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

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I was afraid of that -- I don't want to pour directly into a Ziploc from the skillet, either. Problem is if I'm cooking a bunch of things in a row I want the skillet again right away. Ah well.

Some recipes I can cut down, though of course if I'm trying to cook for a week in a couple of hours I'll probably go ahead and make a biggish batch.

[elflet.livejournal.com]

If you have metal bowls, you can throw some ice and a little water in a big bowl, stick a smaller bowl in the middle, and pour your hot food in the small bowl. It's a common trick for cooling things fast. (I use it when making ice cream in a hurry -- I need to take a very hot custard and cool it to around 40 before loading the ice cream freezer.)

[dizzdvl.livejournal.com]

Get some of the ziploc containers. You can put hot food in them right out of the skillet. They rock!

Oh, and buy another damn skillet!

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

The two big desires for a storage container are 1) hot food out of the skillet, 2) squishability. I've got either one. I'd love to find both. :-)

I did buy another skillet. :-) One day a week, I've got them both running. :-) Now I need (sigh) two spatulas.

[dizzdvl.livejournal.com]

No you don't, just rinse off the spatula or not. I use mine for more than one dish. Cooking needs to be relaxed and no stress. Less Alton Brown perfection and more Giada DeLaurentis relaxed and enjoyed.

Oh, and I have 2 cash iron skillets and at least 2-3 teflon ones. The nice thing about cast iron is that you just rinse it out. No washing!

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

I like to have two for the times that one skillet has almost-raw meat in it and the other's nearly done. Right now the problem is that I have zero. Definitely definitely need to find one I like, and buy a few of it.