More new gadgets :)

[SamuelWilson]

FoodSaver now has canisters they call "FreshSaver" or "ProduceKeeper". These are great. I just received my shipment today and I thought I would share with you some of the goodies I received.

[rawfigure]

Your kitchen must be overflowing with Gadgets..lol...

[Cinnamon]

More fun kitchen goodies... you have got to have the most well stocked raw food kitchen there is! Thanks for posting when you try out new things, it sure helps the rest of us to decide if we also want to try out a new product.

[SamuelWilson]

Is anyone else using these FreshSaver Canisters with the filter inserts.

[Raw Jewelrylady]

Samuel, Is this the "Food-Saver Brand" I see at Walmart? Did you just order the extra gadgets? I think I may need to start vacuum sealing. Thanks,
Lana

[SamuelWilson]

lanasq (Lana), I am so glad you asked that because this is a great opportunity for me to explain some things about vacuum sealing to everyone here at RawFoodTalk.

First of all, living foods need to breath, so for produce, you would not want to put them in vacuum sealed canisters (despite what I may have said or done in the past).

You may think, well I have seen pictures of vegetables that were vacuum sealed. This is true, but they were cooked vegetables. Dead vegetables do not give off ethylene gas, therefore cooked vegetables can be stored in vacuum sealed canisters. However, we are raw foodist, so this would not apply to us.

FoodSaver now has a system known as "FreshSaver" for keeping fresh and living produce. A FreshSaver canister is just a canister with a ethylene filter in the top of the lid. You buy these replaceable filters and change them out every 3 months. The canisters are not air tight and the produce inside can breath.

I have not seen the FreshSaver canisters at Wal-Mart. However, they might be at the Wal-Mart in your city, just not here. I have seen the FoodSaver Vacuum Systems though.

Ok, with all this being said, I still recommend the FoodSaver Vacuum System for raw foodist, because you still have lots of dried herbs and nuts that do not produce ethylene gas. For example, I now have some half gallon jars that I use to vacuum seal all my nuts. As we all know, nuts are dormant and until they are soaked, their enzyme inhibitors are in place. Therefore, I think it is perfectly ok to store them in vacuum sealed containers.

As far as the bottle stoppers go (used to seal oil bottles, etc.), I definitely recommend these. Whether you store your oil in the refrigerator or not.

I can't say enough good things about jar sealers, they allow you to use mason jars for dry food storage. I have both the wide-mouth jar sealer and the standard jar sealer.

If you want to order any of this stuff, please visit FoodSaver (http://www.foodsaver.com) or FreshSaver (http://www.freshsaver.com)

[eachpeachpearplum]

Do you actually need the vacuum machine with the Fresh Saver containers?? :o

[Raw Jewelrylady]

Thanks so much for taking the time to explain this to all of us !!! we do appreciate all the info you give us Samuel. :)

I have seen the "food-saver" at Walmart, but wasn't sure how it would work w/live foods.

I know there was a thread a while back about Carol Alt suggesting a glass -food-"saver "company, but it was quite expensive. I do, however, like to keep things in glass as much as possible. I am not a big fan of plastic, but nothing is perfect.

I'll check it out.

Lana

[misslinda]

Samuel, I found it, so these are your new toys! :p

[SamuelWilson]

eachpeachpearplum, you do not need the vacuum machine for the "FreshSaver" canister.

The simplest way I know how to explain it, is this. The FreshSaver canisters are just regular canisters with lids, the only difference is they are vented so that air can circulate and they have a ethylene filter in the lid. That is it.

The "FoodSaver" canisters are air tight and they have a special lid with an access hole in the top to vacuum seal it.

In summary, you couldn't vacuum seal the "FreshSaver" canisters even if you wanted to.

I hope I have not confused anyone.

[SamuelWilson]

lanasq (Lana), more than likely, the system that Carol Alt was speaking of is probably very similar to the "FreshSaver" canisters. Basically, you just want a container that will absorb ethylene gas and allow the living produce to breath.

I would also like to add that celery will still go limp even though it will retain its color longer. I have not figured out a way to make celery stay crisp for long periods of time. I guess that no matter what you do, produce will spoil, that is just how it is. I just feel that if I can extend the life a little bit, then why not.

