FoodSaver Cut & Seal VS2198

Easy to use! – I thought these were only for hunter gather types or those who are really organised and plan weeks ahead – I am neither. Any way I was taken in by the easy as 1-2-3 graphic and took it home. It is an an oddly satisfying experience to seal up food and soon I became more engaged with saving left overs and portioning ingredients for the freezer. It… Read more

became how I do things very quickly. I also found myself laminating a few things here and there, especially when I took my phone out in a mate's boat, bit more relaxing knowing you weren’t going to lose a phone if it got wet. It looks smart and sits nicely on the bench, see the pic. I like that because it is much more practical to keep things on the bench, I would struggle to use it if had to get it out every time.

Wish I had one years ago – I've always wanted one of these after I worked in a commercial kitchen. I find myself throwing out so much food that the kids just didn't feel like eating that week. This is so valuable in that I can bulk buy and vacuum seal it all up in portions and can freeze if need be. It is so easy to use and light weight, I don't have a lot of bench space, but it fits neatly on what I do have. Show details

Great sealer to arrange food – This is a good sealer that will help you arrange food for later use or if you like to buy in bulk and partition on smaller sized for your usage. I really liked the containers as you can reuse them lots of times, they also have an indicator so you know the vacuum has been done so no more guessing! I wish the attachment would have a more stable… Read more

connector as it came out very easy, It also could have been that the hose was in the packaging shape and needed more usage to get loose and dont pull on the connection.

Happy with this food saver! Dont hesitate to get one for your kitchen!

Pretty good design, needing a bit of manual judgement in the degree of vacuum length – In using this appliance I found it to be pretty well built. It has a clever design in storing the plastic roll inside the device, similar to the Luvele Deluxe Pro Vacuum Sealer. It also has a well designed way of preventing the seals from being damaged due to incorrect storage. This is one of the biggest problems with these sealers if you store… Read more

them with the lid clamped down, as it ruins them over time. The same lever you set to seal has open and store options to help protect it when not in use. The lever feels a bit flimsy when first using, but seemed to stand up to use over these last few weeks. It has a 20 second delay between sealings, which is not too bad by the time most of us get the next bag ready for sealing this is not too long and you shouldn't feel like you are held up waiting for it to cool. It also came with some useful vacuum ziplock bags, and a connector hose to use with marinating containers. These are very handy and after using them on beef pieces we were very happy with the flavour intensity after leaving them around 15 minutes. Instructions are good, and well explained. The Vacuum tube needs to be held in place a bit until the vacuuming begins, or it falls off easily, but this isn't a deal breaker. You will need to keep an eye on the food items as the vacuum goes, as it will crush many chips, crispix, cornchips if left to its own timing. You can easily end the vacuum when you see it's enough and it automatically seals the bag. The seal is a thinner strip than the Luvele, but does seem very good and intense melting of the joins. This sealer also has a removable tray within the vacuum area, and with use you will get to know when to halt the vacuuming part to minimise seepage into it. It will lengthen the life of your frozen meat and you will never get freezer burn on it again. IF you don't have one, this device is well worth looking at. With a 2 year warranty I think you will get many years of use out of this product.

Your great friend in the kitchen for better organizing your time by pre-prepping meals – One of the main benefits of vacuum sealing using the VS2198 is that meal time preparation does not all have to carried out in a rush following a busy day at work. The vac sealer allows marinating and sealing well in advance, either by using the Vacuum Zipper bags in conjunction with the hand-held sealer, the “make it yourself bags” from the Food… Read more

Save Roll or the Food Saver Vacuum Containers. The sealing of ingredients for your meal – meat, chicken, minimally par boiled (or Sous Vide) veges, fish or left overs such as bolognaise - just about anything - can all be vac sealed for longevity and followed up by cooking or refrigeration - again saving time on preparation for another meal at another date.

Three years ago I started using a Sunbeam VS7850 FoodSaver which very quickly became my number one kitchen companion (very soon followed with the purchase of a Sous Vide that created a great partnership in combination with the VS7850) – these have remained the most indispensable items in my kitchen in regard to food preparation.

