FoodSavers - luxury, essential, or necessity?

FoodSaver - get one at a fraction of the cost from Craigslist.

Just to be clear I am not one to hoard kitchen appliances. Even though a have a few in my name I will only commit after having done extensive research on the item: first, it must be multi purpose and of excellent quality and second, is the price right?

Today I am telling you about my FoodSaver. I have played with the idea of buying one for a couple of years, but spending about $100 for the base model + expensive bags just was not in my budget. But, after repeatedly throwing away freezer burned organic chicken and ice encrusted mystery meat I finally had it. There is nothing more frivolous to me than throwing away food. I researched all the different models at online stores and Amazon.com just to come to the conclusion that I did not want to spent that much money until I thought of checking my local Craigslist. After a few days of looking I found a base-model, including a vacuum seal container and 3 rolls of bags, all NIB, for only $35 - SCORE!

Pre-marinted chicken - ready for the freezer - properly labeled and dated.

I have used my new FoodSaver several time now and looking back over how much frozen food I have thrown away over the last 12 months it has already payed for itself - a few times over. I like to buy whole, organic chickens and larger cuts of grass-fed beef, which are both very expensive, and freeze smaller portions ready for use.

I also like to marinade cuts of meat, vacuum-pack them, keep them in the fridge for 24 hours to give the marinade a chance to penetrate, and then freeze them - labeled appropriately of course! Also, frozen meats should be used within 6 months and please, when you defrost them only do so by either thawing them in the fridge for 24 hours or placing them in a bowl in the sink under cold, running water.

Would I consider my $35 FoodSaver a luxury, essential, or necessity? At $35 you can't really call it a luxury; not so much an essential if you are not much into freezing your foods; but an absolute necessity if you do like to freeze foods and find yourself throwing them away frequently.

So, next time you are considering that expensive new kitchen gadget give your local Craigslist a chance and saver yourself $$ or if you can't find on there check out the Amazon.com for great deals on Foodsavers and vacuum sealers every day!