag
The meat should;d then bloom
the will be some unpleasant odour (depending on how long it has been packed) this should "gas off" or dissipate once removed from the bag and allowed to breath.
If this odour is very strong and does not dissipates then feel the surface of the cut again bacteria is slippery so the more slimy the surface the stronger the chance of it being off.
Press the meat if there feels like if has gas trapped in it then do not use it but if it feels mildly slippery and the colour has come back red then it should be good.

The absolute final check is give it to your dog if he berried it then it is ok if he eats it straight away then it is most likely off and already smells like he has berried for a week.

please remember though it still needs to be kept as cold as possible.

Regards
Trevor
(Self proclaimed meatoligist and a legend in my own lunch box)

Hi
We bought the el cheapo ebay one and was never happy with the results.

We now have an Orvid Eco sealer (made in Italy, they manufacture commercial seal & vacs) and it is just so much better.

When meat or fish is vacced and sealed correctly the pack is almost "rigid".
I tried to vac some frozen doughnuts and it squashed them!

I have eaten fish recently that I caught last year and vac bagged and frozen, and it was perfect.


I feel its the old adage "you gets what you pay for".

Hi Tony,

After reading previous threads on this topic, I bit the bullet and bought one off of ebay about 4 weeks ago. It's brilliant!!! I first experimented with a handful of almonds and it did an excellent job, so then got carried away and practiced everything else. The almonds I sealed are as stiff as a board and can't move they're in that tight. I have recently bought a bucket load of meat and chicken, freezed the lot, and now vacuum sealed the lot and returned them to the freezer. I haven't got to the point to pulling it out the freezer yet to defrost so that will need to be next.

Also done some cheese and salami, again they're in as tight as tight. No movement whatsoever.

The unit came with a couple of rolls for bags, but I have since bought extra bags and a set of 3 cannisters off ebay too. All work a treat.

Tony because the meat is soft it will still feel soft. What you may of done is sucked some moisture through the seal and thus it isn't 100% sealed. I usually do a double row of seal to be safe.

When I was at the Wauhope Caravan show last week, the spruiker said not $400 not $350 but a show special just $299.00, boy, after reading and learning from this site, it just goes to show you,specials ain't specials, sometimes.

Then I read the post about the Sunbeam for $70.00, unbelievable what some ppl pay for stuff.

Should always check here first before parting with ones monies.

Hi Tony,

We have one of the really early ones. It is in fact badged as a Sunbeam these days. Ours is called a Food Saver. We use it every time we go away and it is just brilliant.

We always have a freezer full of meat and we take out what we want, don't thaw it and vacuum pack it. We have had meat packed like this and used well over 8 weeks after we left home.

It is recommended that sausages and mince are frozen before packing. We also use glad go between to wrap sausages, mince etc and have never had a problem.

We keep it in our Engel.

We wouldn't be without it; just fantastic.

Di

Tony,

Hint - freeze everything before you vac pack it.

If the unit is working properly there will be no air inside and you will not be able to pull the plastic away from the food.

We might do, say a curry, put it in a decor type container (which we know is enough for the two of us), freeze it, then vac it.

Our experience for what it is worth.

Thank you to all whom has replied. Some excellent tips & feedback, much appreciated. The Cryvac Machine we have purchased is not even sucking out the air anymore (Lasted 1 day), the ol saying is, you get what you pay for. So looks like we are now in the market for a more better quality cryvac machine. Cheers to all Tony

Bought a $99 one off ALDI years ago - Excellent.