I am thinking of getting one and was hoping those of you who use them can give me some pointers.
I want to be able to vac seal a large 8" wheel.
bought the weston pro from a guy in seatlle on ebay. great machine and nice folks. will vac 15" bags so i'll also be vacing some wheels. he did state that these types on machines are not legal for retail sales but i use it no problem for tail gate market sales. vic
Isn't this JUST a sealer without vacuum?
Why not get a FoodSaver? They are inexpensive and will vacuum (8"is easy on a FoodSaver). You can get the bags inexpensively online on eBay and Amazon and there are always good coupons for them you can find online. I have the v3840 and I found an online coupon when I bought it and got like half off and all kinds of freebies. They also have a very inexpensive handheld model.
If you are going to use it a lot you may want to get a VacMaster. Their cheaper models like the Pro 90 or Pro 130 may do the job. They also make chamber type models for which they are well known. Chamber models don't such the air and instead they apply atmospheric pressure on the bag for the air to come out of it. They have adjustable pressure, they work instantly, and they can handle hundreds of bags per day -but they are expensive. You can get used ones from restaurant supply shops at good price.
Thanks.
I was thinking this would work for larger than the 11" vac sealer I have. But I got larger bags and will seal them that way.
I bought mine on ebay with bags that come in rolls. Millions of options there. Look for the largest width, watts and vacuum pressure. Most of those options are not adjustable in the basic sealer, although in some, vacuum pressure is important when you need low pressure due to the delicate nature of the product. I remember vacuuming fresh ravioli pasta once for the freezer and the pasta just imploded due to the pressure. That said, pressure is not an issue for cheese unless you are dealing with a very soft delicate cheese. Do a test first or it might be crushed by the vacuum pressure. The rolls are great because you can make your own size bags. you can also make smaller bags with the heat sealer but that doesn't matter much for cheese I guess, but does go down a treat with the wife when she wants to store food in portions.
I actually have a few questions about vacuum sealers as I use it for storing some of my cheeses (mostly hard, non washed rind cheeses such as cheddar). Are there long term issues for flavour for the cheese as it is not allowed to breath? That is, no moisture escaping, possible sourness? Can the vacuum sealer replace waxing as a close alternate or is it only for final storage longevity when the cheese has finished ageing or has been cut and can't be consumed in normal time? For me, vacuum sealing is clearly beneficial in stopping things such as mould etc, but I am worried I am taking the easy way out sometimes as it is so convenient - as opposed to doing the hard yards with moisture controlled ageing under the cave-like environment.
You can use vacuum in lieu of waxing in my opinions. I only use it for rindless cheeses such as dunked Tommes. Wherever you want rind and flora, I would avoid it
As far as ravioli imploding...I frequently seal up wet food and/or delicate foods like muffins. Instead of just pushing the button and letting the sealer do its thing, I watch and when most of the air is gone from the bag, I interrupt the automatic process and tell it to SEAL NOW!
It works quite well.
Also, if your sealed cheese shows liquid in the bag after some time, just open the bag dry it out and reseal either in the same or a new bag.
-Boofer-
Quote from: iratherfly on September 28, 2011, 05:32:41 AM
They also have a very inexpensive handheld model.
Which one is that? I want one for 5inch wheels and the stuff available in israel is either overly priced chinese rebranded crap which will likely brake down after a year or these italian high end stuff for vaccum cooking and cost a fortune.
At one point I even asked a lady at the dairy stand if they have a vaccum machine and can seal stuff for me,she looked it like im crazy. :)
The butcher shop (Izen) has one an charge an extra 1.5nis for a bag.
I'm gone do some vaccumed loin this weekend ;)
Well Tomer, even if you buy a brand new sealer, most of them require some special bags or rolls. If you want a portable FoodSaver I can probably sell you my brand new one (never used, still in a box) for a few dollars and bring it with me the next time I am down there. The big FoodSaver is great, I just hate how wasteful it is. They designed it so that it will leave 2" of edge whenever you seal so that you run out of their rolls/bags faster. It's also annoying because you cannot do small bags and you constantly have to cut away these loose 2" ends. Drives me nuts. But a good vacuum. For my creamery I will probably get a vacuum chamber instead.
To seal wet foods, like blanched vegetables, I partially freeze them on a cookie sheet first, then vac/seal them.
I have a rule about eating stuff which are only in season. (except tomatos which come from greenhouse , I love tomatos...) :)
Steff-you can use the foodsaver and make your own custom sizes. I have seen a member post(maybe DJDebi)that makes her own size bags
by cutting and sealing the bag material to the size she needs. I recall that it was stated that it worked well but needed a little fooling around
with the bag material.
