Vacuum food sealer with bags

Vacuum Sealing Food at Home: A Beginner's Guide

A vacuum sealer draws the air out of a bag and seals it shut. Less air means less freezer burn and neater storage, which makes a sealer useful for batch cooking, bulk buys and leftovers. Here's how to get the most from one, safely.

What a vacuum sealer is good for

  • Freezing portions of meat, fish and batch-cooked meals with less freezer burn
  • Keeping opened dry foods, such as coffee, nuts and cereal, airtight
  • Marinating, as the bag pulls tight around the food
  • Flat bags that stack neatly in the freezer

It doesn't replace the fridge

Taking the air out slows some kinds of spoilage, but it doesn't make food safe to keep at room temperature. Some harmful bacteria, including the one that causes botulism, grow without oxygen. Treat sealed food exactly as you would unsealed food:

  • Keep chilled food in the fridge at 0 to 5°C, as the Food Standards Agency advises.
  • Freeze food at around -18°C. You can freeze it right up to midnight on its use-by date.
  • Defrost in the fridge and use within 24 hours of fully defrosting.
  • Stick to use-by dates: sealing doesn't extend them for chilled food.

How to seal a bag

  1. Wash your hands and use a clean, dry bag.
  2. Fill the bag, leaving a few centimetres free at the top, and wipe the open end clean and dry.
  3. Lay the open end in the vacuum chamber, close the lid and lock it.
  4. Press vacuum and seal, and wait until the light shows it has finished.
  5. Label the bag with what's inside and the date.

Tips and common mistakes

  • Freeze soups, stews and juicy foods for an hour or two before sealing, so liquid isn't drawn into the machine.
  • Wrap sharp bones in kitchen paper so they don't pierce the bag.
  • Don't overfill: leave enough bag for a clean seal.
  • Cool cooked food and get it into the fridge within one to two hours, as the FSA advises; seal it then, or freeze it.
  • If a seal looks wrinkled or incomplete, cut it off and seal again.

Our vacuum sealer

Our Vacuum Food Sealer with 60 Bags comes with 60 bags (17 x 25 cm), seals bags up to 29.5 cm wide and has a UK plug. It ships from our UK warehouse and normally arrives in 2–5 working days.

Quick answers

Can I vacuum seal cooked food?

Yes. Let it cool, seal it and get it into the fridge or freezer within one to two hours of cooking.

Does vacuum sealing stop freezer burn?

It helps a lot, because much less air touches the food.

Can I reuse the bags?

Bags that held dry food can often be washed and reused if there's enough length left to seal. Don't reuse bags that held raw meat or fish.

Sources

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