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I just watched someone dehydrate a bunch of veggies put them in a jar and vacuum seal them. Do any of you have a vacuum sealer that you recommend? Nothing that breaks the bank, mind you. I'm thinking that it might be a good idea to dehydrate some foods so we don't depend so heavily on our freezer stock. :whistling:

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I have a Food Saver that I bought pre-Y2K! It is still a good brand, and they have made many improvements on the design since then. That said, there are several brands available at Walmart and other stores. I would choose the one with the least expensive bags! (Although, you really CAN use the bags interchangeably.) There are also smaller, hand-held ones available, but they pretty much only work on one type of bag - the one with the "hatch" in them that the vacuum pump goes over.  I also have the vacuum lids which came with the Food Saver when I bought it. Those are currently as scarce as hen's teeth and people are way overcharging for them online! All that said, there are a multitude of YT videos that show how to use the various machines, and even more showing you how to "hack" your own bags for use with them.

 

I have been dehydrating and storing in canning jars because I have the attachment that sits over the lip of the jars. (I only have the one for the wide mouth jars though; I have no idea what happened to the one for regular mouth jars.) But I also have the cannisters that came with the FS when I bought it, and I can place a regular mouth jar inside of a canister and suck the air out of that, and it also removes the air from the jar. (In that case, I have to have the ring/band very loosely on the jar for it to work. Once I take it out of the cannister I try to remove the lid - if it doesn't budge, it worked!)

 

Can you believe I actually had all of this stuff out in a yard sale 3 years ago? Thankfully nobody bought it!!!

 

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What she wishes she knew BEFORE starting to dehydrate food for storage.

 

 

You CAN do this! 

 

"...so don't let what you see [what] other people have affect your thinking that you have to have all this "stuff" to dehydrate. You need a good knife, you need a cutting board to protect your countertops, you need a dehydrator that would dehydrate well, and you need a storage container that is airtight. That is all you need."

 

Edited by Midnightmom
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Awesome videos.  I have a Food Saver too. I have this one but I didn't pay that much for it! I got it quite a few years ago at Sam's Club. I use it mostly for sealing canning jars. It came with canisters and a marinating bowl thing.   AmazonSmile: FoodSaver V4400 2-in-1 Vacuum Sealer Machine with Automatic Bag Detection and Starter Kit | Safety Certified | Black and Silver: Home & Kitchen  

 

I have a brake bleeder kit for if the power goes out. It's difficult to use but I figured if I had to use it in a SHTF situation, son could pump it while I held the hose on. Don't buy it in an automotive shop though. Mine wanted around $75.00 for just the pump. I got one on Amazon for around $25.00 and it came with a case.  AmazonSmile: Beduan 16pcs Brake Bleeder Kit Hand Held Vacuum Pump Tester with Adapters for Automotive : Automotive 

 

With either method you will need a jar lid attachment. A set of them used to cost around $20.00. Now they are $44.00. They come in regular mouth and wide mouth size.  AmazonSmile: FoodSaver Regular Sealer and Accessory Hose Wide-Mouth Jar Kit, 9.00 x 6.00 x 4.90 Inches, White: Home & Kitchen

 

Also be aware that some vacuum sealers don't have the port where the hose fits on so you can't use it for jar sealing. Make sure it has an accessory port if you want to seal jars.

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I knew I had come to the right place!! Thank you ladies....I appreciate your input a lot! I am out and waiting for the kids right now, but will pour over the videos later tonight. Thank you again!! :bighug2:

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