[SamuelWilson]

misslinda, yes, these are my new toys. My favorite toy today is my Vita-Mix Super 5000. I am blending all sorts of stuff in it. I just blended a pair of gym sneakers.

[RawFoodieMom]

Samuel, thanks so much for sharing this. I have a FoodSaver, and I had NO idea that they had come out with breathable cannisters, this is awesome! :) Thanks for the links. This sounds like a great idea. I also have to check out the lids that fit mason jars!

Do you think it's okay to vacuum seal nuts that have been soaked and then dried in the dehydrator? That's what I do with almonds a lot. Then I store them in zip-top bags, but I'm think since they're dried again, if I do a lot at once, I could store have of them vacuumed and they might keep better?

Debra

[SamuelWilson]

RawFoodieMom, I think your dried nuts will do well in a vacuum sealed jar or a vacuum sealed FoodSaver bag.

[Rawadventures]

I use my Food Saver all of the time. I use it mostly for nuts, seeds, etc. I am going to have to check out these new containers for produce though.. they sound awesome. Once again, SamuelWilson, thanks for sharing!

[rawpriestess]

SW, the way to keep celery crisp is to allow it to soak up water.

This is how I do it.

I keep my celery in the fridge, and I allow it to wilt, which it will do, unless you have a huge tall fridge and room enough to stand it up in water, which I don't.

So, I let it wilt, then when I want a piece of fresh crispy celery, I place it in a glass with water and ice, and I let it sit for a few minutes to a half hour, however long it takes to crisp up, and voila' crispy fresh celery again.

this works with herbs too, except most herbs are small enough you can just place them in water, no leaves though, only stems.

and lettuce will stay crisp if it is air tight. I spray mine with a fine water mist.

Blessings,
Rawpriestess

[mbf]

SW, how is the Mango Pitter gadget you purchased from WS working out ?

MBF

[RawFoodieMom]

RP, thanks for the tips, that's great to know! :)

[SamuelWilson]

rawpriestess, thank for the idea. I had tried that on romaine lettuce one time, but I didn't use ice water. I just used water out of the faucet. I have nothing to lose by trying the ice water on the celery so that it will crisp up when I need it.

mbf, the mango splitter is doing a great job, I strongly recommend it. It is the greatest gadget so far. That corn kernel tool went in the garbage, it did not work very well at all it did was make a mess. Until I find a better way, I will just have to use a nice sharp kitchen knife and cutting board the old fashion way.

Ok, I want to talk a little about chopping now. I did some experiments and used the Vita-Mix for some chopping (variable speed 1) and it is not to my liking. They show you in the video that comes with the Vita-Mix how to chop onions, etc.. What they don't show you is the non-uniform cut result in the end. In my opinion, nothing dices better than a kitchen knife. The cuts are so uniform and nice. When I was looking at the salsa at the health food store I noticed that the cuts looked more like short slivers. Turns out, they chop their veggies in large food processors. Once again, I have decided to keep with the old system of a sharp kitchen knife and a cutting board.

[Rawmney]

Thanks for the latest gadget review, Samuel. Always helpful!

I assume you can mix more than one type of produce in a container. The site says two at $19.99, one at 7"X7"X4" and one at 7"X7"X6". Did you find one set handles a lot or did you need multiple?

RawPriestess, thanks for the celery hints.

[SamuelWilson]

Rawmney, You will need more than just the 2 containers. What you may want to do is buy the 2 containers to start off with and see how you like it. So far, the red chile peppers I have, in the larger of the 2 containers, are doing well.

They recommend that you do not mix types of produce. I am guessing it would be ok to mix peppers with peppers, but I date all my incoming produce and this would interfere with my dating system.

Also, for things like lettuce, celery, and other large produce, you will have to use the "Green Saver" bags.

A special tip, place a paper towel in the bottom of the canister for items which are prone to moisture.

Oh, and don't forget the bottle stoppers. I really like them.

[SamuelWilson]

I really like these half gallon glass jars, finally a jar big enough to store something.