As a result of great experiences with the VS7850 (which is still operating as well as it did on day one and in use by my son), I was very keen to try the new VS2198 which I now use and highly recommend it as a worthy successor and an essential addition to any kitchen.

It Addressed Some Tangible Wants – I was sent this as part of the Ambassador review scheme. My views are my own and completely objective. Over the years we have accumulated various gadgets that have always tended to be in addition to the mainstay hob/oven/grill, microwave and kettle. Over time they have mostly worked their way into dark cupboards, never to be seen again for any… Read more

practicable purpose. I had half eyed these sealers but being busy put off getting with the above in mind and being busy.

RAW FRESH MEATS: I don't fish often enough or "hunt" at all, and we don't buy in that much bulk. If the week gets off schedule I would just put these in the freezer quickly, and there would not be wastage.

FRESHLY COOKED MEATS (ESPECIALLY WHOLE CHICKEN IN MY CASE): Far too often one of us has bought one or two of these at a time, especially two if on offer. Great idea at the time but all too often way too much is wasted as the week goes off track and we end up eating out or something. This little device simply solves this issue. I let them cool, cut them in half, vacuum seal the halves and they will very happily keep for a week I have found. Not tried longer but that's plenty anyway (see pic).

AVOCADO: I have grown to hate seeing these wasted over the years. Whether they are too soft when first cut due to not being used quickly enough or turning to a brown mush in the fridge for the same reason. In the fridge, they seem to turn brown and strange-looking almost in minutes (over-exaggeration but it's quick). NOT anymore. I am very happy here as they can simply be cut in half, put in the fridge in a vacuum bag or use the, always at hand roll, and they will happily keep for well over a week and look as fresh as the day they went in. The picture shows one after nearly two weeks storage, and it looks more like in there for a very very short time.

SOFT FRUITS (STRAWBERRIES ESPECIALLY IN OUR CASE): Thrown way too many away in the past. The vacuum bowls come into play here. We just put the excess of the on the day purchase in one and they will keep for several days beyond just putting them in the fridge without vacuum sealing. I have not experimented for longer as that's plenty for us.

RAVIOLI: In the past, the freshly packaged filled kind has been opened and half or more of it has been thrown away so many times I have lost count. My daughter particularly likes the vegetarian options, cooks a bit of it and not much later the rest is going hard in the fridge in the past. No more wastage here either as so easy to pop in the excess in one of the bowls and vacuum it. It will keep way past not doing so, and thus there is no more wastage here.

FRESH VEG / POTATOES: Home at 10 PM and the thought of peeling spuds or skinning fresh carrots or preparing fresh broccoli is an extra step that does not happen. What has happened too often is more wastage, especially with broccoli. If we are running over on things I am happy to cut broccoli up in a spare moment and vacuum it quickly rather than knowing it is compost, at best. Also, I am very happy to prepare fresh potatoes, vacuum them and just leave them in the fridge to get used during the week rather than go for the oven chips again. I give a few to my son for usage during the week when he visits knowing full well his freezer is not his priority, and that he will end up eating takeout more if I don't.

FAST MARINATING OF RAW MEAT: I don't blame the company for mentioning it as everyone else makes claims here. My research says the science says it can't work and I agree with that research.

Crisps: I tried using the sealer on the foil bag they come from the shop in. Fine if you like crushed crisps, LOL. Perhaps the vacuum bag would be better but the two I had were always in use elsewhere.

CONCLUSION: Rather than being an extra way of doing certain things vacuuming is, at the very least, the easiest and most direct route to solving some real needs that we had. I have had this kit for over a month and it gets used often enough that it's as there to stay as the microwave. I tend to use the roll that is self-contained as it's so easy to just pull out as and when versus the bags, but I guess that's personal. I am on the lookout for a couple more vacuum bowls as the two supplied are constantly on duty and not enough for how much we use this. It now has it's own easy to go-to place on the kitchen top.

