Vacuum Pump & Tattler Lids

My Christmas present to myself.

I recently acquired three new fantastic food preserving tools.

1. FoodSaver Wide-Mouth Jar Sealer Kit
2. Ziploc Vacuum Starter Kit
3. Tattler Reusable Canning Lids & Rubber

If one vacuum packs food (removes the oxygen which allows food to spoil) with a vacuum pump, food will last much longer in the freezer, fridge, or dried.

Pickled beans in 20 minutes.

This vacuum pump that comes with the Ziploc Vacuum Starter Kit is an ideal inexpensive way to do this. I got mine for around $5 dollars at Wal-mart. The bags that come with it don't work very well. Other reviews on the web will attest to this. 

The secret is a second tool. The FoodSaver Jar Sealer. Available for around $10 on Amazon. It is designed to go with the  $100 food sealers. But the Ziploc pump is much cheaper and doesn't have to have electricity to run it. 

Just take a canning jar, put a regular canning jar lid (or tattler lid) on it, put the Jar Sealer over that, and then pump out the air. Take the Jar Sealer off and the lid stays on from the vacuum presure.

Fantastic money saving food preserving tools.

Using a vacuum is also a great way to instantly make pickles or marinate anything. I just took some canned string beans, added some vinegar and spices in a canning jar (you don't have to cover the beans), popped on a lid, and then created a vacuum in the jar. Presto! Twenty minutes later out came pickled beans. Amazing. The vacuum process gets the flavor through the whole bean.

Freezing is one of the easiest and most convenient ways of preserving food. However, over time it deterioates because of the oxygen that is in the package. Any food vacuum packed will last 2 to 3 times longer in the freezer.

Fresh cut up salads can last up to a week in a vacuum packed canning jar.

For those looking for an inexpensive way to preserve food, this is the way to go.

Tattler lid and ring

Oh yes! Tattler Reusable Canning Lids. I purchased them for $10 on Amazon. For over 30 years I have been trying to find a cheaper and more sustainable way to can food. I even did what you weren't suppose to do and used canning lids more than once. But sometimes they didn't seal and many couldn't be reused again. I got to the point where I hardly do any canning any more. That may have changed. 

Since the early 80's I had heard about Tattler lids. They had quit making them but for the last 30+ years you could occasionally find them on eBay. A few years ago they started making them again. The reviews of them are fantastic.

I used these to make my pickled vacuum packed beans and they worked great. Haven't canned with them yet. Will keep you posted.  


Here is good video showing how to make a salad in a Jar and different ways to vacuum seal a jar.