Ziplock Bags Vs Foodsaver Sealer

[JacobsMom]

For those of you who have a food sealer....Do you think they work better than Ziplock bags? I have been looking at one and as of right now I have been putting all of Jacob's foods to freeze in ziplock freezer bags....Of course he is 3 so he doesnt care

Thanks!

[rma451]

For those of you who have a food sealer....Do you think they work better than Ziplock bags?  I have been looking at one and as of right now I have been putting all of Jacob's foods to freeze in ziplock freezer bags....Of course he is 3 so he doesnt care  

Thanks!

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hello,

I have used both for foods.

I like the zip lock if I am doing my foods for quick meals during week.

what I use the vac and seal for is freezing for long term , like right now Im putting up pumpkin for the winter, I buy and precook mash and measure then put in bags to partly freeze then seal once I know wont make a mess to seal.

these last for months and all winter I have fresh pumpkin for breads pies and pudding ,

also do zuccini , blueberries strawberries, raspberries, and various other in season foods.

Its great in march to pull out blueberries or zuccini and use to bake . still tasting like it did in season.

hope this helps.

rosie

NY state, USA

[lpellegr]

Just as another point of view, I have been using the vacuum sealer and find the bag doesn't always stay sealed over long periods in the freezer (like a month or two). I have been double sealing them to try to avoid that. The vacuum on the model I have is strong enough to crush some of the items I've tried to freeze, like homemade hamburger buns and shortbread cookies! For items like the buns you can freeze them long enough to be hard before you apply the vacuum, but the cookies were a goner - they looked great until I opened the sealed bag, then they collapsed into crumbs. The vacuum sealer and bags also cost a lot more, so you might want to plan to reuse bags - leave enough room to reseal them, and wash and dry them for later uses. I think I heard that Consumer Reports or somebody did a comparison and found the cost not worth it unless you reuse the bags.

[rma451]

Just as another point of view, I have been using the vacuum sealer and find the bag doesn't always stay sealed over long periods in the freezer (like a month or two).  I have been double sealing them to try to avoid that.  The vacuum on the model I have is strong enough to crush some of the items I've tried to freeze, like homemade hamburger buns and shortbread cookies!  For items like the buns you can freeze them long enough to be hard before you apply the vacuum, but the cookies were a goner - they looked great until I opened the sealed bag, then they collapsed into crumbs.  The vacuum sealer and bags also cost a lot more, so you might want to plan to reuse bags - leave enough room to reseal them, and wash and dry them for later uses.  I think I heard that Consumer Reports or somebody did a comparison and found the cost not worth it unless you reuse the bags.

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hi,

I found when my old sealer went I was having problems as you stated, coming unsealed, bought new machine , after awhile the thin wire that melts and seals the bags wears out in spots so doesnt give a complete seal. '

one way to prevent this from happening is not doing a large amount of foods at once, so that it gets so hot.

I never seal our cookies in the vac because like you have found because our flours are so much more " fragile" they do become crumbs

and for cost the zip locks are great for short term freezing, like cookies, flours, nuts you are eating on and off , .ect.

what I like the seal and vac for is long term freezing, that is where they become cost effective, as food doesnt taste like freezer burn.

I do seasonal foods, pumpkins for winter, apple sauce for year, berries, peaches , plums, bananas when cheap for breads during winter, zuccini grated and ready to use in dishes and breads for winter months when muschy in stores.

I love my seal and vac but like you said some foods do not hold up and they can be expensive for foods we will be using within a short time.

I do like doing my stocks though as I find they get that freezer taste so quickly if just zip lock them only.

good luck

rosie