An appliance I didn't know I needed and now can't live without – I was sent this as part of the ambassador program. Truth be told I had been eyeing one of these types of machines off over the last few years. My dad always used one and i've wanted one since. I love it so much it now has a permanent spot on the bench! First things first - Out of the box if you don't read the instructions (like myself) you'll… Read more

probably be left wondering what the heck to do with the 5000 pieces. It's actually very easy once you do the reading.

Pro's -

. You get a generous amount of everything out of the box . Seems well built (save for 1 issue listed below) . Is straight forward to use once you get the hang of it . Seals & vacuums well . Not the loudest, but definitely not the quietest I've seen/used . Auto switch off after sealing/vacuuming . The containers seal very well! I tried to remove them once they were on - No success! They are also built very well & thick. . There's a cool little bubble on the top of the containers that pop in and out to let you know if the containers are still sealed or not

Con's -

. I feel like the tube & tube surrounds on the machine that you use to suck the air out of the included containers are too brittle and will break over time. I noticed a bit of movement in ours after a few uses and wondered if it would stand the test of time? . A longer power cord wouldn't go astray. We couldn't put this where we wanted out of the way because the cord was not long enough. This was a minor issue for us, but maybe for someone with limited bench it might be a bit more of an issue.

The following two are not negative so much as something I'd love to see added - something to help hold the internal plastic roll would be fantastic! It's held in by the a plastic bar which doubles as the cutter. However if you pull with any force at all it just pushes the bar out of the way as it's not possible to lock it in. A little latch for the cutter bar would solve that problem.

The addition of suction feet on the base - This would make using the machine just that bit easier. I often found myself calling my partner to help hold the machine if I was dealing with an item that was bulky

We've extensively used ours now for a range of things - Sealing cereals, chip packets, kids lunch snacks, nuts, meat to be frozen etc etc We've even tried the included containers for salad mixes, & yes, they extend the life and keep them fresher for longer! Usually we get around 5 days from the crunchy slaw mixes in the bags, we used what we wanted and added the remaining to the container. Sucked the air out with the included containers and boom. Left them in the fridge for a further week and they were still fine when we ate them...

The day we got the machine i opened up a bag of chips, ate some, then immediately sealed them. I didn't open them until I took the photos below for this review. They were still perfectly fresh. I think it's a great way to extend the shelf life of chips/other snacks quickly and easily without creating more waste! I often find myself walking past and sucking the air out & sealing up ceral packets the kids have left open. You can also make your own shape and size bags from the included roll located inside the machine. We did this for several cuts of meat. It gave us the ability to seal them individually and then freeze them so they were flat. This means they should defrost at the same time. I'm also hoping the thickness of the plastic will mean there's less chance of freezer burn. I haven't had the machine long enough to test that but I will update on here after they've been in long enough. Yes, you could use Ziplock bags for this, but I find freezer burn is a real issue with them as they don't seal well enough in the freezer. The same thing can be said for homemade kids school snacks. The bags can be a little thick but we solved that by making our own "tear here" areas for easy access.

All in all a lot of what this machine does can be done by other items (take clip lock bags for instance) but I can honestly justify this machine for the increased shelf life, and the additional freshness you get. It is a little time consuming as mentioned above but if you're looking into these you probably already know that.

The machine gets used daily and is now a permanent fixture on our bench. I love it!

