A vacuum sealer is a device used to remove all air in food bags to preserve and store food for a longer time. But not everyone knows how to choose a good vacuum sealer for food preservation. Let’s find out the factors that you should consider when buying a vacuum sealer and which is the best vacuum sealer to keep food fresh?
Most household vacuum sealers have a built-in heat sealer to pack food containers after creating a vacuum. This part is called a heater, which is used to seal the food packaging bags.
The machine is often used with food bags, also known as vacuum bags. Each vacuum sealer has different bag requirements, it can be a specialized bag, sometimes.
Benefits of a vacuum sealer
A vacuum sealer brings lots of benefits to users such as preventing oxidation, minimizing the penetration of harmful insects and bacteria, increasing the efficiency of the freezing process, and helping food retain its original flavor and ensures moisture. The machine can be used to preserve many different types of food, from dry food such as rice, beans, nuts to fresh food such as meat, fish, seafood, fruit… Here are other benefits of a vacuum sealer:
Better food preservation for later use: Using a vacuum sealer will help food to be preserved for a longer time than usual.
According to statistics, food that is vacuum sealed can be stored for 1-2 weeks in the refrigerator, much longer than only 1-3 days when not using the machine.
Preserve the food flavor, color and freshness: A vacuum sealer not only helps your food be preserved for 3-5 times longer, but also helps foods maintain the taste, color and freshness.
Space saving: After parties or festive occasions, your fridge can be full of food, and it may exceed the capacity of the refrigerator. With a vacuum sealer, this worry will be resolved easily.
Prevent food from being mixed with odors: When placed in the refrigerator, even if you have covered with a layer of food wrap, the possibility of food sticking to each other is inevitable. Fortunately, we have a vacuum sealer to solve this problem.
Further reading: 10 Best Mini Fridges with Freezer
The 7 best vacuum sealers
1. Best overall: NESCO VS-12 Deluxe
Dimensions: 15.75 x 8 x 4.5 inches
Weight: 6 pounds
Material: Plastic
Color: Silver
Key features:
- Compact
- 3 sealing settings: dry, moist and double
- With vacuum sealer bags and viewing lid
- Easy-lock handle enables one-handed operation easily
- Double heat seal creates strength and security when sealing liquid or moist foods
- Can stores any brand of vacuum sealer bags and the bag cutter can customize bag sizes for your needs
- Include vacuum sealer bags
Why is it special?
- Accessory port
- Built-in bag cutter
- Powerful suction
The NESCO VS-12 Deluxe will make you satisfied by offering the perfect performance that can hardly found in other vacuum sealers.
2. Best Value: NutriChef PKVS
Dimensions: 6.07 x 14.18 x 3 inches
Material: Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene
Color: Silver
Weight: 2.9 Pounds
Key features:
- Automatic
- Compact design
- With led indicator lights
- Dry and moist food modes
- Budget friendly and time saving solution
Why is it special?
- One-touch operation
- Seals moist foods well
It’s easy to use when equipped with simple electric plug-in design, and soft touch digital buttons.
Having two seal modes, you can use the dry mode for solid food item and the moist indication for poached, simmered, or steamed food.
It is also tested in labs to ensure quality, NutriChef PKVS Sealer can preserve food up to 5 times longer than zipper baggies or other containers.
You will get more items included in the package, including a wine stopper cork, 5 medium vacuum bags (7.8 x 11.8 inch) and one extra-long vacuum bag roll (7.8 x 79.0 inch). All of them are reusable and waterproof.
3. Most versatile: FoodSaver VS3150
Dimensions: 18.03 x 9.84 x 11.02 inches
Color: Black
Power source: AC
Why is it special?
- Multi-use vacuum sealing
- Includes a moist, dry, and pulse setting
- Features a built-in handheld sealer that’s compatible with resealable bags and other accessories like wine stoppers and containers
With more useful features like built-in cutter bar, so you can create custom-sized vacuum seal bags; makes bags from rolls faster for saving time, it cuts your bag as you’re sealing your next bag; removable drip tray included.
It can preserve food fresh longer in freezer and fridge, up to 5 times compared to other ordinary storage methods. This also helps to prevent freezer burn.
Combining heat sealer and handheld vacuum sealer in one unit, you can use the heat seal strip for freezer storage, and the handheld sealer are used for fridge and pantry storage.
With 4 custom settings: the pulse setting for delicate foods without crushing; marinate quickly with marinate setting; dry and moist settings for most of other type of food with airtight seal.
It’s easy to use. You need to simply press vacuum button to remove air and seal.
4. Best-selling: GERYON Vacuum Sealer
Dimension: 14.4 x 5.5 x 2.56 inch
Weight: 2.6 pounds
Material: Plastic
Key features:
- Automatic
- Lightweight
- Compact design
- Easy to clean
- Led indicator lights
- Dry and moist food modes
With fully automatic operation, soft touch digital buttons, electric plug in and the control center placed on the top panel, it provides a friendly experience for users.
It is good for sous vide cooking and will keep your frozen food safe, free from freezer burn.
In addition, you can cover your valuables and household items away from dust, damp, or humidity.
Why is it special?