Quote from: mtncheesemaker(Pam) on October 27, 2011, 02:19:04 PM
To seal wet foods, like blanched vegetables, I partially freeze them on a cookie sheet first, then vac/seal them.
Yeah, when blueberries, and then cherries, were in season this year I bought at a decent price, washed, spread them out on a cookie sheet to freeze, and then vacuum-bagged them. Hey, cherries in winter! :D
So many good uses for the machines. I love mine...can't imagine what I ever did before. Sealing cheeses is so much easier, quicker, and less messy than waxing.
-Boofer-
Would/has anyone sealed a romano or parmesan in a vacuum bag during its ageing time? That is, seal it for its entire ageing period (a year or so) I have a 2 month old romano that I am thinking of sealing in a vacuum bag as i want the space it is using with a ripening container. I know you're not supposed to seal it but I know some people wax them. I have to use these ripening containers for everything because of lack of humidity in my cave. I am worried the romano will not age properly and be like an aged cheddar at the end if I seal it up.
I have a couple Beauforts vacuum-sealed and aging quietly. Their rinds were developed quite satisfactorily and I didn't figure they'd suffer for being bagged at that point. Depending on my mood, they may be opened for Christmas or sometime next summer. At this point they already have about 6 month's age on them.
That's the limit of my experience with hard cheeses that need long aging. I can't speak about Romano or Parmesan directly. I would expect it to be similar.
-Boofer-
Quote from: silverjam on October 28, 2011, 12:18:19 AM
Would/has anyone sealed a romano or parmesan in a vacuum bag during its ageing time? That is, seal it for its entire ageing period (a year or so) I have a 2 month old romano that I am thinking of sealing in a vacuum bag as i want the space it is using with a ripening container. I know you're not supposed to seal it but I know some people wax them. I have to use these ripening containers for everything because of lack of humidity in my cave. I am worried the romano will not age properly and be like an aged cheddar at the end if I seal it up.
Well,a main part of the grana type is low moisture content ,some which results during aging.
If you seal it it wont be as dry yet it will still taste good.
I seal mine all the time. The moisture content in the cheese is a result of the way you make it, not from bagging.
Sure but with 12-24 months of aging you lose quiet a bit of moisture in 80-85% RH.
If I open a 3 weeks old parm it wont be as brittle as an older aged cheese wouldnt you agree?
But Sailor... what is the final product like after you seal it from the start? And how long do you age it sealed?
I age everything naturally for 3-4 weeks then vac bag. Then you can age as long as you want. I am very pleased with my results.
Hey Sailor,
Two questions.
I purchased cheese wax intending to wax my hard cheeses. (I'm just gtg started with this hobby.)
Had a Cheshire not knit together well so I took some advice and vacuum sealed it.
Worked really well. First question.... why would anyone wax when vacuum sealing is so easy? Is wax more efficient in some way?
My intention is to do only hard cheeses for the most part.
Second question.... I have been fighting like crazy to keep my new 52 bottle wine cooler humidity above 80%. Decided to try putting freshly pressed cheeses in tupperware with a bowl of saltwater to keep humidity more constant around the cheese. We will se how that goes.
So for the vacuum sealed cheeses that are aging and not in the tupperware..... does the humidity in the fridge really matter at all??
I mean... the air is not getting inside the vacuum seal, so why would it matter? I would think that temp is the only concern.
Your thoughts??
Hey.... happy hoildays to everyone by the way!!
John
Rattman- you are correct, there is no reason to wax when you can vacuum seal EXCEPT tradition. The humidity problem is always an issue with that type of wine cooler-just the nature of the beast. For natural rind wheels of course it is a big part of the aging process, you are correct though,once sealed it doesn't really matter at all.
Thanks Zenith! And I just realized that there was a whole other section about aging cheese in the technique section. But I didn't really come across any threads that discussed a preference either way.
I understand from one of Linuxboy's posts that amonia might build up and create a funky smell when vacuum packed.... but he also said that it would dicipate fairly quickly....so no big deal
He also said that the final product would be/taste different from natural/wax/vacuum..... but he never really indicated what he did and what his preference was. And I understand that the high temp italians would more likely be aged with a natural rind.... not sure why though.
So for those of you old cheeses out there..... do you generally use wax or vacuum for hard cheeses.... and why??
I have both at my disposal.
I seal all of my cheeses and I have some asiagos, parms, provelones and romanos that are over 6 years old. Sealing does not harm them - in fact I have found it to be a great way to age cheeses.