A Great Unit, but need to use it a lot to justify the price – This is a premium end vacuum sealer. The VS2198 is a hefty machine, due to the roll storage and slider cutter inside the unit. I thought this would annoy me, but instead found it very convenient. My main usage is to vacuum seal meat for Sous Vide using the vacuum roll, and the Food Saver Containers with cooked rice, vegetables, and cooked pasta.… Read more

I need to experiment with smashed avocado more. Note: the containers don't prevent the smashed avocado from oxidising on the surface, as the containers have a reduced air pressure rather than a full air removal. The advantages of this machine: 1. The inbuilt bag cutter. This makes it super easy to cut the bag neatly to the exact length. Simply unroll until the edge of the bag is over the sealer. Close and press seal. THEN draw down the length you require and cut with inbuilt cutter. 2. The unit seems to have no trouble sealing a bag even when a little moisture is flows up onto the sealing area. In my case it was coconut cream in a bag with chicken fillets. I've used other bag sealers that cannot seal over a wet area at all. 3. Vacuum sealer containers to extend fridge life. This is useful for rice in particular. Cooked rice has a maximum fridge life of 5 days and generally recommended 3-4 days due to the Bacillus cereus bacteria. 4. Vacuum on Food Saver Containers appears to last, at least partially, for a week or more (button seal still depressed after seven days). 5. The pop down seal will "pop up" if the vacuum completely fails on the Food Saver Containers. 6. Easy to clean. 7. Easy to operate. 8. Straightforward instruction and trouble shooting information. 9. Two year replacement/repair warranty

Areas for improvement: 1. The connection of the vacuum hose to the food saver container could be better as it is not a firm fit. Once the vacuum begins, it is fine. 2. The hose tends to pop off the connector. Easy to put back on. 3. The drip tray is okay, but still can get some spill on the unit. 4. No indication on how much fridge shelf life extension is gained by using the food saver containers with common foods (eg Rice, Pasta, Cheese and Meat). The information supplied may be applicable to using vacuum bags only (??). Obviously the vacuum saver containers will be reduced air pressure rather than the higher effectiveness of the bag vacuum. 5. No way to know if the food saver container vacuum is slowly leaking. The pop down seal will "pop up" if the vacuum completely fails.

(Product Ambassador for Product Review)

Marinate containers really work – I was sent a FoodSaver Vacuum Sealer and Preserve & Marinate Containers to test as part of the Ambassador program. I found it curious that I had to go searching to see that it is made by Sunbeam, rather than it being obviously advertised as being a part of Sunbeam’s branding. The Foodsaver machine is pretty simple to use once you read the… Read more

instructions. It’s quite noisy when it runs during the vacuum part of the process as it sucks all the air out of the bag. The instruction manual has preparation guidelines around what you should do to get the best results for food items you are going to vacuum seal. For example, with meat/fish, you should pre-freeze them for 1 to 2 hours before vacuum sealing them. Vegetables should be blanched before being vacuum sealed. There are also some foods that you shouldn’t vacuum seal. I didn’t really have the machine for long enough to be able to do some long term testing (eg meat products) in order to be able to report on how well things kept long term.

It’s really handy/convenient for preparing to go away on trips with certain types of food, eg vacuum sealing a certain number of foods such as steaks/chops/snags, etc to take away on camping trips. As long as you have followed the instructions and made sure you have sealed everything properly and pack things properly, you should find the item will arrive at the other end in good condition to use.

The instruction manual advises that you should always thaw foods in the fridge. I’ve been using it for the last week to store parts of our dogs fresh meat for freezing (they are on diets and their normal 1kg roll is more than they currently need to eat). I’ve also sealed some rice and pasta for pantry storage as I regularly have problems with weevils and am hoping that won’t happen with the products I’ve vacuum sealed!

The machine comes with some bags already made so you only have to seal after putting the item into the bag. It also has some zip lock bags you can use but which I didn’t test. You can customise the size of the bag for what you are sealing, and depending on what you have used it for the first time, you can rinse and re-use the bags (they don’t recommend that if it was used for raw meat, however).

The unit has built in roll storage, as well as having the cutting tool built in to cut the bags to size. There is a drip tray that you can remove when it needs to be washed.

I tried the marinate containers with three different meats. The photos on the instruction sheet had slightly different parts to those received, but I was able to figure out what was what. In order to accurately test the marinate containers, I conducted a (highly scientific LOL) experiment where I used the same recipe for meats purchased at the same time, and marinated in the same amount of ingredients, the difference being I did half of it marinated for 24 hours (and turning regularly) and the others I did in the marinate containers for the 12 minutes as per the instructions.

