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General => General Discussion => Topic started by: Arunda on February 09, 2011, 08:52:14 PM

Title: Vacuum pack
Post by: Arunda on February 09, 2011, 08:52:14 PM
Hey does anyone vacuum pack meat and other food for trips is it worth it  ???

Was looking at the Sunbeam FoodSaver.

http://www.sunbeam.com.au/Pages/Browse/ProductDetail.aspx?pid=1569 (http://www.sunbeam.com.au/Pages/Browse/ProductDetail.aspx?pid=1569)
Title: Re: Vacuum pack
Post by: GGV8Cruza on February 09, 2011, 09:12:46 PM
Have a look here, has been discussed just recently

http://myswag.org/forum/index.php?topic=11084.0

GG
Title: Re: Vacuum pack
Post by: Heiny on February 10, 2011, 05:32:23 AM
We found for the amount that it would get used and for the price of the equipment its more economical to get the butcher to do it when you order your meat for camping, if you use one whilst camping for the fish you catch etc thats a different story.
Title: Re: Vacuum pack
Post by: Pipeliner on February 10, 2011, 07:49:11 AM
We don't just use ours for trips, we pack (almost) everything that goes in the freezer.  Buy a large piece of meat and cut it into pieces suitable for the two of us and vacpac individually.  Prevents freezer burn and makes life easier.
Title: Re: Vacuum pack
Post by: SteveandViv on February 10, 2011, 08:44:32 AM
We use ours all the time. At home as well as camping and find it great. Besides meat you can for example make potato Bake and freeze that then just add to boiling water. I like the no blood in the bottom of the fridge (and freezer burn as noted above) and you can also get away with just keeping food really cold, ie, no need to freeze if your only away for a week which lessons the load on power.

We also make bags of mixed nuts and stuff for us and the kids that are more a *snack* size and the kids can open them as we travel. Also after we cook a roast at camp we might brew up a curry and then vac that for a few days later.
Follow the advice given in the instructions re keeping moisture out of the sucky thing and it should last well
Title: Re: Vacuum pack
Post by: Bill on February 10, 2011, 10:31:34 AM
We don't just use ours for trips, we pack (almost) everything that goes in the freezer.  Buy a large piece of meat and cut it into pieces suitable for the two of us and vacpac individually.  Prevents freezer burn and makes life easier.

Morag and I do the same.
Saves heaps of $$ cash too when buying in bulk.
Saves loads of room in the fridge/freezer as well when packing.
Also nice to fix camping meals at home and just drop into boiling water as mentioned above in other posts.
We have had our el~cheapo ebay unit about 4 years now and it has never missed a beat.
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/VACUUM-FOOD-SAVER-PRESERVATION-HEAT-SEALER-460-bags-/260691974710?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_15&hash=item3cb273da36
We also only use rolls only so we can cut them to size.
We purchase the rolls from the same ebay sellar as they are usually heaps cheaper than buying them around here.
Bill and Morag
Title: Re: Vacuum pack
Post by: Sharshebelle1 on February 10, 2011, 01:36:09 PM
Same with us,  ours is invaluable. We make larger portions of stew's and curry's and store the left over portions in our freezer,  its handy  first night of camping when we are tired we just drop a packet into boiling water and the meal is served. We stayed in our camper at the snow last year and had a whole weeks worth of hot meals for a family of four in the freezer.
Title: Re: Vacuum pack
Post by: Arunda on February 11, 2011, 07:27:30 AM
Looks like we are going to get one, the missus likes the idea of a clean fridge.

Thanks guys  :cheers:
Title: Re: Vacuum pack
Post by: Beachbums on February 11, 2011, 07:47:35 AM
Just wondering if there are different widths of these sealers? If so what would be the optimum width to have?

Cheers, Wayne
Title: Re: Vacuum pack
Post by: Bill on February 11, 2011, 09:06:36 AM
I do believe they come in 2 different widths.
The 30cm width being the widest.
It is also the one I would reccomend.
And by using rolls you can cut them to the desired length needed.
Less wasted that way...
Bill and Morag
Title: Re: Vacuum pack
Post by: SteveandViv on February 11, 2011, 09:20:16 AM
Also you can re-use your bags, we have a lot. yes you have to clean them properly but that OK. just try to cut the top off even and strait.

Again make sure you follow the advice to put a piece of paper towel in the bag to stop the juice getting sucked into the motor
Title: Re: Vacuum pack
Post by: danielhobby on February 11, 2011, 08:39:53 PM
ive been buying the 6 metre rolls at about 13-15 dollars a roll from fleabay,today i purchased from cellar plus 100 bags,25cm by55 long for $65.they have about 30 different lengths in 3 different widths as well as the rolls in 6 metres.no connection to cellar plus,blah blah.got nice spirit stills too  hmmmm.