My 2 daughters and I have the Food Saver one and love it.. I had one years ago and wore it out..

I bought a Food Saver about 10 years ago for our vacation home to keep food fresh. I bought mine at BJ's - that was before Costco came to town. 5 years ago I bought an improved model to use here. I use the vacuum canisters more than the vacuum bags. We don't store food in the freezer at the vacation place due to power outages. But the canisters came in different sizes and that's where we keep crackers, coffee, sugar, cereal, nuts etc.

At home I use both the bags and the canisters. I use the bags if I happen to buy large quantities of meat for the freezer. Now that the kids are gone we don't do that as often.

I can't compare the Tilia to the Food Saver. And when I first bought mine the self seal canisters (OXO ?) weren't on the market yet. I don't know how good those are.

One thing to check before you buy is the cost of the replacement bags or canisters if you want them. My canisters work well but I wish they had flat lids so that you can stack them - the lids on mine are slightly domed.

I do know several people who hunt and they purchased theirs from Cabelas - it's really heavy duty - they offer several models.

I thought "Tilia" and "Food Saver" were the same company. I bought one of the early "Tilia" food savers many years ago (l982?) and have recently replaced it with a Food Saver from Costco. During this Christmas Sales season, there have been some really good savings on Food Savers and I bought one for my DDIL. The website still has bargains. Nanny

Doesn't Tilia make FoodSavers? I've had mine for about 13 yrs and will replace it when it goes on me. I just went to Tilia's website and I'd have to do a LOT of research on them as there are so many different models. Good luck on making your choice.

Shirley

I think mine is a Food Saver...it came from Bass Pro shop.

A gift from my daughter , she worked at Bass Pro at the time. I love it...but find the bags a bit expensive.

patti

I am on my 2nd one and cannot live without it. Yes, Tilia makes the FoodSaver brand. I buy my bags at Sam's Club and they last quite a long while. Make sure you get a Marinator to go with it. You use the hose and it makes the best pork chops, chicken and steaks ever!

I was not aware that Tilia makes FoodSaver. I learn something here at Kitchen Table all the time. I usually read your post, but recently have come out of lurkersville. :) Thanks.

Another question, though....

Does anyone know if there is a food saver (not necessarily brand name of food saver) that can use other bags other than it's own. Seems like years ago I saw one advertised like that, but I could be mistaken.

We bought a Food Saver after our imitation one from HSN or QVC gave up the ghost. There is no comparison, this one really does the vacuuming that the others claim to do. LOVE it. We just packaged a deer last night, what a breeze!

I started out with an inexpensive Seal-A-Meal because I wasn't sure how useful it would be. Well, I used it so much parts of the plastic started coming off. After 3 years I got a FoodSaver V3840. It's a lot more advanced than I need and has the tube built in for sealing the bowls. (It comes with one bowl.) It was pricey, but it's more than paid for itself with the money we save by not throwing so much food away. I can make soups (or anything else) in big batches and freeze 4 or 5 bags for meals later when I don't want to cook. Breads, cookies, etc. need to be frozen on a cookie sheet first. I sealed a loaf of banana bread before I realized this and it ended up in a big, mushy ball. :-)

One of the best features of any food sealing system is the fact that meat sealed and frozen will last over a year and be as fresh as new.

I just bought 60 bags from Kohl's for $19.98. It has 20 each pint, quart and gallon sizes. That's the one small appliance I just couldn't do without.

Thank you all for you help!
Ha, ha, Patti I would have frozen a banana loaf without freezing it on a sheet by itself first too it you had not told me. Thanks for the information on that one. O.K. It is down to a Food Saver. (I want a professional model) We make our own sausage out of ground deer meat and pork. Also, bowls that are flat. Thanks so much everyone!

I think Food Saver bought out Tilia or maybe they just changed the name. They have just had a big sale but my suggestion would be to buy it on sale because they have good sales.

Here is a suggestion too....when you get it......no matter what you have on your counters, make room for the Foodsaver....If you have to go and dig it out of the pantry or a drawer, if you are busy, you will grab a plastic bag and go on.......if it's on the counter, you'll always use it. I love mine and couldn't live without it. I have a 3840 that I bought on sale for just a little over $100 and it has been worth it's weight...Wait for a sale and you will get a good buy.