Reynold's Handi-Vac Vacuum Food Sealer

[Saycheese]

A few days ago, while looking for Christmas presents for our kitchen (which is, in fact, a member of our family), I saw a really modern, cool-looking vacuum food saving device called a Frisper in an on-line newsletter (selling for $99). That seemed pretty expensive, so I kept surfing the internet and I came across the Handi-Vac, which is made by Reynold's, the aluminum foil company. You can see it on the Reynold's website. It's hand-held and battery operated, and uses resealable zip lock bags. And best of all, it's only $8.99! I found it locally at Shopper's Food Warehouse. Extra bags are about $3/box for gallon and quart size. The gadget comes with batteries and 3 quart-size bags. I tried it out on a partially used onion. You just put the food in the zip lock bag so it's in contact with the textured part of the bag, seal it, and then line up the nozzle of the gadget on a little round one-way air valve on the bag and press the switch. As it sucks out the air, the bag contracts around the food, until it's tight. It takes just a few seconds. It's absolutely mesmerizing! Perhaps the novelty will wear off, but right now, I want to Handi-Vac everything in sight. My (the kitchen's) Handi-Vac is still too new to determine whether it actually prevents or reduces freezer burn. My husband says I have to wrap it back up and put it under the tree, but until Christmas Eve, I'm going to Handi-Vac to my heart's content.

[johnb]

A few days ago, while looking for Christmas presents for our kitchen (which is, in fact, a member of our family), I saw a really modern, cool-looking vacuum food saving device called a Frisper in an on-line newsletter (selling for $99). That seemed pretty expensive, so I kept surfing the internet and I came across the Handi-Vac, which is made by Reynold's, the aluminum foil company. You can see it on the Reynold's website. It's hand-held and battery operated, and uses resealable zip lock bags. And best of all, it's only $8.99! I found it locally at Shopper's Food Warehouse. Extra bags are about $3/box for gallon and quart size. The gadget comes with batteries and 3 quart-size bags. I tried it out on a partially used onion. You just put the food in the zip lock bag so it's in contact with the textured part of the bag, seal it, and then line up the nozzle of the gadget on a little round one-way air valve on the bag and press the switch. As it sucks out the air, the bag contracts around the food, until it's tight. It takes just a few seconds. It's absolutely mesmerizing! Perhaps the novelty will wear off, but right now, I want to Handi-Vac everything in sight. My (the kitchen's) Handi-Vac is still too new to determine whether it actually prevents or reduces freezer burn. My husband says I have to wrap it back up and put it under the tree, but until Christmas Eve, I'm going to Handi-Vac to my heart's content.

There's a fairly long-running thread on this thing on Chowhound right now--I looked at it because I had already seen the post title here on Rockwell and when I saw it again right away that made think something must be up. Well, everybody over there (except one pissy-face Manhattanite who's never used one) seems ecstatic about it. I posted a question about it myself. Maybe I'll have to spring for one.

http://www.chowhound.com/topics/455101

[zoramargolis]

I saw one at the Sangamore Safeway yesterday for $9.99, so Shoppers Food Warehouse is the place to get it. Can you do sous vide with the bags?

[Anna Blume]

Isn't the snow pretty?

[johnb]

I saw one at the Sangamore Safeway yesterday for $9.99, so Shoppers Food Warehouse is the place to get it. Can you do sous vide with the bags?

There was some discussion on the CH thread about sous-vide; IIRC it's not completely clear, but the answer seems to be no.

I was just at the supermarket and I noticed Glad or one of those now has a bag designed for steaming vegetables in the microwave. If it will stand up to that surely it could handle floating around at 140 for a while.

[brettashley01]

I was just at the supermarket and I noticed Glad or one of those now has a bag designed for steaming vegetables in the microwave. If it will stand up to that surely it could handle floating around at 140 for a while.

Those Ziploc Steamfresh bags are my boyfriend. I love them so.

[mdt]

There was some discussion on the CH thread about sous-vide; IIRC it's not completely clear, but the answer seems to be no.

I was just at the supermarket and I noticed Glad or one of those now has a bag designed for steaming vegetables in the microwave. If it will stand up to that surely it could handle floating around at 140 for a while.

Plastic an easily stand up to 140F and should be easily used for sous vide.

[mdt]

I would say not, any seal or opening could be a source for a leak, just my opinion. I have a batch of beef shoulder in the bath now.

Obviously a weak seal or opening could generate a leak. I was just referring to the stability of plastic to the heat.

[ScotteeM]

Santa left my Handi-Vac at the North Pole on Christmas Eve, so I bought myself one yesterday at Safeway. It's so much fun! Strawberries were BOGO, and theiy're now nestled in my produce bin in vacuum bags, so they should keep for a day or two.

