Bertha, Vacuum Sealers & Frogs
by: Tina Shake.

I love kitchen gadgets. Over the years I have scoured the yard sales or scrimped and saved for various items like a curly potato maker, baked potato cooker, rice cooker, food processor, blender, ice cream maker, yogurt maker, snow code maker, well you name it and it has drawn dust in my cabinets. You know the story, get your gadget home and every night your family is eating curly fries and snow cones until finally you receive a petition signed by every neighbor and his dog supporting your family's decision to ban that contraption!

I want it!

This weekend I removed my egg money jar to see how much change I had saved over the year. I had saved enough to get me one of those vacuum sealer gizmos. I know you have see the informercial, the one where they take a bag of empty aluminum beverage cans and suck the life out of them and seal the bag airtight. When I saw those cans collapsing, I began to drool. I had to have it, I needed it, life wouldn't be the same without it, and surely you can't deprive me of it.!

FoodSaver Tips

First I must tell you a little about the heat sealing FoodSaver. The item comes with heavy weight food packaging bags, or long rolls of bagging material. (you can custom make the size bag that you need) that are boilable, microwaveable, freezable and reusable. Food last longer because the oxygen has been removed.

Do double recipes and freeze half for a future meal. Next time, you are going to boil up that cow's tongue, stick an extra one in for next week.

Do Not vacuum seal chips/crackers because they will crush (remember pop cans?) If you arfe going to vacuum cookies and brownies, freeze them first to make them firm.

Do vacuum seal matches and papers to your boat to keep them dry. I do not have a boat. Ravish, Romantic Randy says that it wouldn't be a good idea to run out and get one just to tryy this tip out. Men!

Do not vacuum pack frogs. It is fatal for them.

Do preserve christening gowns, wedding gowns, and other momento's by suing the roll material. Cut the vacuum material three inhes longer than you need. I preserved my wedding Osh Kosh coveralls along with my poison ivy bouquet, just in case my daughter wants them for her future wedding day.

Do pre-freeze liquid food so that the vacuum does not draw the liquid into the machine. You can fold a paper towel into a thin strip and place three inches below the top of the bag to absorb liquid when in doubt.

Do not vacuum soft fruits, such as berries without pre-freezing.

Do snip the corner of the bag before you microwave it.

Do not snip the corner of the bag before you boil it.

Bagging the Entire Kitchen

Now that I have successfully bagged up the entire kitchen contents, precooked meals to last for the next 5 months, bagged up my conforters and extra pillows, and most importantly my duct tape collection has been bagged and protected from dust and air, I can sit back and get some recipe tips from Granny Clampett. Hey, where's that remote?