Vacuum sealing food

[jacko1066]

Hi guys, Im looking for some adivse regarding vacuum sealing food.

Im looking to buy one as it would be really handy to take food into work when im on late shifts, it would save me fortune on buying ready made from supermarkets and there is always loads left over when I make stew or curry.
Also would be great for camping too!!

My questions are these, once I have vacuumed a stew or curry, I no for long term keeping they can be frozen, but if I didnt want to freeze it would it need to be kept in the fridge? the way I see it is main meals in ration packs dont need to be kept in a fridge so why would these? or am I missing the point completely?

Also does anyone no if the bags can be microwaved to reheat the food? I no you can boil them but for work a microwave would be easier, although I can remove the food from the bag.

And finally, can anyone reccommend a vacuum sealer and bags? I dont want to spend a fortune but would like a decent one!!

Thanks in advance for any help you guys can give me.

All the best
Steve

 

[adam_myers]

Hey Steve I'm looking for one to seen a one in Argos for £35 but unsure if the cheap once keep the seal well so I'll be interested to see what advice you get.

Here's the one I've seen:
http://www.argos.co.uk/m/static/Product/partNumber/4261539/Trail/searchtext>VACUM+SEALER.htm

 

[udamiano]

I use a seal-a-meal sealer and bags and have done for a few years now, I cook fish in them, and use them to pre-prepare food for weekends in the woods, and course days, they seal really well, and the proper bags can be used as boil in the bags, I wouldn't recommend a microwave though, as the superheated air may cause them to explode inside your micro.
Extra bags can be bought direct (cheaper than the high street, and come in many different sizes)

 

[mrmike]

As far as reheating these at work, I have heated ration packs by boiling the bag in a kettle...
Boil, wait a few mins, repeat twice.
Can also use the water for a brew!!

 

[Native Nathan]

I have the JML Vacuum sealer its great

Like mrmike said I too have heated meals inside a kettle and then made a brew with the water.
Yes you'll need to keep them refrigerated, if you intend to keep them for a few days.
If your heating them in a Microwave you'll need to peirce the bag first

I have used mine to make home made MREs for a 3 day in the woods jaunt.
I froze 2 days worth of meals first, as they defrosted slowly it helped keep them fresher.

I have used mine to seal all sorts of non food items as well, like all the clothing in my BOB
I Vac Pack my socks in my Bushcraft kit, keeps them dry till I want to open them

TOP TIP:
If you cut the bags slightly longer than you need, and open the close to the seal, the bags can be reused.
Saves pennies

 

[spandit]

I've microwaved my Andrew James bags without problems. They're also good for sealing small emergency items like matches/batteries

 

[jacko1066]

Thanks for all the replys guys, reheating them inside a kettle is a great idea!!! And as im a train driver a kettle is never to far away

Does anyone have any idea though why the pre cooked meals in ration packs dont need to be refrigerated? its not a problem that mine will be,it would just be good to have an idea how long themeals would last if they were not frozen, or like someone else said if I was to take a couple of days worth camping without a fridge!!
Obviously I dont mean raw food, but left over curry or stew!!

All the best
Steve

 

[mrcharly]

Ration packs and suchlike will have been UHT treated to sterilize them. The same process as making jams - you use a sterile container, ultra-heat treat the food (either to a very high uniform temperature, or for a sustained period at a lower temperature), then place in container and seal them.

Raw food such as bacon and veg obviously will last without refrigeration. How long depends on the temperatures. I've carried bacon when camping in Australia - it was absolutely fine for 3 days at 20-25C.

 

[tim_n]

Can you vacuum pack goods, chuck them in a pressure cooker to sterilise them much like you'd do with bottling meats?

 

[mrcharly]

yes, but what is your packing made of? Can it stand the heat, will it release nasty chemicals if overheated?

 

[Rod Paradise]

Can you vacuum pack goods, chuck them in a pressure cooker to sterilise them much like you'd do with bottling meats?

Or you could sous vide cook them - but the temperature control element seems really expensive. Shame because I'd like to try the cooking method.

 

[tim_n]

Was thinking of the seal-a-meal pouches personally! I like the idea of making my own batches in the slow cooker only needing to heat them through to eat at camp.

I can then make them for scouts when we do our overnights as it'd work out cheaper (probably!)

 

[lub0]

If the Eifel Pro has been mentioned, I'd like to say that these are very poorly built and mine malfunctioned after about 60 uses, and the after support from Fresherpack left a lot to be desired for however they did eventually send me a new motherboard and valve which was easy to fit, but only somewhat fixed the problem, however it does work albeit with some quirks.

 

[woof]

I to like the sound of these. So bacon would be good for 2/3 days ?, what about tinned food, i'd like to be able to remove it from the tin to save weight & bulk, but would tinned meat keep ?.

Rob

 

[jacko1066]

Ration packs and suchlike will have been UHT treated to sterilize them. The same process as making jams - you use a sterile container, ultra-heat treat the food (either to a very high uniform temperature, or for a sustained period at a lower temperature), then place in container and seal them.

Raw food such as bacon and veg obviously will last without refrigeration. How long depends on the temperatures. I've carried bacon when camping in Australia - it was absolutely fine for 3 days at 20-25C.

So would I be wrong in thinking that f you reheated pre cooked food above 60 deg for a prolonged amount of time this would kill the bacteria on the food like the ration packs?

So if raw food lasted a couple of days then would pre cooked food last the same without refrigeration?
Thanks for all your help
Steve

 

[Native Nathan]

Yes that would be wrong Meat especially can develop Bacterial spores
These Bacterial spores can only be killed by a temperature of 127 C or above

These are the 0.1% of bacteria that Dettol can't kill

 

[jacko1066]

Yes that would be wrong Meat especially can develop Bacterial spores
These Bacterial spores can only be killed by a temperature of 127 C or above

These are the 0.1% of bacteria that Dettol can't kill

Ah, I see, well cheers for the heads up!!! I think its bet to stay clear of that bacteria then!!
So how long do you think a pre cooked vacuum packed stew would last without be kept cold?

