Vacuum Sealer Thing For Food

[hc4361]

Once again I have far too much cooked meat left and thought about a vacuum sealer machine. If you've got one, what do you think of it?

[bhg481]

We have one, had it for ages and love it.

The bags are much more rugged than cling-film and can be re-used. We often buy a big beef joint, cook it, eat a meal's worth and freeze the rest in vacuum bags.

[bhg481]

http://www.jmldirect.com/uk/food-storage/jml-food-vacuum-heat-sealer-machine/invt/f04fs20100000001

JML often stocked in shops eg, Robert Dyas.

Other makes are available eg, Lakeland.

[hc4361]

This is it, jobabob

Amazon.co.uk User Recommendation

How much longer would cooked meat keep out of the freezer, bhg? I freeze a lot of food and don't need to vacuum seal it.

[hc4361]

I got my butcher to vacuum pack some raw meat for me and it does keep fresher for longer

[bhg481]

We really only use ours to give us robust bags for the freezer, hc4361, so I can't really say how much longer food keeps in the bags than "on the shelf". We found that ordinary plastic bags or cling-film became brittle in the freezer (we're very casual with use-by dates), so we tried one of these and find it's much better.
Because you can re-use the bags, provided you make them big enough (you have to cut them open), it doesn't cost a fortune and we don't get freezer-burn.

[hc4361]

Does your manual give you any idea of shelf life, bhg? If you have it to hand, that is

[bhg481]

2 figures, storage time with conventional bags, storage time with vacuum seal:

Freezer
Beef steaks 6-12 months, 2-3 years
beef mince 3-4 months, 1 year
lean fish (cod, haddock) 4-6 months, 2 years
fatty fish (salmon, sea trout) 2-3 months, 1 year
pork chops 4-6 months, 2-3 years
poultry 6-12 months, 2-3 years
vegetables 6-9 months, 2-3 years.
Fridge:
cheese 2-4 weeks, 4-8 months
Cold Meats 3-4 days, 7-10 days
Fruits (berries) 1-5 days, 7-14 days
vegetables 2-7 days, 7-14 days.

Pantry
Cereal 2-3 months, 6-12 months
biscuits (home made) 1-2 weeks, 3-6 weeks.

[hc4361]

Marvellous, thank you