How to Use The Food Saver to Preserve Your Harvest
I finally bought a Food Saver. What is a Food Saver you ask? It’s this great device that allows you to place your produce into a custom-made plastic bag. Then it sucks out all of the air and seals it. By doing this it eliminates freezer burn and increases shelf life. If you have a vegetable garden, forage, or just want to preserve some fresh produce you bought, it’s a great money-saving tool to have in your kitchen.
How to Use The Food Saver to Preserve Your Harvest
I ended up buying the FoodSaver V2244 Vacuum Sealing System. This year my garden produced about 10 heads of cauliflower and 8 heads of broccoli. I used to just blanch them and put them in a ziplock bag and freeze. They never lasted very long due to freezer burn. The Food Saver eliminates that problem. This model came with a starter kit which consists of 1-heat-seal roll -11″ x 10′ 3- heat-seal bags – quart size and 2-heat-seal bags – gallon size.
Blanching
I started out by blanching my cauliflower in boiling water for about 30 seconds. Then quickly place the cauliflower in an ice bath. Once they are cool, drain and place on a tray, and freeze before bagging. Here are some pictures showing the process.
Freezing Before Sealing
After blanching place the cauliflower in an ice water bath to stop the cooking. Make sure to drain the pieces and place them on a tray and freeze, before bagging and sealing.
Cutting Food Saver Bags
Place one end into the Food Saver to seal and cut the other end to the length you want.
Sealing Bags
Place frozen cauliflower in a bag. Be careful not to overfill. Place into the device and hit the vac/seal button.
Label and Date Bags
The Food Saver will suck the air out and seal the bag shut. Make sure to label and date the bag. The Food Saver will preserve your food up to 5x longer than zip lock bags. What a great device! I am looking forward to freezing and storing many things from the garden and foraged food.
Try the Food Saver for yourself:
Simply add food to the FoodSaver bag (starter kit includes 5 pre-cut heat-seal bags and 1 heat-seal roll), place the filled bag into the vacuum sealing channel, and close the easy-lock latch.
Conclusion
The Food Saver system is an excellent way to extend the life of your garden. It has become an invaluable tool. When you become overwhelmed with too much produce in your garden, the Food Saver can help. It will save you money and keep healthy vegetables on hand for dinner.
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