I'm heading north this weekend to my ancestral home for holiday celebrations and one of those crazed gift exchanges. The price limit is "about $10", so my contribution will be a Handi-Vac.

My dogs are safe, as they don't fit into the little bags, but I've vacuum-sealed some of their food (chicken wings)--very cool.

[cjsadler]

The Reynold's truck has been all around DC lately, dispensing free Handi-Vac starter kits, so be on the lookout for it. I got one the other day outside L'Enfant Plaza (today I saw it at Union Station). This thing this is pretty, uh, handy. I have a big vacuum sealer, but it's nice to be able to whip this thing out and seal stuff up quick. Maybe it's just me, but I find vacuum sealing things strangely satisfying. I'm vacuum sealing everything in sight now.

[lackadaisi]

I got one of these a few months ago, and it sucks. Actually, it doesn't. Each time I try to use it, it takes me about 20 tries to get the air out. I feel pretty incompetent, so I'm not using it anymore.

[cjsadler]

I got one of these a few months ago, and it sucks. Actually, it doesn't. Each time I try to use it, it takes me about 20 tries to get the air out. I feel pretty incompetent, so I'm not using it anymore.

It is a bit difficult to use, and takes me a few tries to get it working as well. I found that not pressing down too hard when you're sealing seems to help.

[Ilaine]

How much do the bags cost, and are they reuseable? Because if they are giving away the gizmos for free they must think they'll own us for life, like disposable pens and disposable razor blades (both of which ARE pretty indispensable to me).

[Sthitch]

(today I saw it at Union Station).

I felt an discomfiture when I saw the people queued-up around the block to get their free sealer (then again I usually feel that way towards people lined-up for free crap), and all day I saw people walking around with two or even four of these things, why would you need four? Frankly, I will stick with my FoodSaver, its easy to use, does the job well and frankly I don’t want to reuse bags that I have already put raw food into.

[Al Dente]

all day I saw people walking around with two or even four of these things, why would you need four?

Time travel. If you put one inside a bag, and then put that in another bag, and then put that one in another bag, and then turn them all on you'll get a rip in the time/space continuum.

[Toogs]

Does anyone own one of these? I'm attempting a rather lengthy "Eat Local" challenge and to do so I am goign to need to preserve a lot of stuff. I'm just wondering if these actually work and yield better results for long-term freezing.

[monavano]

Does anyone own one of these? I'm attempting a rather lengthy "Eat Local" challenge and to do so I am goign to need to preserve a lot of stuff. I'm just wondering if these actually work and yield better results for long-term freezing.

What exactly are you planning to freeze? For some things such as berries and cherries, I find that you do not need one. For meats, my answer is yes. But then again, the available local meats are generally not seasonal.

[Toogs]

What exactly are you planning to freeze? For some things such as berries and cherries, I find that you do not need one. For meats, my answer is yes. But then again, the available local meats are generally not seasonal.

Anything and everything. Although much of the meat isn't seasonal, I want to buy in bulk and break it down myself where possible. I also want to dabble in making my own sliced deli turkey and roast beef and freeze in small portions for supply for sandwiches.

re: fruits and veg, are you recommending just getting ziploc freezer bags?

[Biotech]

I have a foodsaver (the slightly better model than the base). I really like it and it works well packaging up stuff like when I purchase meat and parse it out (buying a whole pork loin and turning it into boneless chops and roast is very economical). I also make sausage and usually make up to 20 pounds at a time. I can seal the smoked stuff like kielbasa in them and they keep very well.

I've also sealed up beans and legumes like lentils. I find the material to make bags is expensive at stores like bed bath and beyond, but extremely economical at Costco.

[treznor]

Have one and use it all the time. We primarily use it for storing meat in the freezer, either from buying in bulk when there's a special or buying a larger cut and breaking it down. I find that it stores quite well (much better than I was every able to do with freezer paper) and since its clear I can tell what things are much quicker and easier.

The other thing we use it for is for storing ground coffee for our espresso maker in one of the vacuum jars. I'm not sure how well that works, but at least it doesn't hurt anything and its fun to play with

[Saycheese]

I have a cheapo Reynolds Handy-Vac -- available for about $8.99 at your local grocery store (batteries included). The bags (quart and gallon sizes) are not too expensive. It seems to work great and it's fun to use -- there is something really cool about watching the air get sucked out of the ziploc bag and the bag shrinking around the food. I have frozen fruit, leftover bread, meat, vegetables. It also helps to keep things like cut up onions or shallots fresh in the refrigerator for quite a long time.

[Saycheese]

Reynold's has stopped selling the Handi-Vac! Apparently you can still buy the bags on-line through Home Shopping Network, but they are more expensive than when you could buy them in a grocery store. 30 Gallon size bags for $14.90 -- that's nearly .50 per bag, plus shipping. So sad.

