No. But I have always wanted to try. hoping if someoneelse cud help us with this.

Here is a link that might be useful: Recipes

Yes, and Yes. No, really, I love it. It's our most used appliance, which I made sure to give its own space to when we redesigned the kitchen. As you can see, that's my old VS, which I've had to update since then. The trick is to keep it where you can use it easily, which for us is probably 4-6 times a day, and why I wanted to hide it in a drawer. I also use canning jars (jar attachment) with the Ball lids you can get at the grocery store.

I love mine also! The trick is to have it out and readily available to use - I read this somewhere and I agree! I don't know if I would use mine as much if I had to drag it out of a closet/pantry or from underneath a counter.

If you order spices and mixes in bulk, you can save them in smaller amounts in the pantry or freezer and save $$$ big time! I use the FS cannisters to keep cornmeal mix, brown sugar, and grain mixes sealed and fresh. Also, you can put a canning jar down in a FS cannister, then add a two piece canning lid to the jar, seal the cannister, and the jar seals also - open the cannister and take out the sealed jar with your dried beans, dried fruit, seeds, nuts, extra yeast, etc.

It's on my to buy list.

That little Reynolds Handi Vac has saved me a ton of money. Fits in the silverware drawer and cost about 10 bucks. I've been using it several times a day for five months now. Love that thing. Gave away my big food saver.

teresa_nc:

"Also, you can put a canning jar down in a FS cannister, then add a two piece canning lid to the jar, seal the cannister, and the jar seals also - open the cannister and take out the sealed jar..."

Really??!??!? This IS good to know, I never would have tried that!

I really like mine for 'quick marinating' meat in the summer. Twenty minutes under vacuum and it's like you marinated 24 hours or more! Nice sturdy container to carry out to the grill too.

I don't use it as much for freezing because of the cost of bags, but for some things, it's perfect!! Especially odd shapes, like tuna, or bread!

I wish they would come up with a way to seal regular ziplocs so you don't have to cut off the top of the bags.

Deanna

I love mine - it's the older version that doesn't have variable pressure. In fact, today I defrosted beef stew from a year ago. It's perfect and it's wonderful not to have to cook on a busy day. I use mason jars regularly for soups, spaghetti sauce, coffee, etc. I never heard of that trick of putting the jar into a canister, etc., but it should work. I don't have mine out, but it's readily available.

On trick I learned on this forum is to wrap things in saran, freeze it, then put it in a FS bag. The FS bag doesn't get soiled, and is truly reusable.

I'm on my 3rd one since sometime in the late 1980's and have the 4th in the basement. I wouldn't be without one. It's just as useful today with only 2 of us in the house as it was when there were a pack of kids and all their friends around.

My FoodSaver has it's own rolling stand in the kitchen with canisters stored on one shelf and a basket with the rolls of bags, scissors (for cutting the bags to length), and a Sharpie for marking the bags. The trick to using it on a regular basis is to keep it out and ready-to-use. Not hidden away and brought out on special occasions like that electric knife you have ?somewhere?...

I vacuum seal a lot of food in canning jars with the jar attachment. I dehydrate "tons" of food and have a large amount of food in storage. Great for rice, beans, seeds and grains of all kind.

I seal my silver serving pieces in FoodSaver bags to keep them from tarnishing.

Copies of important papers are vacuum-sealed and stored in our 72-hour emergency packs.

I have at least 15 canisters from small to large and everything inbetween. They are easier to use for day-to-day stuff and quicker and easier to reseal than canning jars. Nothing keeps lettuce longer than a FoodSaver Canister.

Love it, love it, love it.

Bought and tried a Reynolds Handi Vac with a coupon recently to see what all the fuss was about them. It's nice enough, just NOT a FoodSaver, nor as versatile as a FoodSaver.

-Grainlady

I love mine also.
Theresa, that is one of the most handy tips I've seen in a long while, thanks!
I'm getting ready to take an extended trip, and have lots of cheese that I will seal and just put back into the cheese compartment. It will be just fine when I come home. If I were going to be gone longer I'd freeze it, but frozen cheese just isn't the same when defrosted.
I've bought the bags at Walmart, but I think Costco is a better deal.

One of the reasons I asked, tomorrow, Kohls had them on sale for 79.99. Does it prevent freezer burn? I am thinking of getting one.

Barb,
Never had freezer burn...the air is all sucked out, so no unwanted ice crystals can form. After defrosting it will come out just as fresh as when you put it in many months later.

Preventing freezer burn is a very important reason to have one! I wrap a single portion of meat in saran or put it in a thin sandwich/zip bag, freeze it, then put several portions in a large FS bag and vacuum seal then freeze the entire bag. No meat juices in the FS bag, one portion can be removed at a time and the bag re-sealed, and the remaining bag can be used again.

NOTE:
The method of sealing dried food in the canning jar is not to be used to "can" foods such as fruits, vegetables, relishes, etc. The jar in the FS cannister method is to seal the jar air tight to store rice, dried beans, spices, dried fruit, dry yeast, cereal, crackers, etc.

I recently replaced an older model with one that stores on end. I love it and the hand held that came as a bonus. I am finding that I use the hand held more than the FS sealing machine for canisters and the new left over containers. The drawer directly under the counter where the FS is stored, contains all of the FS supplies and accessories.

I purchase an off brand of bags from my local grocery store a better price and they are thicker.

Claire, great idea for keeping the rolls.

My Food Saver quit sealing my canister that I keep my lettuce in.It worked the last time i used it. Anyone have any idea what I could do to get it to vaccum again.I miss it. Thanks

Thank you for your helpful ideas. I will be at Kohls tomorrow.
Barb

I find the canisters crack under pressure, mille. The bottoms seem to be the weakest point and I can see the crack lines radiating from the center. :-(

What Jessy said! After trying to replace two cracked cannisters, I gave up and bought half gallon wide mouth canning jars for things like chips and crackers. I prep my lettuce first, and it goes into the jar. It's like having a bagged salad all ready to go. Also, I found our garden lettuce (which is delicate) will last two weeks in a jar that's vacuum sealed, but only a few days in the fridge otherwise.

The little wine corks are handy too. Wine will taste fine for a week or more when it's sealed with the Food Saver. Some of you may not stretch a bottle of wine out for a week or more, of course ....

For those who use canning jars inside the canisters: do you have to soften the lids first, as we do with true canning? And I assume the lids can be reused, unlike canning? Great idea, BTW, I have a canister full of almond meal sitting on my counter, waiting for me to decide what to do with it, and the canister is cracked. Yes, Jardin/Tilia has replaced them. They still crack.

jessyf -

(From the Deluxe Instruction Manual) "Always pre-soak new metal lids. Bring water to boil, then turn off. Pre-soak lids 5-10 minutes."

This softens the sealing compound for a better seal. If you are careful removing the lids, they can be reused, unlike lids and home canning.

-Grainlady

(I don't boil mine and they seal just fine.)