This sucks

[Stinky The Clown]

the air out of bags .....

We got one of these today. At Tuesday Morning. I haven't even unpacked it yet, but it looks pretty cool. Thanks to Mary (merci_me) as suggested in this GD thread .....
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x3613461#3615542


Now how hard will it be to find the bags for it? I know some of you have these. Do you like them? Have I wasted my money with my silly 'liberal' purchase?

[NMDemDist2]

1. i gaze with wonder at those things at Costco

i'll be interested to hear your review

since I buy so much meat etc in bulk and fill the freezer I'd like to find a cheaper and better alternative to zip locks and foil

keep me posted huh?

(can you tell it's quiet tonight in GDPol?--- ask Sparkly to watch it for me and hit the alert key if needed LOL)

[eleny]

2. Hiya!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[NMDemDist2]

3. hey!!! I do come by and lurk a bit

but haven't had a minute to post

how are ya???

[eleny]

5. Doing good!

Sure do miss your posts. Oh, so thngs are slow over there, huh? We could come over and sling some cream pies!!!

[NMDemDist2]

8. please god no! ROFL

now I remember why I spent so much time here and in DIY LOL

[Sparkly]

4. I'll try to keep H2S out of there.

He's such a rabble-rouser, you know. ;)

[NMDemDist2]

6. actually he's a voice of reason over there

scary huh? :scared:

You, madam, on the other hand..........



:rofl:

[eleny]

7. oooh, this sounds good

some juicy gossip!

[NMDemDist2]

9. just let it rest as "I know who the Sparkly family supported in '04"

i won't say another word, you can't make me

:hide:

[eleny]

10. my lips are sealed

[Sparkly]

11. Whatever are you talking about?

We supported Mario Batali! (You know, "Master of Farfalle.") And we argue fearlessly on his behalf everywhere.

But you've got to watch H2S. Let's just say he's got some heavy copper pots, and he knows how to use them.

[NMDemDist2]

12. especially when he's all jacked up on "beans"

(psssst I hear he has a drinking problem----- shhhhhh)


:evilgrin:

[Sparkly]

14. You're no help!

<- H2S (thanks to you, AZ!)

[NMDemDist2]

15. ooops!

[Sparkly]

13. huh?

[Shakespeare]

16. I. Want. One. Of. Those. SO BAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lemme know how you like it, sparklies....I've been lusting for one for YEARS now.

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

17. Hubby uses his all the time.

He uses it for that once-in-a-blue-moon when he gets a salmon & smokes it. He usedit for herbal stuff. He uses it for everything.

As far as the bags, he buys these sheets of things. You seal one end, then put the food in the open end & then seal away. They sell the sheets usually wherever the sealer is sold.

Highly recommended.

[anitar1]

18. From a long time lurker--

I bought one of these a year ago at Costco, and I love it. Also bought a big box of bags at the same time. I still haven't opened the box of extras. When I Open a bag, from the freezer, it can often be reused. Also, I made the mistake of bagging some bread without frezing it first, and it totally flattens the bread. so I have learned to freeze things on a cookie sheet and then put them in the Foodsaver bags. BTW, I love this Forum. It is a refuge of sanity for me. Have tried many recipes and tips ,thanks to all of you!

[Love Bug]

19. I haven't had any problem finding bags

I've seen them at Target and Kohls. Usually if a store sells the machine, it also sells the bags. I really love mine. I live alone, so it saves me money when I can divvy stuff up and freeze it.

[Stinky The Clown]

20. Yuo, I laid in a supply of 8" and 11" bags at Target just yesterday

Now I need to start using it. I have only played around with it so far.

[Stinky The Clown]

21. "Yuo" ..... ?

What the hell was I typing??????

[wildeyed]

22. I have one of those!

Love the gadgets, ya know?

I use the bags to freeze bulk meat purchases, leftovers, stuff like that. I also have some canisters which are really nice when I want to save something delicate like spring mix or berries for a few extra days.

[Stinky The Clown]

23. I was wonderin' if anybody used the cannisters

Berries and salads make sense. No crushing and fresher longer.

They seem to suggest on the packaging that they're good for cereals and such. For us, even as a party of two, cereals never really seem to go stale. I'm not much on them, but Sparkly scarfs 'em long before they even think about going stale.

