I remember one weekend this past summer I pulled some chicken out of the freezer, shook my head and gave it a sad look. I was standing in the middle of the kitchen thinking I should probaly throw it away when all of a sudden, Kora is next to me and I hear, “Aaawwwww, Mom that is beautiful!”
I began to look around the kitchen wanting to soak in some of this beauty, and then I see that Kora is staring at the chicken in my hand.
You know how food freezes and gets freezer burn sometimes? Well, Kora thought that the white/silver ice crystals that were on the chicken were pretty like diamonds and worthy of being started at. Oh to see things through the eyes of a 7 year old, life would be so much happier!
A couple of weeks later we went to Blogher and had the opportunity to check out FoodSaver and some of their products. I was walking the Expo floor when one of the FoodSaver reps approached me and asked if I’d like a cookie. She was carrying around a basket and handing them out. I said sure, took my cookie and then read about a fun giveaway they were having.
I tweeted for my chance to win and then went over to the FoodSaver booth to learn more. While there I watched a FoodSaver demo and learned that we have all seen and heard of this concept in the past, but few of us take advantage of it.
FoodSaver offers an entire line of items meant to store your food in the freezer longer, and better. The food is placed in bags or containers, the air is sucked out and the food is sealed in a manner which will allow the food to stay fresher up to 5x’s longer. I was impressed with the system and mentally added one to my wishlist. When we returned home from BlogHer we were excited to receive an email letting us know that we had won the FoodSaver V4865 Vaccum Sealer!
We’ve had the vacuum sealer for a few months now and we are impressed to see that it is a champion at preventing waste with its fully automatic operation. It’s modern and sleek design looks great on your counter too.
It comes with a variety of bags in different sizes. I used the large bags to seal chicken recently and took a few pictures to show you how it works. First you turn the sealer on and then put your chicken in the bag. Next insert the end of the bag into the sealer.
There is a “Seal” button but you actually don’t press it when using the bags. Instead the FoodSaver will sense the bag and automaticall sense the type of bag and food type in order to create a perfect, air-tight seal.
According to the instruction booklet, I can now put this chicken in the freezer for 2-3 years. We won’t be waiting that long but it’s good to know that if it does sit in the freezer longer than we originally intended it will still be good to eat and taste delicious.
I also like that with this system you can make your own size bags. I had a partial head of cauliflower recently that I wanted to seal up and save so I took a few photos to show how easy the process is. After you’ve put the roll of bags inside the machine, you pull out the appropriate amount plus 4 inches. Then you slide the bag cutter across the bar to cut the bag.
Then you take your bag and put one end in the FoodSaver as if you were going to vacuum seal food. You push the “Seal” button and it seals the one of the bag.
Next you put your cauliflower or other food item in the bag. Then you put the open end into the FoodSaver and let it do its magic. The motor will turn on and it will vacuum seal the bag.
I was also impressed to learn that there are actually 2 sealing options. You can either use the heat-seal or the handheld vacuum that gives you “More Ways to Seal and More Ways to Save.”
When I saw the FoodSaver, I thought this would be great for leftovers, but there are so many additional options that can help you save money and prevent waste. However, the crazy thing I never thought of was to use the FoodSaver unit to marinade steaks and chicken. The unit allows you to marinade your meals in a matter of minutes instead of the usual 4+ hours, this is perfect for me, since I never remember to marinade anything beforehand.
The FoodSaver V4865 is an expense that a lot of people may be uncomfortable with, but think of it this way. If you are able to buy in bulk, or buy more when meats are on sale, you can enjoy your discounted purchases longer and ensure their future tastiness. We have enjoyed this system and highly recommend it to anyone looking to store food for longer time periods and to those looking to save money on food.
M<y husband and I have actually talked about getting one of these. We grow so many fruits during the summer that we fill a big portion of our freezer for the winter. There is noting worse then pulling something out of the freezer and finding it freezer burnt. Unlike Kora I don't find it pretty. :)
I’d love this! I get really nervous about meat in the freezer using those regular zip bags. And I hate wasting food!
This is a nice sealer that I would love to have. I bought a cheap one years ago that did not last long, but it did ok while it lasted.
This would come in handy for bulk foods!
we use our food saver allllll the tme! we buy meat in bulk and break it up into dinner size packs. I especially like it for ground beef. we put it in 1# packs and flatten them — then the freeze quickly, and stack nicely in the freezer — and they thaw fast too!
I like your logic with the expense. You really are right, we do buy in bulk . Much. More in winter. I will be checking this out.
Nice.. I totally need a new food saver. This looks nice. Thanks for sharing.
I always wanted one of these to help with freezing items
I just love mine! Though it took some time to get into the habit of using it for more than long-term freezer storage. Now we use it to marinade and store all kinds of things. I even use it to store household items that I want to preserve!
This looks really neat this would be great for my mother she is always making chicken or something for the dogs and instead of using up all the ziploc bags she could use this. I need to get me one of these anyways for left over chicken or steak.
I live alone so I really need something like this so I don’t waste food
It is expensive, but I appreciate the review because I always wondered if thees actually work!
Food is expensive, meat is much cheaper in bulk, this would be a great way to save meat and be able to be sure that it would be good the next time you need it.
Looks good! I would like to have one
I have wanted one of these forever. Sure they cost a few bucks, but I can see yhe long term savingd. Buying meat in bulk when on sale and being able to freeze it and knowing it won’t get freezer burn. Cooking extra and freeing it to have weeks down the road.
I can see uses for it that are non food items.
Have been thinking about getting one on and off for a long time, my husband would love to marinate meats with this!
Nice! I love that this comes with a variety of different sizes of bags. Would be great to have something like this!
A Great Way To Save Money! I Love All The Features Of This FoodSaver!
Congrats on your win. Sounds like a good solid sealer and a great review! We don’t buy food in bulk, but would be a good buy for those who do.
Thanks for the review. Have been thinking of buying one since I freeze a lot of foods for my daughter.
I’ve always wondered if these were worth the money or not. Thanks for the honest review!
i love how much money this would save by preventing freezer burn
Thanks for this review. I’m considering this model & wanted to hear about it from a “real person”. I’ve had a couple of Foodsavers in the past but they wore out over time. Time to try this new model.