A great way to make your food last longer is by vacuum sealing it. Vacuum packing is the best and most hygienic way to store your food. However, you have to vacuum seal your food properly if you want to enjoy all the advantages. Here are some tips to help you along.
Vacuum packaging best practices
Maintain your vacuum sealer
Why is maintaining your vacuum sealer one of the most important vacuum packaging best practices? Because a broken vacuum sealing machine does you no good since you won’t be able to seal your food properly, or even at all. You need to read the manufacturer’s maintenance guidelines and take the vacuum cleaner to a licensed repair person in case it breaks down.
Only seal cool or cold food
What is the next best practice? You’ll need to ensure your food is cold before vacuum sealing it. Vacuum sealing machines work by removing air from the package, and this can put excessive pressure on the food. Exposing the food to this pressure may excite its particles and cause it to boil. This affects the food’s structural integrity and makes it taste bad, especially when you seal it while hot.
Don’t overfill your vacuum bag
You should avoid overfilling the packing bag when sealing it. For starters, you should ensure the sealed product is in a single layer, whether it’s sliced or filleted foods. When storing multiple foods in a single packing bag, you should avoid stacking them. Instead, lay them flat. Additionally, you should avoid overfilling the packages with liquids because they could be absorbed by the vacuum into the internal components and break the vacuum sealing machine.
Remove all obstructions
You should watch out for any obstructions when sealing your food because they may cause the bag to let in air. Often, most sealing machines push condiments, obstructing the way when sealing food. However, some cannot push solid food particles out of the way. Thus, it helps you take extra caution and remove any obstructions out of the way before initiating the sealing process.
Don’t fold the vacuum bag
You should avoid folding the vacuum bag when sealing your food. Understand that different manufacturers create vacuum bags containing different materials, thickness, and compositions. As such, folding the back could cause it to break or form micro-cracks that could leak air into the bag and cause your food to go bad.
Note that there is the chance that your bag could be durable; however, there is still the chance that it could break. Thus, it's good if you exercise some caution.
Freeze any liquids before sealing them
Vacuum sealing liquids is challenging; however, there is a way to go around it. You should freeze the soup in the fridge, ensuring it is of an appropriate shape. You can do this by selecting an appropriate container that can fit your vacuum bag. Next, you should initiate the vacuum sealing process as usual by sealing the frozen blocks in the bags. You should seal the soups or liquids in sizeable portions that you can use as needed.
Use high-quality bags
You should use high-quality items when preparing and storing your food. You should purchase a good vacuum sealing machine and get high quality vacuum sealing bags if you plan to vacuum seal your food. Low quality bags put you at risk of contaminating your food when they melt. You can prevent such instances by purchasing high-quality sealing bags.
Be careful when packing food stuff
Vacuum sealing any food product is a process that requires to be followed carefully. This entails remembering all the steps and ensuring you don’t make any errors along the way. For instance, you should make sure no food particles or any kind of obstruction covers the sealing area. This prevents air from entering into the bag.
Conclusion
Vacuum sealing makes your food to last longer than anticipated. However, following all the steps above should be emphasized to ensure everything is okay.