Food saving tip: Vacuum sealer for mason jars (only)

Hi all,

Realized the other day I'm loving the heck out of this device I got so thought I'd pass along the tip. Not sure of the sub rules on this but I'm not going to post the specific item I have; it's 'currently unavailable' anyway. But you can search Mason Jar Vacuum Sealer to find a variety of options.

If you're very familiar with vacuum sealers you can skip this paragraph. If you're not- they're those boxy machines that let you put food into a plastic sheath or ziplock type back and then you can suck all the air out of them. They do work to make food last longer, definitely. I have the traditional FoodSaver brand, but there's always been issues with it: The seal often doesn't last, I don't like the waste of the roll plastic, where you heat the ends to seal it, it takes up a lot of counter space and the ziplock bags don't seal real well usually, although I did find a company that seals well.

Anyway, I came across a new type of version of these. It's a small, canister type gadget that works only on mason / bell jars. It fits over the top of either the small mouth or wide mouth and sucks all the air out, creating a seal. And honestly, they work great. And I finding you can get creative with how you use it. Dry good stuff for storage, of course- tea, coffee, (kernal) popcorn, etc., obviously anything liquid: soups, iced coffee/tea, lemonade, etc. but really if you get creative, anything that will fit in the jar will work. I put avocados in one to stave off browning, I just put a bunch of oyster crackers in another one, but you could do salad, fruits or veg, etc. Anything that would fit through the large mouth hole.

They cost less that box food savers- usually $20-25, take up a little more space than a coffee mug and seal really well. Since it's a jar you can't see the air going out, but every time it takes a little effort to pry the lid off. Mason jars themselves are cheap, cheaper than the hard plastic food saver containers, and masons are glass if you're trying to avoid plastic.

The battery on mine lasts forever, I'm not sure I've charged it since I got it earlier last year. There's only rarely a 'mis-set' where I have to run it again (where the seal doesn't take or gets caught up in the device). For me, like, zero downsides I use it constantly.

I've seen different options- mine does not have a battery indicator but some do. Some have a piece that removes if you want to use either small or wide mouth. I've used ones like that and they were ok. My particular one is all-in-one, nothing to remove. You sit it on the jar firmly and push the button, that's it. I do sometimes push down to make sure there's a seal but I think that's not necessary, I think it just runs about 20 seconds or so and then stops. Again, very most of the time it seals fine, enough that I need to put a little force to pry the lid off, proving there's a seal. I think most of the recharge via usb, so a built in battery. That means it'll wear out eventually and need to be thrown away.

Uses glass, about $25 or less, little space, no wasted plastic, no hard plastic containers taking up space, good seal…. Downsides – you're limited to what can fit in a mason jar. And they definitely work, it can add about a week or so to the shelf life of any fresh food I put in there. Dry goods- indefinitely, I bet.