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Weston Vacuum-Sealer Food Bags

Blog of February 21, 2011, Product Review

Pitchfork © 2011
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Freely quote with attribution

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INTRODUCTION

This is a product review of the Weston Vacuum-Sealer Food Bags.  The same folks who made the vacuum-sealer used by 'Fork and The Missus (not yet reviewed) and the sorta OK food slicer they use, too.

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Whassup With This

'Fork got a bunch.  3 sizes from Weston (suggested by others that Weston's sealer bags worked best with Weston's vacuum sealer):  6"x10"; 8"s12" and 11"x16".

Conclusion:  Seems that a buyer can't do better, though it's devoutly to be wished.

Let's talk

Straight up.

• Most'll hold the vacuum.

Vacuum-sealer bag tips

• Soft stuff, such as, peas. Seal tight and stay tight.

• Pointy or kinda sharp- or hard-edged stuff (when fully dehydrated), such as, broccoli, celery, and shredded sweet potato gotta be poking teeny-tiny holes in the bags in the vacuum process and can, if its a leaker, require a second bagging and sealing.

  • Won't take long to make that determination - at most, a few hours and the bag'll go soft; whereat, 'Fork cuts a slice into it, rebags and seals the new setup. 

  • Seconds like that always have stayed tight

• Dusty stuff, say, cubed eggplant, can make for a poor seal and, again, need second-bagging and -sealing

• Do put a 300cc oxygen absorber in smaller bags and a 500cc in larger bags

  • It's not for overcoming a pierced bag surface; it's for absorbing oxygen that leaks in oh-so-slowly over oh-so-long a time . . . don't know the PERM rating for these, but they've gotta be low and they've gotta be

• Don't be breaking your heart over trying to pack hard into a bag that's turning out even a tad too small: step up one size and sigh in relief

Tip

Try not to be waitin' on Weston for customer support, unless you've got patience (and faith) unto Job, in 'Fork's opinion.

Leave the sealed bag out in sight for a while . . . some contents, e.g., dehydrated broccoli, can pierce the bag and let in unwanted air.  (If so, 'Fork and The Missus cut a slice into the open bag and leave its contents stet, insert the leaking and its contents in another bag and re-vacuum and reseal.  This double-bagging works well almost every time.)