We Used a Vacuum Sealer To Save Thousands on Groceries. Here’s How

The first time I remember having sticker shock at a grocery store was just after we’d gotten back from a weeks-long trip out of the country. My partner had been dreaming of a ribeye steak, but once he saw the price — $4 more a pound than before we left — he put it back on the shelf.

A few months later, after discovering it on sale for half the price, he bought a 13-pound slab of it to cut into steaks. He also found a solution for how to preserve it without fear of freezer burn: enter the vacuum sealer.

Previously, a vacuum sealer was an appliance we’d only vaguely heard of. Now, it’s one of our most cherished tools. Thanks to it, we not only save money through buying items in bulk, but also through reducing food waste, since we can seal leftovers and unused ingredients.

We also save time by batch cooking meals to thaw out on nights when time is tight — a strategy which also helps us eat healthier by avoiding fast food.

How a Vacuum Sealer Works

Vacuum sealers suck the air out of specialized bags, jars and other containers, then create an airtight seal to keep it out. With the oxygen gone, the food lasts an estimated five times longer, being protected from freezer burn and bacterial growth.

Good food candidates for vacuum sealing include:

• Dry goods, like flour, sugar and pantry snacks.
• Anything freezable, like meats, soups, cooked meals, berries, peaches, blanched/cooked vegetables and even wine.
• Refrigerated goods that you want to last longer without freezing.
• Foods that don’t take well to vacuum sealing:
• Fruits like bananas, avocados and whole apples.
• Veggies like mushrooms, raw onions, potatoes, cucumbers and uncooked leafy greens.
• Soft cheeses.

How Much Money Our Vacuum Sealer Has Saved Us

We used to waste the typical amount of food for an American household, roughly $1,500 a year. Now, that number is probably closer to $300. We almost never have spoiled food, partly because we vac seal it, but also because the appliance helped us become more aware of our eating habits. Now we’re better about gobbling up what needs to be eaten and not overbuying at the grocery store. On top of that, we save at least another $500 a year by buying meat on sale, plus items in bulk.

Subtract from that the money we’ve spent on vac sealers and bags during that time, which is about $230 on machines and $130 for bags, and the total amount we’ve saved since we bought our first vacuum sealer in 2019 comes to more than $9,600.

That doesn’t even include the environmental benefits of not wasting food, which are pretty significant when you factor in the water used to grow crops and feed animals, ecosystem contamination from fertilizers and pesticides, and greenhouse gas emissions, which are created from land cleared for farming and grazing, plastics in packaging, pollution from transportation and the creation of methane as food decomposes in landfills.

A Few More Benefits of Vac Sealers

• Save space. We also vac seal meals for camping, where we have limited cooler space.
• Speed up marinating meats and veggies.
• Seal household items to keep dust and moisture out, like decorations and first-aid supplies.
• Seal items to keep them from getting lost, like small parts and hardware.

What We Don’t Love About Our Vacuum Sealer

The obvious downside is an overload of plastic, which is likely adding microplastics and chemicals to our food, plus certainly contributing to land, air and water pollution. We at least try to buy BPA-free bags.

Also, keep in mind that vac-sealed food can still spoil, and the bacteria that cause botulism can still live within the anaerobic conditions created in a vac-sealed environment.

Vacuum Sealers We Recommend

We started out with a hand-held model, which just didn’t have enough oomph for most of our applications. Next, we tried the smallest-size edge sealer, which was okay, but still lacking for our needs.

We finally settled on this one by Potane, which has been a workhorse for years. Granted, we have had to do a few repairs to it, but they were simple to figure out and DIY. If that one finally wears out, we’re considering this one by Fresko.

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