What else do you use the cannisters for?

[wildeyed]

24. Quick marinating meats.

I guess the pressure change forces the marinade into the meat, kind of like pressure cooking.

Storing grains and flours I don't use that often. Storing spices I only use occasionally. I guess you could use bags for that, too, but it is more convenient to use a jar or cannister for things you want to re-seal regularly.

The cannisters are quite expensive. It is nice to have a small assortment. But you can also purchase an attachment that allows you to vacuum seal mason jars. The mason jars are relatively inexpensive. Nice for spices, grains, the like.

[merci_me]

25. I bought a V1095 Foodsaver at Kohls today

I posted this about an hour ago, but it's nowhere to be seen, so if it turns up twice, that's the reason.

We bought the one the sell for the regular price of $179.99, which was on sale today for $109.99, AND 15% off if you're 62+.

We bought the V1075 last week and hadn't unpacked it yet. It's a discontinued model, so was on sale for $79.99. However, the one we bought today has the storage area for the plastic roll and a cutter. PLUS, it came with a set of three size cannisters, a universal lid that fits a Mason jar, two rolls of plastic and assorted bags. For the extra $12.50, it was a no-brainer.

Tomorrow, I'm going to get strawberries and lettuce for two of the cannisters and a pound of really red ground beef to seal in a bag. If the meat stays red in the fridge, for 36 hours, we'll know it's a good deal.

I'm going to google tips for the Foodsaver. I've seen a lot over time. Jim is excited about sucking up coffee beans and planning to buy the bottle stoppers for wine. I'm iffy about wine bottles. I said he has to test it out on the deck. I have visions of the glass bottle imploding.

Mary

[Stinky The Clown]

26. For what its worth, we have a few of these

The VacuVin. The basic set comes with the pump and a few stoppers. It does essentailly the same thing. The pump sucks the air out of the bottle. The stopper self seals. Squeeze the stopper to release the vaccum. You can seal the same bottle over and over.

This is how I get a bottle to last for over a week without going bad. These are cheap, effective, and far more convenient that anything I can imagine. And once you own a pump and the two starter corks (about ..... mmmm .... ten bux or so?) you can buy extra corks for a buck or three for a blister pack of two.

You can get these on line, but they seem to be available everywhere .... grocery .... likker stores ..... etc.

[merci_me]

27. I tell him to switch to my wine label,

The only wine I like at all, comes with a screw cap. HAHAHAHA

I grew up drinking Manischewitz Concord Grape, Mogan David cherry and the homemade wine my grandma (Bobo) bottled in the used bottles.

My wine drinking consists of two ice cubes in an old 4 oz Kraft cheese spread jar/glass and enough wine to cover the cubes.

Bobo kept the wine screwed tight and on the shelf against the little freezer compartment. We were allowed a bit of wine a few times a week, with a meal. On occasion, my twin-cousin use to sneak some and replace it with water in the bottle, so who knows what the strength ended up being.

Anyway, normally a bottle will last me 4 or 5 months. I'm a damn cheap date!!

Mary

[Stinky The Clown]

28. Wine ettiquette - Italian style

I know exactly what you mean. Substitute Gallo for Mogan David, and we're there. Big jugs of cheap, cheap wine. In actual fact, both my grandfathers made theirs and their wives' legal limits of wine each year. But some years it would just run out. So anywhere from June to August, they'd have to start buying the cheap stuff. They'd put it into old Carstair's or Seagram 7 whiskey bottles (the jugs being simply too big to handle easily).

Grampa R, in particular, had this habit of keeping the wine bottle on the floor by his feet when we sat down to eat. It was high ceremony when he poured. All the glasses got passed up to him. He filled them and they got passed back. The bottle then went to the floor, next to his left foot.

We kids got our wine mixed with a soda called Build Up. It was a cheap imitation of 7-Up. About a 50/50 wine to soda mix was standard.

The glasses were, as you say, a motley assortment of the elegent and the mundane. Grampa P was a bit more formal. We used glasses like these ... about 4 oz each.

Even to this day, Sparkly and I use similar glasses.

Tradition dies hard.