Today’s episode talks about using food vacuum sealer bags and rolls and the different roles they play. Susan reminds you to get your oxygen absorbers too at this point! Included are tips on how to fill the bags with ease!
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00:07
Hello and welcome to Easy Food Dehydrating, the show that teaches you how to safely dehydrate and store fresh (or frozen) fruits and vegetables, along with cooked meats. I’m your host, Susan Gast.
00:24
In today’s episode, I’ll discuss food vacuum sealer bags and rolls, what size bags to use and a reminder to add an oxygen absorber in the bag before vacuuming and sealing!
00:36
Food vacuum sealers have been around a long time. Many of us bought them solely for vacuum-sealing leftovers so they’d keep in the freezer without freezer burn. Back in 2010, I found another use: to vacuum seal my dehydrated foods!
00:54
I used to get my bags from an online dealer but he stopped carrying them for some reason. I now get my bags from Amazon but please shop around for the best prices online.
01:06
What you need to be on the lookout for are bags that are at least three mil. thick. Any thinner than that, and you risk getting your bags punctured while in storage. Why does that happen, you’re wondering? When we dehydrate carrots, for instance, they shrivel and dry up and become almost rock hard. After vacuuming, those sharp pieces of carrot can puncture thin bags. Ask me how I know!
01:35
Seriously. The two sizes I use are the pint-size bags which measure 6 inch by 10 inch. The other size I use (a little less often) is the quart-size bag. They measure 8 inch by 12 inch. While over at Amazon, don’t forget to pick up your oxygen absorbers! Both these sizes of bags require a 100cc oxygen absorber for best results.
02:01
I need to mention here that when I’ve vacuum-sealed my food, I wrap the vacuum-sealed bags in plastic wrap. This cushions them against each other. I put three to four of these wrapped packages inside a Mylar bag. I want to note here that the Mylar bags I get (yes, from Amazon!) also come with 300cc oxygen absorbers! Make sure you don’t forget that. Of course, you can buy the Mylar bags and 300cc oxygen absorbers separately, too.
02:36
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03:22
Now, back to the vacuum sealer bags. Let’s take a look at the inside of one. Look closely! One side of the bag is smooth. The opposite side is textured. Why have different kinds of interiors? If we didn’t have the textured bumps, we would be unable to draw the air out! Think about it. Two otherwise smooth sides simply clamp tight together, making it pretty much an impossible task to draw air out. That’s why we only seal a Mylar bag; we do not even try to draw the air out.
03:59
Place your dehydrated food inside your chosen size of vacuum sealer bag. Don’t overstuff it. Leave about two inches of room at the top. Why? You need to be able to place the edge of your bag directly in the center of the oval vacuum sealer chamber and then be able to close the lid! If you fill the bag all the way to the top, you won't be able to close the lid.
04:26
TIP: Practice placing an empty bag in the correct location and closing and clamping the lid. Takes a bit of practice. You need to get this ‘down pat’ so you don’t clamp your fingers!
04:39
TIP: If you have a hard time filling your vacuum sealer bags, buy a canning funnel. They are a great aid. Wrap the neck of your vacuum sealer bag around the funnel base. Grasp it tight. Then pour in your dried foods. And yes, I got the canning funnel from Amazon. Around $7.
05:01
I also want to let you know there are vacuum sealer rolls, too! Rolls are handy because you can pretty much make any size bag you like. You’re limited to the width of your oval vacuum sealer chamber, though. So don’t go buying rolls that are too wide for your food vacuum sealer!
05:20
Why use rolls? I actually vacuum-sealed boxes of spaghetti (back in the day when I ate pasta). Why do that? Eat pasta? No, I mean vacuum seal spaghetti! It’s already dry, right? I live in an area notorious for hurricanes. If one were to strike my food storage area, I’d know that rain wouldn’t ruin my dry goods.
05:45
To recap today’s episode:
- Use two different sizes of vacuum sealer bags; just make sure you don’t buy bags or rolls that won’t fit the width of your food vacuum sealer.
- Invest in a canning funnel for easy filling of your vacuum sealer bags.
- I also told you why one inner side of the vacuum sealer bag is textured (so you can draw the air out!)
- Purchase Mylar bags with the 300cc oxygen absorbers already included.
06:14
Until next time, take care! If you enjoyed this episode, please feel free to share it with like-minded friends. I would appreciate that. And if you found this to be helpful, please leave a review! Thanks so much.
06:30
Closing:
Thanks for listening to the Easy Food Dehydrating podcast. Visit EasyFoodDehydrating.com for much more information on how to dehydrate food and the best way to safely store it.