LJ Brain Trust: Vacuum sealer?

[cjsmith]

If I did get more freezer space, and maybe even if I can't, I wonder whether I should have a vacuum sealer.

I am short on counter space, but I can work that out.

I probably don't want one if it doesn't save money in the long run. I can squeeze a lot of air out of Ziploc bags and store them in odd-shaped spots in the freezer, so this will hinge on how much waste I'm likely to have, from freezer burn or the like, after the squeezy treatment. Ziploc cost + freezer burn cost - vacuum sealer bag cost - amortized cost of the unit: if it's not a positive number in under a decade I'm not going there. But it's OK if it takes a while to go positive, because I also hate waste.

I also don't want it if it's inconvenient to use. (It's very telling that I don't have "good" knives. They're more work than bad ones.)

I do want it if it will significantly save money, food, and/or freezer and fridge space. For example, if the bags are sturdy enough that I can pour from the skillet right into the bag, then I don't need so much Tupperware-style stuff. That would be a serious win in terms of space.

[LJ-CUT TEXT="Poll time!"]

[Poll #1217861]

Comments

[tiger-spot.livejournal.com]

Good knives are infinitesimally more work to wash, sure, but they make chopping so much easier. Promise.

[tiger-spot.livejournal.com]

(Though you've probably heard that a lot, so feel free to ignore.)

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

And then steel them every time they're used, and sharpen periodically? Maaaaan, I can just BUY a crappy knife in a lot less time. ;-)

[ambar.livejournal.com]

Steeling takes all of 10 seconds. I honestly think you're building more mountain than warranted, here.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it's probably just stuff I'm not used to doing. I've been doing what either you or klwalton suggested (I forget who), and keeping a soapy sponge handy to use on knives right after I've chopped with them. It really doesn't take much time, and it works pretty well except when I've sliced up some salt pork and gotten gunk deep into the corners between the blade and the handle. :-)

[elflet.livejournal.com]

You can steel the blade every few uses and it'll work just as well. As for time and effort: cutting with a good, sharp blade is a whole lot faster and safer than using a dull blade!

(OK, )

Probably the only annoying thing is I don't throw my knives in the dishwasher anymore, but the soapy sponge trick works just fine.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

I don't even *have* a steel. Bad me. Seriously, I grew up owning one, and I know I had one when I first struck out on my own, but I haven't the foggiest what happened to it. I haven't seen it for easily a decade.

Saying stuff like that makes me feel old!

[elflet.livejournal.com]

Of course, havig posted that, I had my first knife accident in several years tonight. Managed to take out part of a fingernail and a thin slice of skin while yelling for the teenager to finish setting the table. (Man, that santoku is sharp!) Now I'm typing mostly one-handed (and not for the "fun" reason!)

P.S. re food sealers: Would you like to borrow mine for a couple of weeks and see if it works for you?

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Ouch!!

An aside: I've heard many times the old phrase that you'll cut yourself more readily on a dull knife than on a sharp one, because you have to push harder with the dull one. But the more I think about it, the more I come to the conclusion that in either case -- sharp knife or dull -- you're pushing "hard enough to cut", whatever that takes. Now I don't know WHAT to think.

I think it would be awesome to borrow yours for a little while, less than a couple of weeks if you like because I don't want to take it away from you! The chest freezer doesn't arrive until the 14th, because the one with the drain hose adapter is out of stock in a bunch of places, so would some time after that be good? I really don't want to take advantage, so I'm happy to return it quickly. All I'd need to get a bunch of stuff sealed is a Sunday. :-)

[elflet.livejournal.com]

The reason you cut yourself more readily with a dull knife is 1) more force, and 2) dull knives are more likely to slip.

Basically, I cut myself because I wasn't paying attention and wasn't following my usual knife handling protocol (fingers tucked under, knuckles against the blade to guide it.) Try this: make a fist with your left hand and set it down with your fingers touching the table. See your pointer finger pointing back at you under your thumb? That's what I was doing, with my pointer finger out a little way from my thumb and slightly rolled, holding down some basil I was cutting. I cut straight down on the outer edge (a thin chord across the outside of the finger and taking out part of the nail. It could have been far worse!

If you worry with sharp knives, you could also get one of the gut-proof gloves (with steel mesh woven in.) I often use one when doing something risky.

re: the food sealer, anytime that works for you would be fine. If you want to take part of a Sunday, I can come over and we can seal up a bunch of stuff.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Ahh: item 2 makes sense even with my "you're always pushing as hard as you need to" concept.

I'm not sure I'm visualizing the lines correctly, but then, I don't know how to use knuckles to guide a blade, so that may be the baseline I'm missing. Sounds like you took a sliver nearly parallel to the finger bones. That sounds *massively* painful where it hits the nail bed, at the very least!

Part of a Sunday would be awesome. I can probably also return ambar's cookbooks to you then. She's very graciously lent them to me for "a few weeks" and probably would like them back eventually!

A very quick intro to knives

[elflet.livejournal.com]

Most of what you need to know about knives in just over a minute:

http://startcooking.com/video/328/Three-Good-Kitchen-Knives