Ruedeleglise Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 I would like to buy a vacuum machine, initially to pack cold smoked salmon. So must be able to take up to 50cms length. Advice please. Ruedeleglise Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icefever Posted November 3, 2018 Share Posted November 3, 2018 Funny that, we've just bought a new one as our old one was starting to play up. I did a fair amount of surfing the net and after all that, we went for this one.... https://www.appliancesdirect.co.uk/p/eiqhdvsp/electriq-eiqhdvsp-vacuum-sealer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icefever Posted November 3, 2018 Share Posted November 3, 2018 I found it first on Amazon, for around £79....after a further search that's when I came up with the above £20 cheaper. It has 2 settings and a moist setting did not get around to trying that yet. What I like about it over our old one is, it auto seals, you hit the vacuum button and you don't do anything. It vac's the pack and goes to seal all in one....jobs a good un. Ice. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruedeleglise Posted November 3, 2018 Author Share Posted November 3, 2018 Thanks looks good, will investigate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wade Posted November 5, 2018 Share Posted November 5, 2018 On 11/3/2018 at 9:04 AM, Icefever said: Funny that, we've just bought a new one as our old one was starting to play up. I did a fair amount of surfing the net and after all that, we went for this one.... https://www.appliancesdirect.co.uk/p/eiqhdvsp/electriq-eiqhdvsp-vacuum-sealer This one looks to do what is needed. The vac packers can vary a lot in price and you do not always get what you pay for with the more expensive, celebrity endorsed, ones. Vacuum packers come in two distinct types - "side suck" and "chamber". The side suck are less expensive to buy (starting at about £50) but require the use of the more expensive textured bags. The chamber sealers are more expensive to buy (from £400 to £3,000+) but use the cheaper standard bags. To begin with the side suck sealer would be the best to choose and the one that Ice has pointed you too seems very reasonable. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Posted November 5, 2018 Share Posted November 5, 2018 groupon, got mine cheap Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruedeleglise Posted November 9, 2018 Author Share Posted November 9, 2018 Just to report I have just got my electriQ model E1QHDVSO. Works a treat and what an incredible company. It arrived within 24 hrs but was damaged possibly in transit. I had a replacement today, only 24 hours after contacting them. I highly recommend both the product and the company. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Posted November 10, 2018 Share Posted November 10, 2018 That is cool. Enjoy learning techniques. Especially where adding liquid. Good tip is freeze liquids that get added when possible and throw in bag... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruedeleglise Posted November 11, 2018 Author Share Posted November 11, 2018 Could you explained a bit more? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icefever Posted November 12, 2018 Share Posted November 12, 2018 7 hours ago, Ruedeleglise said: Could you explained a bit more? Justin is on about any liquids that you want to add to whatever you are vac-ing....for instance, say you make a soup and you have a portion left over, freeze it, then you could take it out of the container pop it in a bag and vac-pack for later. When you plan ahead say for adding a sauce?? you freeze it down to the portion size add to whatever and vac. Ice. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wade Posted November 12, 2018 Share Posted November 12, 2018 There are several methods that you can use to vac pack liquids with a side suck sealer. The important thing is that when you are sealing you want to prevent any liquid from being sucked into the sealer itself or it can get quite messy. It is best to pack it whilst it is still a liquid as the vacuum will extract more of the air (specifically the oxygen) that is dissolved in the liquid which will extend its life in the fridge or freezer. This needs you to keep a close watch on the pack whilst the unit is sucking to make sure that liquid in the bag does not boil under the vacuum causing it to suddenly rush up into the sealer. It is good to see a slight frothing though as this is the dissolved gasses being released from the liquid. The best way to do this is to raise the sealer up about 10 cm above your worktop so that the bag and its contents are kept below the level of the sealing bar. Here is a video that shows this technique - although they have gone to the extreme of sealing the bag vertically over the edge of the sink. Do not worry about the thing he is putting his finger over as he seals as it is just a feature of that unit to help control the vacuum. At the end you will see that he pushes the soup flat in the bag before he freezes it. This is a good thing to do as it creates thin "sachets" of soup that can be very easily stacked on top of each other in the freezer. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naLhexUJjQ8 The other way, which requires less monitoring, is to freeze the liquid first and then pack it frozen. The easiest way is to place your soup in its packing bag and then place that inside a shaping container - say, a small sandwich box. Press the bag down on the surface of the liquid to try to remove as much air as possible from the bag. Freeze solid and then remove the liquid/bag from the shaping container and vac pack. This method will produce nice stackable blocks that will make for quite efficient storage in the freezer. Here is a variation of the above method, though instead of freezing all of the liquid in the packing bag they first freeze it in ice cube trays. The resulting package has a less efficient storage shape however it does have the advantage that when you want to to use the soup you can take out and thaw only the amount you need and put the rest back into the freezer.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nn9Trn7tI0 Whichever method you use though don't forget to label the pack with what it is and (very importantly) the date that you pack it. It is amazing how similar things look when they have been vac packed and frozen. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.