Foodsaver Review

Sometimes I suffer from instantgratificationitis.  Like I feel that I have to have something right this minute even though I'm fairly sure it won't live up to my expectations and I'll end up returning the thing.  But sometimes the products turn out to be great and I'm happy to keep them.  One of those products is the FoodSaver food storage system.

We shop at Costco about once a month and utilize the FoodSaver as a result of buying their inexpensive but good cuts of meat.  We grill almost every day in the summer so we like to have chicken, pork, and steaks on hand.  We buy them in bulk at Costco then seal and freeze small packages of meat suitable for just the two of us.  We especially like the New York strip steaks which are high quality, delicious, huge and reasonably priced.  I bring them home and freeze each steak individually so we can pull them out of the freezer when needed.  This saves tons of money and makes eating steak much more affordable than buying it on a whim.

We have had our FoodSaver for a few years now and use it mostly for meats but I've also sealed all sorts of other things as well.  Here in Michigan we get fresh, local corn on the cob in August and September and then long for it in February.  So we now buy extras and freeze it in FoodSaver bags.  Some is frozen on the cob, some is cut off first and then frozen.  When we want fresh corn in the dead of winter I just pull a bag out of the freezer, boil it right in the bag for a few minutes, and it's like fall all over again.  Sometimes if I've cut too many veggies for a recipe I'll freeze them in small FoodSaver bags to be used later in soups or stews instead of tossing them out or letting them go bad in the fridge.

FoodSaver bags are a bit expensive but the rolls are big and I am able to get many bags out of each roll.  And with the savings on the inexpensive meat and not having to throw away unidentified freezer burned food it all works out in the end.

The only issue I've had with using the FoodSaver is when sealing saucy things.  For example, I once bought a chicken enchilada meal in Costco's deli department and only ate one of them. I tried to seal and freeze the remaining enchiladas but when all the air was sucked out of the bags it soaked the tortillas with the sauce.  Also the pressure of the air being sucked out of the bags sometimes causes things to become squished.  So the FoodSaver is best for meat, veggies, and things that are not squishable.

5 stars - the FoodSaver is one of my absolute favorite kitchen appliances. I did not expect to use it as much as I do but every day I find something else that can be sealed and frozen.  It's very easy to use and kind of fun as well.