When the time comes to use your new food saver vacuum sealer on those turkey or ham holiday leftovers, you will discover that nothing is more useful than food saver rolls.  The value of vacuum food sealers in general is undisputed.  They effectively double or triple the shelf life of refrigerated fruits and vegetables, and they simplify the storage of meals prepared in advance or leftovers.  The only issue, if you had to find one, is that the size of the food saver bags isn’t always convenient for what you want to store.  There are other options, of course.  Food saver containers are very popular, and accommodate larger sizes than the bags.  However the most customizable container, bar none, is the food saver roll.

Food saver rolls are essentially long food saver bags sealed only on the side edges and rolled onto a cardboard tube.  They can be cut to the appropriate length for your needs, one end can be sealed, and then the remaining end can be sealed once food is inserted and the custom-made bag evacuated.  These custom-sized bags are ideal for sealing up long items, like cucumbers or stalks of celery.  They also work very well for sealing large amounts of food, such as leftover meat or vegetable platters after parties.

Food saver bags and rolls are made from a plastic sheeting that has small channels pressed into one of the interior sides.  When the edges of the bag are pressed together inside of a rubber gasket, the seal is imperfect because these tiny channels remain open.  It is through these channels that the air is withdrawn from inside the bag when vacuum is applied.  When the air has been withdrawn, heat is applied by a strip alongside the sealing gasket and the bag melts closed, effectively sealing off the small channels along the heated edge.

The first vacuum food sealers were large, bulky affairs that took up quite a bit of counter space.  In the years since they were introduced, they have slimmed down quite a bit.  Currently marketed food saver devices are about the size of a portable printing device.

There are several competing devices on the market which also purport to either evacuate and seal, or just seal, food storage bags.  One is called the Eurosealer.  This device has no mechanism for evacuating air from a bag, but claims that it will heat seal any pre-manufactured bag closed and keep out air.  It claims to be good for re-sealing bags of potato chips and the like.  In practice, the performance of this device falls far short of its promises.

Another product, manufactured by Glad, is a handheld battery operated device that withdraws air from special Glad bags with a certain kind of seal.  This device works well.  Food items are placed in the bag, which closes with a standard zip-lock seal, and then the air is removed by placing the hand-held pump over the special seal.  The difference between this bag and a food saver bag is that the seal is not permanent.  Over the period of a few days, air works its way into the bag through the seal.

It’s quite common to find a vacuum food saver in kitchens all across the country now.  These devices are a compromise between short-term storage of food in plastic containers or zip-lock bags and long term storage by pressure canning.  Preserving foods by pressure canning is a skill that many modern people never learn, although it’s still quite common in rural areas.  In pressure canning, food is placed into glass jars sterilized by heat, typically in boiling water.  The jars are drained of boiling water, filled with the food to be preserved and then placed again in boiling water, nearly but not quite immersed.  A lid with a rubber seal (also sterilized in boiling water) is placed on the jar and a retaining ring is loosely screwed on to the jar.  As the pan of boiling water, and the jar, cool, the air inside the jar contracts.  This draws the lid down upon the jar tightly, creating a vacuum seal.  Since everything is sterile and now under vacuum and air-tight, harmful bacteria cannot get into the jar and the food is preserved.

It sounds like a long, detailed process because it is.  Care must be taken at every step, or else the food will spoil.  Many people have given up this practice and have no desire to learn it.  They simply buy food from the grocery store when they need it, getting wintertime produce that has been recently harvested in warmer climates.  However, there is still a desire to make this food last as long as possible in the modern refrigerator.  No one wants to throw out food we have paid for because it has gone bad before we could eat it all.  And there are many times we want to purchase food in large quantities because it is less expensive that way, or because it is on sale, even though it is more than we can consume before it would spoil.

That’s where vacuum food sealers come in.  Where the canning process uses high temperatures to create a vacuum, a vacuum sealer does the same thing (almost) mechanically, by attaching a small vacuum pump to a container and withdrawing air through a tube.  The container is then sealed, the pump removed, and we have a sealed container of food with very little air inside.  This drastically improves the useful life of fruits and vegetables in the refrigerator.  It also removes moisture and allows foods to be frozen without freezer burn.

Many vacuum food savers withdraw the air from a plastic bag containing food.  They function in the same manner as a food saver with a container, except that they use plastic bags or various sizes.  With a plastic bag you can visibly see that the air has been withdrawn, because the bag contracts and conforms to the shape of the food as the air is evacuated.  In most cases the food saver vacuum sealer is a large countertop device, but they have been decreasing in size over the past few years.  One device, the Glad Handy-sealer,  is even a hand-held model with a suction cup that attaches to a special zip-lock bag.

