In article >, cwells21
@NOSPAMhotmail.com says...
> http://www.alcoa.com/reynoldskitchen...ac/en/home.asp
>
> Anyone have this? tried it? Is it any good? It's sure cheaper than a
> Daizy.
>
> Cathy
>
I bought some of their quart-size bags recently to try out with my
FoodSaver Handheld. It's pretty easy to make an adapter out of a small
pill bottle so that the FoodSaver will mate with the one-way valve on
the bags.
My results so far have been pretty disappointing. I can draw a good
vacuum with the Foodsaver, but the bags don't seem to hold it for long.
The Reynolds bags are marketed as "freezer bags", and indeed the ones I
put into the freezer held their vacuum the longest, one for about a
week. The ones I tried with stuff to be refrigerated lost their vacuum
within a matter of hours. Same for the stuff I bagged up for pantry
storage.
The Reynolds bags seem to have a bit of clear, viscous liquid along the
zip-lock channel. It looks like glycerine. Whatever it is, I'm
guessing it's there to help seal the zipper closure. In any case, if
you're not very careful while filling the bags with dry stuff like
crushed herbs or powdered spices, bits will stick to this liquid and
gunk up the zipper seal, making it leaky.
I had high hopes for using these bags with the FoodSaver, but based on
my experience so far, I wouldn't recommend them. They may work fine
when used with the Reynolds vacuum tool vs. the FoodSaver, but I doubt
it would make that much difference. The Handi-Vac "system" seems like
on of those NEW! products that is basically flawed, soon disappears from
mainline store shelves, then shows up on Ebay until stocks are depleted.
The FoodSavers beat it hands down in every respect. I'm sure the Seal-
a-Meal units do as well. In the long run, tight wrapping and/or double-
bagging will probably be as good as or better than the Handi-Vac for
preventing freezer burn.
By the way, the vacuum tool closely resembles a rather specialized
female sex toy and/or an appliance I've seen sold for "pore cleansing".
So if you do decide to buy a Handi-Vac, you'll probably want to make
sure the package you grab has not been opened. ;-)
Bob