Hi Just ordered my Anova and it will be delivered next week can’t wait!!
Have a question regarding sealers and bags. I know you can use Ziploc (freezer ones) but what Vacuum sealers would you recommend? Don;t want to spend a fortune and live in Canada so any suggestions for the unit and bags, where to get them etc?
Thanks
Parma.
I’m not sure about the bags but make sure to purchase a vacuum sealer with a moisture feature. I was hasty and didn’t research before purchasing mine. Now I’m stuck with a machine that won’t seal anything that has liquid added such as a marinade.
Have you tried freezing the marinade and then sealing the bag? You can leave it in the fridge to defrost and marinade overnight or just SV it and let the marinade defrost as you cook…
For most things, especially food that has enough liquid to fill any gaps, you really don’t need a vacuum sealer. Just put the food in the bag, zip almost closed, leaving about one inch unzipped and lower the bag into the water being careful to keep the corner with the unzipped portion pointing up. As the bag gets below water the water pressure pushes the air out. Then zip the rest when only that corner is just above the water. And this works for liquids as well.
The key to success with liquids is to not try to fill the bag to capacity. If you do that it’s likely to leak when lowering into the water, Fill it only half full (use more bags) and there won’t be any problem.
I would advise using the thicker freezer ziplock bags and ones with double rows of zips AND that change color when closed (one side of the zip yellow, one blue and they look green when it’s securely closed.
You don’t need the very expensive bags designed for vacuum sealers, you don’t need the machine and you can use the same bags you use elsewhere in the kitchen.
The only exception are chunky foods with a lot of air gaps where the water pressure may not be high enough to push the air out. But these foods are a problem for vacuum sealers as well that will pull slightly more air out but still leave plenty, especially if using the thicker (and safer) freezer bags. The answer there may be to use sauces to fill the gaps.
The vacuum sealer is a handy device. I’ve been using one for longer than I’ve been sous vide processing. Nice to be able to store things in the freezer without the worry of freezer burn.
Any channel vacuum sealer is going to have the same issues when it comes to sealing bags full of liquid. That’s totally due to the way they work. However, you can get machines that have a gentle setting which will use a softer pull and switch to seal as soon as the unit feels resistance to the vacuum pull. Best too, to get one that has a heat setting for the sealer. Mine is labelled wet and dry, but they might be labelled high and low. The hotter seal is useful for stubborn bags, or bags where moisture may be trapped along the leading edge (like those that you’ve had to use the gentle pull on).
Another feature which is not essential but makes life a lot easier is roll storage and cutting. I’ve seen many machines that don’t have this built in. I suppose they expect people to use pre-cut bags, which are more expensive and never the right size.