Has anyone used this have seen their infomercial and would like to know if anyone has used it in the real world. I am especialy interested in the sealing of dried foods in wide mouth jars. thanks gail

-- gail missouri ozarks (gef123@hotmail.com), July 27, 2000

Answers

I have one we bought at a Sam's Club and it's a crackerjack. I had a Brand X for years and still use it as well. You can reuse the bags-- I put mine in the dishwasher over the rack and use clothespins to hold it in place. I write information outside the seal so when it's opened, that part gets cut off. You have to use standard canning jars, regular and wide mouth, with good rims for a complete seal but you can recycle lids if the compound is still good. They do recommend that you boil the lids first. They offer a regular size jar sealer as well for an additional cost. Feel free to email me directly with specific questions.

-- marilyn (rainbow@ktis.net), July 27, 2000.

My husband got me one a few years ago. (Don't you just love getting practical presents! No sarcasim, just my feeling) I use it just with the jar sealers. It works great! But, it can be a hassle to pull it out just to reseal the jar. I seal b. sugar and grains. The b. sugar so that it doesn't get hard (we don't use that much at a time) and the grains so that the bugs and eggs that I know are in there don't hatch and ruin the grains. It only works for jars of course, but if you only have small amounts it really does the job. annette

-- annette (j_a_henry@yahoo.com), July 27, 2000.

I am jealous. I have the Foodsaver Deluxe and cannot get it to reliably seal the bags. Some keep their seal just fine. Others lose it no matter what I do (wash the bag, reseal all sides, double seal, etc.)! When it works, it's great -- when it doesn't, it's a pain! I haven't tried the jar sealing yet, though! Joy

-- J E Froelich (dragnfly@chorus.net), July 28, 2000.

Hi all; I finally get to put in 2cents worth instead of lurking reading all I can. I have a food saver, and maybe you are allowing the bag in too far to make a proper seal. Let only half of the bag between the two sealer bars, smooth side up and lock both sides of the sealer. Hold the button down until the light goes out. If it is a juicy type product it wont seal extremely tight, the juice goes up the little channels an shuts the whole thing off then. I have a wide mouth and a regular jar sealer. It sits on the counter all the time. We love our, my DH uses it to seal his jerky meat(while its curing). It holds in the flavor and odor, so the whole frig doesn't smell like a smoke house. We use it for purchasing bulk items and reducing it for our small family, just DH and myself. I would recomend it to anyone.

-- Lynda (lchev@execpc.com), July 30, 2000.

We bought a decoseal vac unit at a yardsale for $4 and when I ran out of bags, started using heavy store brand freezer bags (thick as drop cloth). This combined with 3 tornado convection driers, keep our whole neighborhood in dried soup mix. DJ and I have found that dried okra and tomatoes make a great tv snack.

-- Jay Blair (jayblair678@yahoo.com), August 02, 2000.

Just FYI, I just bought a FoodSaver II look-a-like called a "FreshLock TurboSeal" and what a piece of crap it is! The only bags you can buy and the roll it came with are paper thin like the plastic that covers a new CD or DVD. It is going back to the store tomorrow! I thought I was buying the one I have seen on the infomercials, but could not remember the name of the FoodSaver II once I got to the store. I guess they were telling the truth when they said do not except imitations!

-- Thomas Morris (thomas.morris@sabre.com), November 12, 2000.

We bought the Foodsaver Ultra at Costco for $169.99. It has all the attachments and is a very valuable addition to our kitchen. Costco is a nationwide wholesaler like Sam's Club and they sell lots of bulk items. We do almost all of our shopping there. In the past, we were relutant to buy many food items because they would spoil or get freezer burn. With the Foodsaver, it has become quite a value, for all the obviuos reasons everyone writes about on these e-opinons web sites. The wife and I have found that you CAN NOT use the Foodsaver with as much success with items containing liquid. For example, we found boneless,skinless freash chicken breast on sale at Costco for an unbelievable price of 79 cents a pound. The only problem was they were in 20 pound bags. But.... with the Foodsaver.... no problem. We bought a bag, washed all the pieces, towel tried them and put them on a cookie sheet and put them in the freezer for about 2 hours. That harden them up enough to elimnate any liquid from getting in the Foodsaver and stopping it from removing all the air. Then we put 4 breast to a bag, sucked out the air and froze them solid. The secret is to get the liquid off or pre-freeze it so it doesn't gum up the works! Those same breast at the store would easily cost $3 a pound if you had to run out and pick up a pack for a dinner... not to mention gas,time, and wear & tear on you and the car ! The savings adds up fast. Yep! It's a "no brainer" We're happy campers. How come all the other crap you find on infomercials doesn't work this well ???

-- Harvey Thomas (cnmatl@juno.com), January 07, 2001.

Aloha All, I have two items to contribute. 1. I get the foodsaver to work with heavy freezer bags by taking a thin strip of the course side of the F/S bag (bottom?) and laying itin the freezer bag. This provides a channel for the air to exit. It works OK most of the time. 2. This one is not for the squeamish! You know those glue traps for mice and rats? You know you always hate to deal with them when they have done their job? Well, Foodsaver to the rescue!!(TaDa). Wrap a papertowel around the trap and it's contents, pop it in a bag or prepared sleeve, abd hit the button. It's a very humane and non-messy way to get rid of the trap (and the occupant!) I have detected no residule smell in the machine and there has never been an ugly mess in the bag after sealing (if you get my drift).

-- Walter "Steve" Leavitt (leavittw001@hawaii.rr.com), May 16, 2001.