How to Vacuum Pack Food
You can reduce the amount of spoiled food you throw away and save money by vacuum packing foods. Mold and bacteria depend on oxygen and moisture to thrive and spoil foods. Home vacuum sealing appliances cut and seal thick plastic bags that keep foods fresh in a low-oxygen environment far beyond their original expiration. Extend the shelf-life of a variety of foods by vacuum packing them after each time they are opened. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
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Review the owner's manual for your vacuum food sealer to properly form an open plastic bag with one end sealed. Many models offer built-in bag dispensers that allow you to simply pull the desired bag length out and press down on the lid to both seal and cut the new bag. Older food sealers may require you to hand cut the bag to size with scissors.
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Fill the bag with food until it is no more that 2 1/2 inches thick with at least 3 inches of empty space at the top of the bag. Large pieces of food may need to be cut into smaller pieces to stay within the bag's dimensions.
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Line up the open end of the plastic bag so that the edges meet all the way across before sliding the top inch under the lid of the food sealer. Check the owner's manual for the available sealing settings. Some vacuum sealers have moist-food settings and low-strength settings to avoid crushing soft foods like fruit.
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Press down on the lid of the vacuum sealer to trigger the motor. This removes the air and initiates the heating element to melt the plastic and seal the bag. This process may take as long as a minute, depending on the amount of air that needs to be removed. Most vacuum sealing machines make an audible grunting sound as they work and have indicator lights to let you know when they are finished.
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Lift the lid to remove the sealed bag from the vacuum sealer and store the vacuum packed foods in the freezer, refrigerator or the pantry. Shelf-stable foods will last for years when they are vacuum packed and left sealed.
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Open vacuum packed plastic bags by carefully cutting just below the seal so that the bag has enough length to be resealed. If you notice the machine is struggling to make a seal, check the bag for tears and punctures.
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Tips & Warnings
Many food sealer appliances come with an accessory hose that can be attached to hard glass or plastic storage containers to create an air-tight seal. It is not possible to remove as much air from the rigid container as a pliable plastic bag. For this reason, the custom-sized plastic bags are recommended for long-term storage of most food items.
References
- Photo Credit frozen strawberry image by Pictures4you from Fotolia.com
