Vacuum Sealer Buying Guide

Vacuum sealers and food savers are a smarter way to preserve your food. In comparison to standard food storage in a cupboard, fridge, or freezer, vacuum food sealers can extend the life of your food by up to five times longer. Because air plays a role in accelerating the process of food spoilage, removing it helps to prevent the flavours, nutrients, and overall quality of your food from deteriorating. 

You put food in either a vacuum zipper bag, vacuum sealer bag (usually comes in a bag roll), or airtight container and the sealer machine removes the air inside. If you’re using vacuum bags, the machine will seal it so that it’s airtight. You can then use the built-in cutter to cut the bag to size. You’ll find some vacuum sealer kitchen appliances have a retractable adaptor to suck the air out from jars, containers, or reusable zipper bags.

Putting food in the freezer may extend its life but this can cause flavour loss, change in texture, and discolouration due to freezer burn. Freezer burn is when food is damaged due to oxidation and dehydration. The food is still edible, but it won’t taste as great. Thankfully, vacuum packaging is an easy solution to prevent freezer burn, so you can enjoy tasty meals.

Marinating the conventional way can take hours, even days. But using a vacuum sealer lowers the pressure inside the container and allows your food to be more porous, enabling meats to quickly soak up all the flavours, reducing the time needed for food preparation. This produces delicious results quickly and efficiently, ready to be prepared in a cooker, on a stovetop, or on the BBQ. 

Cooked dishes can lose their flavour when stored in the fridge or freezer. By vacuum sealing your meals, you retain all the juices so when you reheat your leftovers, it tastes like they were freshly made.

When you’re bulk-buying, meal prepping, or simply have a large family to feed, every bit of space in the fridge or freezer is valuable. Vacuum packaging food in sealed bags makes it more compact while airtight containers enable you to stack your food neatly.

Sous vide is a specialised cooking technique that involves cooking vacuum-sealed food in a precisely heated water bath. This produces extremely tender and flavourful results. As home cooking appliances evolve, cooking methods once reserved for high-end kitchens are now finding their way into home kitchens.

Buying a 6-pack of chicken breasts usually costs significantly less than buying a 2-pack. The problem is, you’re not sure if you’re going to be consuming that much over a certain period of time, particularly for single-person households and couples. The solution? Vacuum seal! You can even repackage your food into handy meal portions for a well-organised fridge.

There’s nothing more disheartening than going through your fridge or cupboard and finding expired food. Instead of feeding your rubbish bin, use a food vacuum sealer on your perishables to ensure they last longer. 

We’ve all faced this situation. You open packaged food and realise you’re going to have to save the rest for later. Whether it’s half a pack of deli meat, an avocado half, or unfinished snacks, you can prolong the shelf life of your food so it doesn’t spoil, oxidise, or turn stale.

You can save money by keeping an eye on supermarket specials and promotions. You may not need them now, but with a vacuum sealer, you can preserve them for later use. You can also cut down costs by buying items when they’re in season so you’re not paying extra when they’re no longer in season.

You can cook extra portions of your favourite meals then vacuum seal the excess to save for later. This comes in handy on days when you are feeling too tired to cook but want to save money from dining out or ordering takeaway delivery.

Sunbeam offers a selection of vacuum sealers from its FoodSaver range which includes advanced models for busy kitchens and handheld versions for smaller kitchens. Dometic offers a vacuum sealer designed for on-the-go use, making it an excellent choice for camping and motorhomes. BioChef offers a compact model for those looking for convenience and an advanced Pro model for serious sealers.

Here are the main features to look out for when choosing the vacuum sealer to suit your kitchen:

A roll of sealer bags can be safely kept inside your appliance for efficient and easy operation. You can cut the sealed bag to the appropriate size using the handy built-in cutter.

Vacuum sealers can come with an adaptor designed to suck air out of jars, containers, or reusable bags. You can also find models with a built-in hose accessory for canisters and other container types.

Some models offer dedicated containers to use with the vacuum sealer. These can easily stack in your fridge or cupboard for hassle-free storage.

This feature provides gentle extraction of air if you want to vacuum seal delicate or moist foods without damaging items or making a mess. You can also use ‘Seal Only’ modes if you want to seal food packaging without using the vacuum.

When you’re short on time and need to marinate your meats quickly without sacrificing flavour, use the Marinade mode found in some vacuum sealers to rapidly infuse your food with delightful flavours.