Cookaholics Bulletin Board

How did I not know about these? I came across one on Amazon when I was looking for canning lids.

http://www.amazon.com/FoodSaver-T03-0006-01-Regular-Mouth-Jar-Sealer/dp/B0000CFFS6

I just tried it out on a pint jar of leftover Trader Joes harvest blend pasta and beans that we have to go across the state for, and it worked perfectly.

Why would anyone buy a Food Saver Container with this available? Does anyone else here use them? Usage ideas?

--Lisa

I have these and have used them but not much. I don't use a lot of jarred things that need different tops in general. I have an assortment of quart size old mason jars. I use just the old bell 2 piece tops on those or the bell plastic ones without the full seal since most of the time, I don't need a full vacuum (e.g. for cornmeal, cornstarch, etc.)

I do use some of the bigger containers for things I seldom use like flaked mashed potatoes. and the lettuce keeper works quite well.

However, imho, the best accessory for the food saver is the wine top. It is amazing how long wine will last with those. Second are the reusable zip refrigerator lunch meat bags. They keep sliced cheese and luncheon meats fresh for weeks. I cut an apple the night before I left for Boston and sealed it in one of those. I ended up not eating and two days later, when I opened it, the apple looked and tasted freshly cut, no oxidation at all.

I have those mason jar sealers, and use them occasionally. They can be annoying to use, as often the seal will not hold, and will release as soon as the pressure is released. They say a new lid is needed every time, and I think this is due to the seal on the new ones being softer. I usually dampen the jar rim, to help it hold.

I also like the wine saver, and have a bunch of the large containers, which help things stay fresh for a long time. I keep rye flour in it, but WW still goes rancid eventually, so that stays in the freezer, and I keep a qt of it with the seal on it, refilling it as I empty the jar. Flax meal is another thing I keep in sealed qt jars, though that never seems to go bad. Masa harina I also keep a qt of with the seal, as 5 lbs will go rancid before I use it, unless frozen. Brown rice keeps in the 4 qt container, and I use up 5 lbs. before it goes bad. And, while white rice does not go rancid, it gets an off flavor. So when I open a 25 lb. bag of jasmine, I fill my rice container, dump the remainder in the 6 qt. container, and the vacuum sealing keeps it good until finished.

I used those for quite some time until I switched vacuum packing methods. The trick on mine was to yank the tube out of the sealer; then you got a good seal every time. If you pressed stop on the machine, it seemed to be too soft of a stop or something and I never got a good seal. With the yank-the-tube method, I got a excellent seal; no problems turning the jar upside down without a ring attached.