What size Food vacuum sealer bag or roll do I use
There is a lot of useful information in this blog so grab a cupa, take a seat, and have a good read.
How wide is my food vacuum sealer.
So firstly, it is all about size and the maximum your vacuum sealer will fit. Grab a tape measure and open the lid of the vacuum sealer. You will see a foam or rubber seal on the base and it will be an elongated shape, so measure from side to side on the inside of the seal. If you have a domestic vacuum sealer it will be somewhere around 28cm – 30cm. So, this is the maximum width that your vacuum sealer will take and we supply both 30 cm and 28 cm vacuum sealer bags and rolls for this reason. If you are unsure then get 28cm width. I should mention here also that when selecting your food vacuum sealer bags or rolls, that the first measurement is the width and the second is the length of the vacuum sealer bag or roll. If you have a commercial food vacuum sealer then the width could be 35cm or 40cm, we have one model that is 72cm wide and I have heard of them being wider than that. Do not make the mistake of seeing a 35cm wide vacuum sealer bag and thinking that would be great, so you order it just to find out that your vacuum sealer is only 30cm wide.
What type of food vacuum sealer do I have.
I will assume that you already know the difference between external bag vacuum sealers and chamber vacuum sealers. If not. External bag vacuum sealers will only take the vacuum sealer bags that are embossed or patterned on one side or both sides they will not work with a vacuum sealer bag that is smooth both sides as they cannot get all the air out. Chamber vacuum sealers work with vacuum sealer bags that are smooth both sides and this type of vacuum sealer bag is about 40% cheaper than the embossed vacuum sealer bags. However, a chamber vacuum sealer will still work fine with the embossed vacuum sealer bags.
Do I use food vacuum sealer bags or food vacuum sealer rolls.
Personally, I recommend using premade vacuum sealer bags, especially when doing larger volumes as the job will be easier and it will be easier on the vacuum sealer as it will be sealing half as much because you don’t have to make the vacuum sealer bag. The price per meter for vacuum sealer bags and vacuum sealer rolls of the same width are about the same price or close to it. However, it is always good to have a couple of different widths in vacuum sealer rolls on hand just in case you need to custom make a longer vacuum sealer bag. Do not try and cut pre made vacuum sealer bags up and make smaller vacuum sealer bags.
Smaller food vacuum sealer bags.
So, 10cm, 12cm, and 15cm vacuum sealer bags are very small and will fit a few hundred grams of product with the 15cm vacuum sealer bag being big enough to vacuum seal enough meat for 1 person, for 1 meal, about 250g. the long skinny 10cm and 12cm vacuum sealer bags are great for any salami type products. The 20cm x 30cm vacuum sealer bags are our most common bag and are great if vacuum sealing a meal for 2 people, fits about 500g – 600g of meat.
Correct way to fill a food vacuum sealer bag.
It is here I should mention that it is also very important to fill the vacuum sealer bag correctly. If you over fill it then you run the risk of getting liquid in the seal area and/or getting creases running up into the seal. Both problems are the most common we see when vacuum sealer bags are losing their vacuum after being vacuum sealed. Also, if you push the contents in from the sides and bottom about half a centimeter then it will be much easier to vacuum the air out of the bottom of the bag. You should have about 1/3 – ¼ of the vacuum sealer bag empty at the top to give some working room. All premade vacuum sealer bags are made a certain size to allow this while maximizing the use of the bag, so, DO NOT cut them up. When making a vacuum sealer bag from a vacuum sealer roll, it should always be longer than it is wide or else you will run into the problems listed above. There are some good videos found HERE for the beginners and the guy that knows everything already.
Medium food vacuum sealer bags.
So, back to vacuum sealer bag sizes. The 25cm vacuum sealer bag is great for bigger cuts of meat or vacuum sealing for a small family. It will fit around 1.4kg - 1.5kg of meat. The 28cm and 30cm vacuum sealer bags are for those bigger roasts and larger families and will fit 2kg – 2.5kg. Both of these vacuum sealer bags will be the maximum size your domestic vacuum sealer will take depending on the size of your food vacuum sealer, remembering some domestic vacuum sealers will take 30cm and some will only take 28cm. Our Status vacuum sealers only take the 28cm wide vacuum sealer bags and our Preservac and Lava vacuum sealers will take the 30cm wide vacuum sealer bags.
Large food vacuum sealer bags.
As for vacuum sealer bags like the 35cm x 50cm and 40cm x 60cm, which are great for the likes of whole rumps or pizza bases, but will need a bigger commercial vacuum sealer to accommodate this width of vacuum sealer bag like the Lava V.350 and V.400, the Status Provac 360 or the Preservac i400.
My recommendation when starting out.
OK, so after all this great info, if you are still going, so what shall I buy, then the best advise I can give you is make sure you have a variety. Without knowing what you are vacuum sealing and for how many people but assuming you are going to be vacuum sealing a variety of foods for the general house hold and you have a Preservac or Lava vacuum sealer or equivalent that is 30cm wide. Then I would recommend getting a vacuum sealer bags mixed sized deals, Deal 8 or Deal 9. I would also have on hand 2 sizes of rolls so if you have a roll film holder then 1 pack each of the 20cm and 28cm 2 packs of 5m rolls. If you do not have a roll film holder then 1 roll each of the 20cm x 15m and 28cm x 15m. This combination will have you covered for a few months to come and buy the time you start running out you will know what size you are using most and you just top up those sizes. Also, with this combination there is nothing you will not be able to vacuum seal unless it is bigger than the 30cm x 40cm bag.