- Compact and lightweight
- User-friendly
- Easy to clean
GERYON Vacuum sealer machine offers you the ‘4S’ function: Food Saving, Space Saving, Time Saving and Money Saving.
5. Best handheld: FoodSaver 31161370
Dimensions: 4.33 x 6.5 x 11.42 inches
Weight: 0.5 Pounds
Material: Plastic
Power source: Battery powered
Key features:
- Compact
- Cordless
- Handheld
The powerful vacuum sealing allows to remove excess air from vacuum seal bags quickly and quietly.
With convenient cordless design and a full 24-hour charge, you can vacuum seal without a power source anywhere.
It’s easy to use. You just need a single press on a button to remove air from bags.
It is compatible with all FoodSaver items such as vacuum zipper bags, fresh vacuum seal food containers and accessories.
6. Best for beginner: Anova Culinary ANVS01-US00
Dimensions: 16.73 x 4.8 x 3.14 inches
Material: Plastic
Power Source: Corded electric
Compared to most other vacuum sealers, the Anova is compact and simple to use. It also provides 10 free pre-cut bags for you.
Anova helps your food stay fully submerged while cooking. It can lock in flavor and moisture that results in texture and taste. With Anova, you can achieve restaurant quality cooking results when cooking at home.
It is friendly to user.
Why is it special?
- Easy to use
- Compact and lightweight
7. Best choice: FoodSaver VS0150 PowerVac
Dimensions: 15.94 x 6.16 x 2.71 inches
Material: Silicone, Plastic, Steel
Key features:
- Space-saving when stores vertically
- Keeps food 5 times fresher in the freezer, compared to other methods
- Help to prevent freezer burn
- Compared to previous models, seals with 35 percentage less bag waste
- Provide 2 custom settings, dry and moist
- Removable drip tray for easy cleanup
The FoodSaver VS0150 PowerVac is compatible with all other FoodSaver items like bags, rolls, and accessories.
Types of vacuum sealer for home use
Handheld vacuum sealer
This product has a simple design, quite compact and can be easily held in one hand.
Pros:
- Compact design
- Flexible and easy to use
- Can use battery instead of electricity
- The price is moderate, not expensive, so it is very popular with consumers
Cons:
- Need a dedicated vacuum bag, so it’s a bit inconvenient
- No sealing feature, so you must use tape or glue. If it is not done carefully, the bag will open after that, and bacteria can easily enter inside the bag and spoil your food.
Countertop vacuum sealer
It is also known as a compact household vacuum sealer, often used in households and small business stores.
Pros:
- Compact design, does not take up space
- Operate and move easily
- Low power consumption
- Does not require specialized bags
- Can vacuum and seal the bag much better than many handheld vacuums
Cons:
- The price is higher than the handheld machines
Factors to consider when buying food vacuum sealers
As its name, a vacuum sealer originally has two key functions: to vacuum and seal. With the development of technology, a vacuum sealer is equipped with more features and functions. Users have more choices with specialized functionality. For example, vacuum sealers for wet or dry items, dedicated foods or sturdy ones, some have built-in bags, holders or bag cutters.
After deciding to buy a vacuum sealer, the following factors you should consider making sure you buy a good and suitable one.
A countertop vs a handheld vacuum sealer
A handheld machine is best for tiny space or if you like it. It uses Ziplock bags which have small port to let the air out. However, it is not very good at keeping air out, so you should use it for small packing jobs only.
When you have regular use of a vacuum sealer, or you prefer the durable machine with good performance, a countertop one should be a perfect option.
The countertop models can keep your food last longer because it completely prevents the air from letting in or going out.
Working capacity
Will you use the vacuum sealer daily, weekly, or monthly? Once clearly defined your needs, it’s easier to make decision because each vacuum sealer has its own working capability.
Besides, some people need it for home use, but others want it for commercial purpose. A suction vacuum sealer is the best for use at home while a chamber one is the most suitable for commercial cases.
Efficiency
A vacuum sealer is considered efficient when it can remove air from bags quickly, just about 30 seconds. There is no air left for dry mode or a little with wet mode. There should be no risk of leaking and the seals must be firm and even.
Versatility
It is better to look for machines that have more than just one mode. With its versatility, you could seal both wet and dry foods in the simplest way.
Easy to use
You have many options to pick the good one. The machine should be user friendly, durable, easily use and attached with good materials.
Suction power
The suction power helps to remove air out of the bags, so that your food will not get freezer burn while stored in freezer. The higher the suction power, the better. However, the strong suction machine is often higher in price.
Brand and warranty
You should buy a vacuum sealer from reliable and reputable manufacturer as the machine often has higher quality.
Besides, a long time of warranty is also important. It helps you to save cost for replacements or other repairs.
You may also like: The 7 Best Small Freezers 2022
Conclusion
A vacuum sealer is an extremely useful item used to preserve food and store fresh ingredients in home kitchen of every family.
Choosing a good vacuum sealer not only helps you save a lot of money when shopping, but also ensures that your family has delicious, safe and hygienic meals.
Depending on your needs and budget, hope this article can help you find the best vacuum sealer.
Reference:
Vacuum Sealing Guide, webstaurantstore.com, Retrieved on Feb. 8, 2022