[lperry]

Reynold's has stopped selling the Handi-Vac! Apparently you can still buy the bags on-line through Home Shopping Network, but they are more expensive than when you could buy them in a grocery store. 30 Gallon size bags for $14.90 -- that's nearly .50 per bag, plus shipping. So sad.

Oh no! Now I have to hoard. I hate hoarding.

[Pat]

Oh no! Now I have to hoard. I hate hoarding.

It's too late to hoard. They're gone. I haven't been able to find them in many months. They stopped making them quite some time ago. I first saw the announcement here and started searching right away. And, if you think they're expensive on HSN, you should see what they're charging on ebay.

I still have some, but they're not going to last much longer. Searching around, I've found comments from some people indicating that the Zip-loc bags for their vacuum sealer will work with the Reynolds unit, but the same people say that the ZL sealer unit is terrible.

[lperry]

It's too late to hoard. They're gone.

What a pain. I don't know how many bags I have left. They finally came up with something smart, small, and affordable, and they had to screw it up.

[chaofun]

The Zip loc vacuum bags are just flat out awful. This event forced me to bite the bullet and get a Food Saver vacuum sealer. With the amount of meat I go through this made sense in the long run. I managed to get a Food Saver V2440 for $80 at Sams Club but it doesn't look like its available anymore.

[Pat]

What a pain. I don't know how many bags I have left. They finally came up with something smart, small, and affordable, and they had to screw it up.

I know. It's terrible from a business standpoint, not to mention frustrating for consumers. That rec.food.cooking thread I linked has a discussion of how terrible Reynolds is at promoting their products.

[Pat]

The Zip loc vacuum bags are just flat out awful. This event forced me to bite the bullet and get a Food Saver vacuum sealer. With the amount of meat I go through this made sense in the long run. I managed to get a Food Saver V2440 for $80 at Sams Club but it doesn't look like its available anymore.

Since I could no longer find any bags, I picked up a Food Saver at Costco when they had a coupon for it (a V3825). I still haven't used it, since I was going to use up the Reynolds packaging materials first, but it's kind of silly to have the food saver and not use it . This is why I end up with too much stuff...

I really love the convenience and size of the Reynolds unit. I would never have imagined how much of a difference that would make in saving food for the freezer. It is a great product/system. Was.

[johnb]

What a pain. I don't know how many bags I have left. They finally came up with something smart, small, and affordable, and they had to screw it up.

FWIW, my solution to this dilemma, from the early days of the Handi-vac, was to reuse the bags. I do this by first putting whatever I want to seal in one of those old twist-tie bags (which are also becoming hard to find), squeezing out as much air as I can, then putting the whole thing in the Handi-vac bag. This keeps the Handi-vac bags nice and clean and reusing them is a breeze.

[Pat]

FWIW, my solution to this dilemma, from the early days of the Handi-vac, was to reuse the bags. I do this by first putting whatever I want to seal in one of those old twist-tie bags (which are also becoming hard to find), squeezing out as much air as I can, then putting the whole thing in the Handi-vac bag. This keeps the Handi-vac bags nice and clean and reusing them is a breeze.

Thanks for the suggestion. Like you, I'm having trouble finding the twist-tie bags these days . Giant doesn't even carry its own brand of them anymore. All I could find at Giant last week was some off-brand "Guaranteed Value" storage bags. I have no idea if they're decent quality or not, but I'll be finding out as soon as I use the last couple Giant bags.

Why do the manufacturers assume everyone wants only zipper-style plastic bags? They were certainly an improvement over the twist-tie when they were introduced, but that doesn't mean that the twist-tie storage bags no longer have any purpose.

[johnb]

Thanks for the suggestion. Like you, I'm having trouble finding the twist-tie bags these days . Giant doesn't even carry its own brand of them anymore. All I could find at Giant last week was some off-brand "Guaranteed Value" storage bags. I have no idea if they're decent quality or not, but I'll be finding out as soon as I use the last couple Giant bags.

Why do the manufacturers assume everyone wants only zipper-style plastic bags? They were certainly an improvement over the twist-tie when they were introduced, but that doesn't mean that the twist-tie storage bags no longer have any purpose.

If you can bring yourself to stop by a Wal-mart, I'm pretty sure they generally stock Glad twist-tie bags regularly, at least down here where I am. OTOH, the ones you found are probably fine.

[laniloa]

Tip from a friend who heard me rant about these being discontinued -- Reynolds has teamed up with one of the HSN gadget types to sell bags online.

[goodeats]

Reynolds has teamed up with one of the HSN gadget types to sell bags online.

Linky.