RE: Black & Decker s Food Saver

[JonesFamilyJayco]

 
I purchased this vacuum sealer at Wal-Mart for around $60.00.  It was a good deal cheaper that the brand I had seen on TV, the Tilia Food Saver.  I decided to take a chance on the Black & Decker model & so far I am glad I did.  It does a good job making a vacuum, however it has taken some practice to complete the process by sealing the bag air tight.  If I try to make the bag too small, it will leave a fold in the bag that lets air back in.  (Has anyone had this problem with the Tilia model?)  
 
 I am using it tonight to get my food ready for a camping trip with my son this weekend.  I have cut up fruit & placed them in bags to serve as snacks.  I have pre-measured my pancake mix in a bag.  I am going to seal my ice packs to keep them from leaking.  Last, I am sealing our hamburgers & bacon into small packs to use on the trip.  I hope to find more uses along the way.
 
 If you have had simular or better experience with the Tilia brand, I would like to know.  Thanks!
 

[campingboaters]

 JonesFamilyJayco
I have the Tilia brand. If I accidentally make the bag too small, there isn t enough bag to get into the suction " chamber" .  Other than that, I ve been REALLY pleased with my food saver.  Depending on what I m putting in the bag, I ll make it a little longer and just reuse the bag after it s contents are done.
 
 I ALWAYS buy my meats in bulk and freeze meal size portions.  When packing for a camping trip, I just hit the freezer and pull out a pack of this and a pack of that...  I also marinate my chicken or meats before freezing so that is done as well.  I ve used my mason jar attachment to package Christmas cookies in wide mouth quart mason jars. Those cookies looked (and tasted) GREAT and I didn t have to slave over the oven a week before Christmas.
 
 The only regret I have is that I should have gotten the model with a manual override to stop the suction before food gets crushed.  I tried packing cookies in a regular bag even after I froze them solid and my food saver still broke several cookies and squished others together with the powerful suction power it has.  It would also be nice when packing food with liquid in it to stop the suction before the liquid gets sucked out.
 
 KEEP ON SUCKING!!!  [8D][][]

[brainpause]

 JonesFamilyJayco
I got one for my BD last year, and haven t used it that much. I had been wanting one, and now that I have it, well...
 
 Every time I get it out, the DW puts it away. I guess she doesn t like things on the kitchen counter.
 
 I like all the ideas above for camping. It was part of my/our plan with the device, but we ve only made 3 trips this year. [][]
 
 Larry

[jpreiser]

 JonesFamilyJayco
WE have the one from tilia.. I love that I can seal the burgers and any other raw meat and not have to worry about them leaking in the cooler or fridge... I did try the corn  where you have to blanch it first, freeze it then seal it... it was mushy when cooked the second time and not worth the time... fresh was much better..
 ASlo works great to seal snacks and cereal with this humid weather we have been having everything stays fresh...

[oldmoose]

 JonesFamilyJayco
We ve used the Tilia for years. Had to buy a new one about 4 years ago. We grind our hamburger when meat is on sale and make patties and vacuum seal them. When good quality steaks or pork is on sale, we seal and freese. Two weeks ago, we went bought a bunch of fresh corn. I cut off the corn, sealed and froze it. I ve read where you are supposed to blanch it first, but we din t do it. We just dropped the bag into boiling water and it tasted almost as good as the fresh. We re going to go buy some more corn. We also use the canisters to seal brown sugar, Splenda and other items.

[kimrb266]

 JonesFamilyJayco
We have the Food Saver from Tilia and have been using it for a couple years now.  We use it all the time.  I ve made extra amounts of food and sealed it for future use.  Our church gave us alot of meals after our twins were born and the only way we could eat it all before it went bad was to freeze it.  It was great, all I did was boil the bags  and our meal was done.