Anyone who owns a vacuum sealer will need to invest in a vacuum sealer roll. These are used as an alternative to sealer bags when vacuum sealing foods and other items. Rolls allow the user to determine how much space is around the item that is sealed. They offer more flexibility then the pre-cut bags. Vacuum sealer rolls are made from heavy duty materials that usually include nylon to make them more durable as some of these bags will be subjected to high heats from microwaves and coldness from freezers.  These bags can be purchased in many retail stores or supermarkets and even through online merchandisers. Vacuum sealer bag rolls are very economical.

Vacuum sealer bags are used to seal items using a sealer. Sometimes the bags can be purchased with the sealer as a set. When purchasing the vacuum sealer roll make sure that you are purchasing quality bags. The bags should be made with materials that are approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This will ensure that the materials in the sealer roll are safe and will not adversely affect the food products especially when placed in the microwave or frozen. It is also recommended that the sealer rolls come with a mesh liner. The mesh liner adds strength to the rolls and it also provides a protection against moisture and oxygen. It is also preferable that you purchase a box of rolls that come with an integrated cutter so that you can pre cut the length of the material easily prior to sealing.

Many of these rolls can be purchased three to a box which can last for quite a long time. A vacuum sealer that utilizes vacuum rolls allows the user to make bags that are custom made which can be very convenient for large food items that need to be vacuumed. In addition, these bags can be reused making them very economical and environmentally friendly. Many stores sell the vacuum rolls deeply discounted and they can be used for so many other products.

The best feature of a vacuum seal bag and roll is its versatility. These rolls cane be used in conjunction with a sealer to not only protect food items but other items around your home. Some people make there own trash can liners using these rolls. Many people find that owning a sealer that vacuum allows them to create their own bags for other purposes which help them to save money. There are a number of sealers on the market that range from the very affordable supermarket brand to those that are industrial quality. It is recommended that you purchase supplies that are compatible with the sealer that you have purchased. There are some instances where are a certain type of roll may be required for your sealer. For best results it is always best to purchase the product that will provide the best results.

Vacuum seal rolls are necessary in order to operate your sealer. When purchasing rolls for your vacuum sealer it is best to purchase a product that uses high quality materials so that you can get the most out of your vacuum sealing machine.

You can purchase a vacuum sealer roll from any major department store. Generally, they are available anywhere you would be able to purchase a vacuum sealer machine. The vacuum sealer rolls are for use with products such as the Seal-a-meal machine. They are constructed of a heavy duty plastic and can hold many different types of items.

Target has a Seal-a-meal 11 inch roll two pack that is 10 feet long for $9.99 on their website. These types of vacuum sealer bag rolls come in as one continuous roll of plastic. When you use the vacuum sealer itself, it creates a seal and cut off point at the end. Homestead Harvest is another online retailer of products for the home and offers several different types of vacuum machines for use with food storage. They carry products for sealing foods in jars as wells as for sealing products in plastic storage bags.

The site offers the Deni Magic Vac food storage sealer, the Freshlock Turbo Vacuum storage bag sealer and the Vac Master Pro. In addition they have several units available for larger industrial, use as in a business. You can also purchase the food saver bags or vacuum sealer bags to use with each of these products. They carry the VacMaster ARY vacuum food storage bags and pouches as well as the pre-cut food saver bags. The food saver bags come in many sizes such as the 1 quart size and the variety pack with two 8 inch bags and two 11 inch bags. They also carry the Magic Vac bags for the Deni vacuum in various size rolls.

You can also buy the vacuum sealer bag that works with the Space Saver vacuum. These are available through the online site and come in various sizes. They are also constructed of a heavy plastic material to support the vacuum and sealing of the bag. You will also find these bags at major retailers such as Sears and Walmart. If you are looking to use the sealer bags with non-food items you can also choose to use any heavy duty plastic bag such as a large trash bag to create your own type of sealer bag.

Whether you need the sealer rolls for food items or for storage you won’t have any difficulty finding them at your local department store. The sealer machines have become extremely popular over the years and the products are widely used. You may even be able to find them at your local grocery store as well. The heavy durable plastic construction of the bags, make them the ideal choice for storage purposes. They can have a very long life span and if taken care of properly, the non-food storage bags can also be reused. Because they make good storage for clothing they do make for a good investment if you want to save on cleaning bills.