Vacuum Food Pack Machine

[roiethome]

Has anyone seen a shop selling vacuum food pack machines in Bangkok ?

Had one previously but has been "lost" between moving many times.

I am looking for something similar to the enclosed pic,

many thanks,

[pauljones]

Saw something like that at Makro.

3,900 Bt.

[Nisa]

How do these things work in terms of keeping foods fresher longer? Are the bags expensive?

[puchooay]

How do these things work in terms of keeping foods fresher longer? Are the bags expensive?

This is the problem. I saw the one in Makro at 3000ish baht and asked the assistant about the bags. Only bags supplied by the machine manufacturer will work. Yes, they do work out expensive.

Edited August 10, 2011 by soundman
Fixed quote tags.

[harrry]

How do these things work in terms of keeping foods fresher longer? Are the bags expensive?

This is the problem. I saw the one in Makro at 3000ish baht and asked the assistant about the bags. Only bags supplied by the machine manufacturer will work. Yes, they do work out expensive.

Not quite true, any heat sealable bag will work however the thin ones reqire practice.

Freshness is a problem. I am concerned about the OPs stated use. THey will allow food to be refrigerated longer and stop oxidation and reduce the effects of Aerobic bacteria but I would not look on them as a substitute for refrigeration.

[dinger]

There was a post about this a while back.

And no I am not telling you to use the search function.

The point made on the post was watch out when buying. A lot of the stuff out there is junk and after a few uses it quits working. As the old saying goes "you get what you pay for"

Would be interested if you do indeed find a good one as would like to have one for myself

Regards

Edited August 9, 2011 by dinger

[roiethome]

Thanks for all the responses, I will look around Makro this week end, are they in all stores or can anyone tell me where they were seen on sale.

I am not looking to avoid refrigeration, but to use in preparation for freezing, and also cooking at lower temperature in a water bath under airless conditions, which is a great way to cook fish etc

Thanks

[thaipod]

I brought this subject up several months ago I would like to buy one for freezing purposes , leftovers pies fish etc .My wife has asked at different stores and not been able to find one . I remember the salad bar at the emporium was using a small industrial type which was effective and been meaning to ask where they bought it and I think some meat departments use them so you must be able to buy one in Bangkok

[theseahorse]

You can buy these from Central too. I bought one a little while ago to use for home freezing as it was only 600 baht in the sale. The brand is Nesco.

I've used professional sous vide machines for years and although these little home versons are nothing like the real thing, they do do a better job than clingfilm and everything stays fresher much longer in the fridge/ freezer than normal. It does say on the instructions that you can only use thier own brand thin plastic bags, but the thin ones don't work very well and I only use the thicker professional bags now.

Also, don't expect to be able to cook 'Sous Vide' very well with theses machines, they only use a fan to suck the air out and don't create a vacum. I did try it out and done a salmon mii-cuit sous vide, but I ended up having to weigh the bags down as there was still air in them. It worked, but not as well as when using a professional machine.

[roamer]

How do these things work in terms of keeping foods fresher longer? Are the bags expensive?

This is the problem. I saw the one in Makro at 3000ish baht and asked the assistant about the bags. Only bags supplied by the machine manufacturer will work. Yes, they do work out expensive.

Not quite true, any heat sealable bag will work however the thin ones reqire practice.

Freshness is a problem. I am concerned about the OPs stated use. THey will allow food to be refrigerated longer and stop oxidation and reduce the effects of Aerobic bacteria but I would not look on them as a substitute for refrigeration.

Sous vide should really be left to professionals,you mention aerobic bacteria but the bigger danger with this method is anaerobic bacteria or in other words, bacteria that grow in the absence of oxygen, Clostridium botulinum for example, botulism is not something you want to contact. Make sure you know the basic safety rules before you get too involved here.

Personally I have often found the best use for these machines to be in marinading food, do an excellent job in helping the marinade penetrate.

There is a much cheaper way of doing this achieving a decent vacuum, better than you can get from a cheap machine. Buy a aspirator pump like this from one of the school science supplies shop in Bangkok , stick it onto your tap and away you go ! Provided you have a half decent water pressure your in business!! A bit of a Heath Robinson arrangement I will admit but if your at a loose end with nothing to do...

My link

I think it must be me who is at a loose end....

[roiethome]

Thanks for all the responses. I bought a vacuum sealer at Makro Roi Et at the week end. It has a good suction and seal, as my chicken pieces which I sealed sink in water, so very little air in the bag. Patiently waiting for another 20 hours while they cook in a water bath in my slow cooker on it's lowest setting

[captpkapoor]

Is there any place in Bangkok where I can get fluffy pillows, comforters, etc vacuum packed so they occupy less space in my baggage?