 

[hedgerowpete]

I do it all the time for work and play. I brought the morphy richards version of the food saver. the bags i use are either the standard morphy richards roll where you cut and trim and seal the strip to your own size, you can also vac and seal normal lakeland boil in the bag, bags with it and we have just started to buy a box of pre made ready to seal bags from flea bay for a few quid for a hundred. the yanks like to use tin foiled bags and a air saver strip, which i think does some thing to the air thats left inside the bag,(me not understand americano)

the way i use mine is for a short trip/weekend, go to asda and buy food and pre prepare it ready to go, so rices soaked in water with added extras, herbs etc is then vac bagged and sealed ready to go straight in as boil in the bag, pasta goes the same way but as well as a quick soak we can also add the tomato sause from the value asda brand, poridge oats can go in a bag with milk powder and rasins ,nuts, seads, honey etc ready for hot water.

cooked meals can be done as well, either via emptying out tin cans, ie baked beans or dried harriot beans in water soak, even soups etc bag the lot saves the weight of the cans and plastic goes on the fire to clean up any gash left behind.

for work we would normal use a plastic tray or tin foil take away tray jobbie with the food on the tray we then vac bag the whole lot ready to freeze it down or if you want we also bag several items into one, so say bangers and mash in one bag and singl eportion of baked beans in another then the two bags together to make a meal.

that touches on the next point we also split down to single portions, its normal for us to buy 20Kg bags of pasta/rice/flour/salt/etc we then split the dried goods down into smaller more managable sizes of 1/2 Kg bags or 1 Kg bags, saves leaving the massive bag open.

now lets talk about non food,
MY ULTIMATE luxurary is the bliss of a last minute change of soaks to go home in, warm dry and fantastic, vac packed before we leave they weight and size of nothing we can also vac pac tent pegs so get there without rattles, under pants trousers thick jumpers etc can also be done. we flew out the once to a place and vac packed most of the clothes with the ones that use a stand ard vacuum cleaner, brilliant , weight not volume is what we wanted.

if out on water i have vac packed loo rolls and dry stores like money,wallet,phones etc

mate they are so use full its unreal and mine only cost £45 about 12 years ago and still going strong

 

[mrcharly]

Ah, I see, well cheers for the heads up!!! I think its bet to stay clear of that bacteria then!!
So how long do you think a pre cooked vacuum packed stew would last without be kept cold?

It's not just the bacteria, but what they leave behind. Some bacteria create toxins, and these can't be removed by heating.

A meat stew? 3 days max in English summer.
I know I said I'd carry bacon for a camping trip, but bacon is a preserved meat.

 

[jacko1066]

I do it all the time for work and play. I brought the morphy richards version of the food saver. the bags i use are either the standard morphy richards roll where you cut and trim and seal the strip to your own size, you can also vac and seal normal lakeland boil in the bag, bags with it and we have just started to buy a box of pre made ready to seal bags from flea bay for a few quid for a hundred. the yanks like to use tin foiled bags and a air saver strip, which i think does some thing to the air thats left inside the bag,(me not understand americano)

the way i use mine is for a short trip/weekend, go to asda and buy food and pre prepare it ready to go, so rices soaked in water with added extras, herbs etc is then vac bagged and sealed ready to go straight in as boil in the bag, pasta goes the same way but as well as a quick soak we can also add the tomato sause from the value asda brand, poridge oats can go in a bag with milk powder and rasins ,nuts, seads, honey etc ready for hot water.

cooked meals can be done as well, either via emptying out tin cans, ie baked beans or dried harriot beans in water soak, even soups etc bag the lot saves the weight of the cans and plastic goes on the fire to clean up any gash left behind.

for work we would normal use a plastic tray or tin foil take away tray jobbie with the food on the tray we then vac bag the whole lot ready to freeze it down or if you want we also bag several items into one, so say bangers and mash in one bag and singl eportion of baked beans in another then the two bags together to make a meal.

that touches on the next point we also split down to single portions, its normal for us to buy 20Kg bags of pasta/rice/flour/salt/etc we then split the dried goods down into smaller more managable sizes of 1/2 Kg bags or 1 Kg bags, saves leaving the massive bag open.

now lets talk about non food,
MY ULTIMATE luxurary is the bliss of a last minute change of soaks to go home in, warm dry and fantastic, vac packed before we leave they weight and size of nothing we can also vac pac tent pegs so get there without rattles, under pants trousers thick jumpers etc can also be done. we flew out the once to a place and vac packed most of the clothes with the ones that use a stand ard vacuum cleaner, brilliant , weight not volume is what we wanted.

if out on water i have vac packed loo rolls and dry stores like money,wallet,phones etc

mate they are so use full its unreal and mine only cost £45 about 12 years ago and still going strong

Wow, thats great hedgerowpete!!!! thanks for all the info!!! you certainly have me sold on it!!!
You wrote that you vac pack rice and pasta soaked in water, does that mean you pre-cook it and seal it or that you put uncooked rice AND water in the same vacpack then boil it in the bag?
Also if your out for multi days how long does the food stay fresh for? Thats what Im really worried about, if I have to carry food around with me in my bag all day on a hot day and it goes off on me!!


I also use the nescafe 3 in 1 pouches, I love the idea of being able to make my own little 3 in 1 packs using a vacuum sealer, Iwont neccessarily save money on that cause I think they are on 20p each or something but at least I willbe able to make them my own strength and sweetness!!

Thanks for the help guys!!

All the best
Steve