The Foodsaver Vacuum Sealer. A Kitchen Gadget That’s Worth the Space it Takes.

I get the strangest Christmas gifts you could ever imagine.  They could range from half of a sweater, to a taxidermy bird, to this thing … a Foodsaver.

I guess compared to a taxidermy bird a Foodsaver isn’t all that strange a gift but it’d definitely something I wouldn’t have bought myself.  When you have VERY little cupboard space any gadget is something that needs to be considered very carefully. My house was built in 1840 so there isn’t a lot of storage space in it. There weren’t a lot of closets and cupboards back then.

Quick note on kitchen gadgets that take up space?  Read what I think about the Instant Pot.

Mainly people only owned a pair of shoes, a bonnet and 3 knives so there wasn’t a huge need for things like closets and cupboards.

I can’t even remember who gave me my Foodsaver but I thank them for it.  That Foodsaver finally died on me after over a decade of use, last week. So I bought a new one.  There are all different styles and models you can choose from but I based my decision on the size.  I just wanted the smallest, least expensive, most utilitarian model of Foodsaver around.   And that’s what I got.

So what can you use a Foodsaver for?

Everything.

I started off slow, just using it to freeze meat because that’s the thing that’s most likely to get freezer burn around here, and because I like to buy lots of it at once. Sometimes at Costco and sometimes from local producers.

Then I graduated to freezing leftovers like soups, stews and lasagna.  

Once I had that down I moved onto the more expert level things like using it to brine chicken.  YES you can use a Foodsaver to brine chicken.

If you have a big enough freezer and know where some good meat sales are … get yourself a Foodsaver.  Read more about it and other kitchen doodads in my “13 Kitchen Tools That Every Self-Respecting Cook Needs”

Now for those of you, who don’t know how to do it … How to Use a Foodsaver!