Vacuum sealing is a great way to extend the shelf life of dry goods and to prevent frozen foods from developing freezer burn, but buying a vacuum sealing machine can get expensive. Here's a way to do it on the cheap – all you need is a zip-top bag and a straw.
Vacuum sealers remove air from packaging, thus eliminating the effects of oxidation, which can cause foods to degrade. From beans in the pantry to vegetables in the freezer, vacuum-sealed foods can stay fresher longer. Vacuum sealing also reduces the volume, so you can store more items in the same amount of space.
This straw method won't be quite as effective as using a vacuum sealing machine, but it's still very useful, and much less expensive. Place your food in a plastic zip-top bag (make sure it's a freezer-safe bag if you plan to freeze) and zip it almost all the way, leaving a small slit to insert a straw. Suck the air out through the straw, quickly pull it out, and close the bag. That's it!
(Note: a plastic straw works better than the paper one pictured above.)
Related: Freezer Frenzy: My Favorite Tools for Freezing
(Images: Emily Ho)
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this trick is especially good for that extra half of an avocado.
what also works is filling the sink with water and submerging the open zip-top bag, without letting any water in. seal the top up before you take it out of the water, and you'll have pushed out most of the excess air.
When I was growing up and my mom was freezing produce for the winter, the freezer bags came with a plastic straw in the package.
Ditto to Karenbowness. I always submerged in water. Then I dry it off and let sit for 5 min otherwise you'll end up with bags frozen together. I'm sure it's nothing to be concerned about, but sipping up bags of raw chicken just isn't appealing to me. And If I'm doing a big batch of portions, I think it'll be quicker to submerged than sip.
I always put up ground meat in half pound breakouts, and would throw the ball-o-meat in the bottom of the bag with some force, then mushed it to all corners, then forward. It sticks to the bag, and pushes the air out as you work forward. As a nice bonus, they lay completely flat and you can stack them like crazy in the freezer.
Also, I was the designated sipper when I was kid, but we never used a straw (didn't bother with poultry at that point, so, gross, but not dangerous\.:)
Nice tip, especially since my vacuum sealer stopped working after two years! I think I like the idea of submerging in water better, though--thanks, kitchn readers!
You know, I've been trying this straw technique the last month or two since I read it somewhere online, and it just hasn't been that successful for me. Maybe I'm not sucking out the air hard enough or long enough? But I've never really felt it was that effective, no more so than my usual method of rolling up the bag around whatever's in it (gently, if it's something delicate) to squeeze out as much air as possible as I seal it up...
I've been doing this for years, but I just skip the straw and put my mouth right on the bag. That way you can keep the suction as you zip the last corner of the bag closed.