Homesteaders are known to be skilled in growing their own produce. But, one of the most important parts of harvesting your own fruits and vegetables is to make sure you have a process in place when it comes to storing your food. This is where vacuum-sealed foods can come in place.
Organic produce is known to spoil quickly due to the lack of chemicals during growth. Although that’s the benefit of growing your own food, that also means that you need to plan for storing your foods, whether that’s freezing, pickling or canning. If you’re considering freezing your food, vacuum sealing is a great option to protect your food from dehydration and freezer burn. Vacuum-sealed foods require a small investment upfront. But that investment will pay off almost immediately.
What You Should Know About Vacuum-Sealed Foods
Equipment For Vacuumed Sealed Foods
Many people think you can just throw some food into a Ziploc baggie, squeeze the air out of it, seal it, and throw it in the freezer. This is far from the truth. When we seal bags for the freezer this way, there is still air left in the bag. That air inside causes problems for the food, especially in the freezer. Freezer burn is the most common reason we lose frozen food in our freezers. Freezer burn is caused by air left in the bag.
There is nothing worse than throwing out that steak you really wanted because it is freezer burned. To stop the hassle of trying to remove air from our bags and prevent freezer burned foods, buy a vacuum sealer. This can be found about anywhere. Amazon has many affordable options for buying a vacuum sealer at everyone’s price range. These sealers make vacuum sealed foods easy to do.
Be sure to check out the most recent reviews on different vacuum sealers before you buy. You can check out Kitchen Toast’s article, Best 6 Professional Vacuum Sealer Machines In 2020 Reviews for more information.
Other Supplies Needed For Vacuum Sealed Foods
After purchasing a vacuum sealer, you need to purchase the bags that go with them. Again, these can usually be found almost anywhere. Just make sure the bags you buy are sure to match what your vacuum sealer requires. Some bags are universal and fit most vacuum sealers. Make sure when using vacuum-sealed foods as food preservation to follow directions for successful sealing and preserving. And always use good, fresh food.
How Long Do Vacuum Sealed Foods Last?
Your Best Digs recently created a printable chart that helps understand how long your vacuum-sealed foods will last in the pantry, refrigerator, or freezer. The guide will help you decide when your food will expire and how much you should grow each year. Just make sure that when you’re vacuum sealing your food, you include the date of when it was packaged!
Now you are equipped with the knowledge of preserving food by using vacuumed sealed foods on your homestead. What will you be preserving using this method?
Hi Annie…good info! I’m sharing a link to your post in an article about preserving the harvest 🙂
That’s awesome thank you so much!