"Melba's Jammin'" > wrote in message
>
>> Besides stuff like brownies and cookies,
>
> I'd use a tin. I see no advantage to using a seal-a-meal. A Tilia
> (brand name) Food Saver will produce a vacuum seal -- I suppose that
> would help aid freshness for brownies or cookies -- if you didn't smash
> them all to hell in the vacuum sealing process.

Agree with the tin. The other way is to put the stuff in a canning jar and
use the Foodsaver. It will remove the oxygen but not crush the product as
it would in a bag.


>
>> would it be possible to seal up
>> sauces and other perishables-? (Daughter is homesick for Mom's homemade
>> Texas picante sauce and pico de gallo).
>
> Sure, inasmuch as it could work as a container. They probably won't
> spoil in that length of time in transit. Doing it right, though, it
> would be properly canned and processed and sent that way -- no spoilage.
> A vacuum seal via a Tilia is not a substitute for proper heat processing.

I don't know if the acids in those sauces would help much if it is not
refrigerated. Vacuum sealing is a good way to extend properly stored foods,
but not a substitute for proper processing. In household use, the big
advantage of vacuum sealing is extending the storage life by 3 or 4 times
and avoiding freezer burn.

If you buy a big hunk of cheese, the factory package will have a "use by"
date that is many months away. Once opened, it will spoil, dry out, or get
moldy in a couple of weeks. Vacuum sealing greatly increases that time
because it reduces oxygen. You can put half that hunk of cheese away in a
vacuum sealed package to use a couple of months later.

Canning, however, destroys the things that make food go bad. That jar of
Prego that would get molding in two weeks will last two months if re-sealed
with vacuum. but not as long as the unopened jar from the factory.
Ed

http://pages.cthome.net/edhome