Self-Reliance Tip of the Week - My Vacuum Could Be My Fridge?

How Could This Keep Things Cool?

Oxygen is both our friend and enemy. We need it to live, but it also is a culprit in our food going rancid. When we have dehydrated food in a can that has been opened, we have about a year before it isn't good anymore. Moisture can get in every time we open the lid and can ruin the food (it happened to me with freeze dried strawberries...and they are not cheap). How can we solve this problem? The vacuum sealer. 

Many people have a sealer like this:

 

Ok, maybe the title is a little misleading. A vacuum sealer can't really be a fridge in the fact that fridges keep things cold. But!... it DOES slow down the "aging" process for food - that's what a fridge does right? When we vacuum seal left over dehydrated goods, it will keep them fresh (did I say fresh and dehydrated in the same sentence? - oh boy). It will keep the leftovers from getting soft from moisture exposure or rancid from oxygen exposure (light and temperature also are players in this game). If you don't have a vacuum sealer yet, I have an electricity free alternative that will be a little more work, but less expensive than buying the electrical version. This is what it looks like:

This is how you use it: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGfUwEf810g

This is where you can get it (best price I've found, around $40.00):

http://www.sears.com/actron-cp7830-vacuum-pump/p-00932993000P?sid=IDx01192011x000001&kpid=00932993000&pla=&kispla=00932993000P&mktRedirect=y

The Vacuum attachment you can get here (around $10):

http://www.foodsaver.com/accessories/foodsaver-wide-mouth-jar-sealer/T03-0023-01P.html?gclid=Cj0KEQjwyIyqBRD4janGs5e67IsBEiQAoF8DGj3vH-Tk5NqX07zRjY5H8iVZCHNrd2K_D68VSzY8EdUaAjZZ8P8HAQ&kwid=productads-plaid^59473840580-sku^T03@ADL40023@ADL401P-adType^PLA-device^c-adid^55532499010

So for about $50 (minus shipping) you can get a refrigerator!  I mean vacuum sealer. 

The things I have vacuum sealed are:

• CHOCOLATE CHIPS
• nuts
• raisins
• dried vegetables (broccoli, onions etc. )
• dried fruit (lemons, apricots from our tree, strawberries etc.)
• and entire meals in a jar

Everything that can be vacuum sealed must be totally dried. You can't can fresh strawberries, put it on a shelf and walk away hoping they will be there in 6 months when you go to use them. It is because of the moisture. Natural enzymes in the food break down the food with moisture. With no moisture (like dehydrated and freeze dried foods), the natural goodness is still there. But, it sits there like a faithful friend, until you're ready to use them. 

Here is a simple recipe that can be vacuum sealed for Bowtie Alfredo. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWgOVwC4gL8

Here is the recipe for a Cream of Something Soup base:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thI3JMw-qIA&feature=iv&src_vid=kWgOVwC4gL8&annotation_id=annotation_1415619477

Hopefully we've given you some ideas that will empower you to vacuum seal some food. It is an amazing tool and some day may be of more worth to you in the future than your refrigerator. If you ask me, I think that's pretty cool (even cooler than a fridge). Thank you little vacuum sealer. I owe ya one.