The first dish I tried was lamb souvlaki. Wow, I would never have guessed that the meat done in the marinate container in 12 minutes tasted just as good as the lamb marinated overnight! And it was more tender!!

The second comparison I did was with chicken thighs. This time around, there was a difference as well, but it wasn’t as positive. The chicken thighs which were marinated overnight were darker in colour, more full of flavour, and didn’t stick to the BBQ as much when cooked. The ones done in the marinate container were still delicious – just not quite as good.

The final comparison was with steak kebabs and we couldn’t tell the difference between them in taste/tenderness. In the attached photo you will see the ones marinated for 24 hours the meat is much darker in colour.

The containers don’t stack very well, however.

I will definitely continue to use the marinate containers as they are a great time saver. The vacuum sealing I will need to do some more experimenting for very specific situations when I need to keep items stored long term and see how it goes. If you've got plenty of kitchen bench space and regularly need to freeze/refrigerate food items, you will get a great deal of use out of this machine.

I called mine Monica – I received this as part of the ambassador review program. My darling wife, my muse, my one and only, my everything already uses a vacuum sealer for various tasks. She likes to package foods for storage, seal foods for transportation and furthermore vac pack for marinade. She was already aware of all the quirks and features of this unit before it… Read more

even arrived.

Needless to say she was really impressed with how versatile this bundle was. She commented on how awesome the containers and the ziplock bags were. Now time for my review.

Firstly it’s a food sealer. Nothing special just adequate for what ever you need, you get a roll, Seal one end, pop your items inside and then suck all the air out before sealing it. The ziplock bags and the reusable containers were new. I personally find that the containers and the reusable bags trigger my hygiene beacon as they would become damaged and dirty, but none the less i soldiered on.

Firstly I tried this out on some clothing items my wife was posting out. My wife does custom orders, she will sterilise and seal everything before dispatching due to the pandemic, this poses a perfect opportunity to test the durability and ease of use. Now my wife being the responsible adult is able to use this proficiently. I decided to down quite a few beers to test the ease of use. Out of the 2 packages one didn’t seal properly and had inflated by the time it reached its destination 3 days later. I am assuming I made an error on the way but it showed that some finesse was needed to operate the unit. Needs to be noted that it did a marvellous job at vac packing the bulky dress and other clothing items initially.

Next I tested it on some stuffed toys, one in a ziplock bag and the other from the the roll. you can see the results of this as they were reduced in size and sealed adequately. The ziplock bag managed to last the night however again the roll failed due to my poor technique. My wife had a better result, proving that best results are not achieved after excessive alcohol consumption.

Moving into food, I made some jerky and some pork steaks. The pork steaks were marinaded in a homemade teriyaki sauce with whisky and another batch with reaper chilli’s added. After smelling the diving scent from the chilli’s my darling wife concluded that I would be cooking them outside. Whilst in the fridge the package didn’t leak and it was safe to handle, you know when this stuff gets on your fingers because you end up feeling it burn everywhere. I must say that the vac pack and ziplock was marinaded better, however the results from the container were still good.

The jerky was marinaded in a home made teriyaki and had whisky, Reaper chilli’s and reaper sauce added, then was dusted with a reaper powder for added kick. Believe me this gets everywhere. The vac sealer again did an amazing job however there were a few failed attempts on my part but my wife knocked it put of the park again. It occurred to me when I removed the stored chillies from the freezer, that the zip lock bag would be awesome for storing these as you can open it to grab out what you need, reseal and vac it again for storage.

I attempted to store some salad under vacuum in a container to see if it did seal in freshness, however I had to go away for a few days and the kids ate it before I could complete my test.

All in all the sealer does a great job and the attachments are well thought out and designed. Some practice and sobriety is an obvious requirement to achieve a successful outcome every time. My wife didn’t have any issues however I did. My wife will continue to use this throughout her daily activities and I will provide updates if necessary.