How many types of vacuum bags?

Storing food items in vacuum seal bags is pretty common and convenient on both domestic and commercial levels. There are vacuum storage bags, which can be refrigerated and even frozen, thawed, and then heated. FDA-approved, good-quality thick plastic needs to be used for such bags to store food, as the bags be capable to withstand hot and cold temperatures. They should not melt when heated or crack and tear up when frozen. 

There are various types of vacuum seal bags in terms of their type, size, use, and so on. This post discusses various types of storage vacuum bags, and which ones are the best for storing food items.

1. Pre-Cut Bags

All the big vacuum sealer manufacturers offer pre-cut vacuum sealer bags.  In fact, when buying a food vacuum sealer, 9 times out of 10 it will come with some kind of ‘Starter Kit’ which includes a selection of the manufacturer’s recommended vacuum sealer bags – which are usually made by them.

Pros:

Pre-cut vacuum sealer bags are convenient. They are ready to use immediately. They are closed on three sides with one edge left open so that you can place food in the bag and then vacuum and seal it. If you are new to vacuum sealing, they are a great product to start with as all the guesswork is done for you.

Cons:

They also lack versatility. What we mean by this is that the vacuum sealer bag size has already been decided for you. Consequently, you may find that when required to vacuum seal only a small portion of food the pre-cut bag is considerably bigger than required. In order to solve this issue, you can consider having multiple sizes of pre-cut bags to fit different needs.

2.Roll Bags

Vacuum sealer roll bags come as a large, continuous tube of food-grade plastic which is open at both ends. To use, simply seal one of the open ends closed, measure out the size of the bag needed and then cut it (most vacuum sealers have a cutting blade built in for this purpose). Then proceed as you would with any other vacuum storage bag – fill, vacuum and seal.

Pros:

Roll bag is more versatile. You can also tailor them to the exact size that you need, which means less waste.

Cons:

The cost of a roll vacuum bag might be higher than pre-cut and more time-consuming to cut and seal 2 times every use.

3.Handheld Vacuum Sealer Bags

Handhelds are slightly different from the other members of the vacuum sealer bag family. The compact size of handheld vacuum sealers means that they suck the air out from around the food through a special valve that fits the mouth of the vacuum sealer. As a result, you can only use these devices with specifically designed vacuum sealer bags, complete with matching valves. 

Pros:

Reusable. Because the air is sucked out through a valve, there is no requirement to heat the edges of the bag. Instead, food is placed in the handheld vacuum sealer bag by opening a zip-locked end. This means that items can be removed the same way without cutting open or damaging the bag. This makes the bags reusable.

Can be economical. Whilst the cost per bag can be comparatively high as you are locked into buying specially made handheld vacuum sealer bags if you wash them out and reuse them, they offer surprisingly good value for money.

Sustainable. Again, if you are happy to wash and reuse the bags, you are moving away from the environmental horror of single-use plastics.

Cons:

Lack of choice. You are locked into buying vacuum sealer bags that fit the valve on your appliance. They are all pre-cut, so there is no flexibility in the size of the bags, beyond what the manufacturer offers you.

Can be expensive. The lack of choice means that you may have to buy the bags recommended (and no doubt made) by the manufacturer of your particular handheld vacuum sealer. If you are lucky, there may be a cheaper, generic option on the market, but this is not always the case. If possible, make sure before you buy. If you are not keen on washing and reusing, then inevitably you will be quickly going through comparatively costly bags.

Conclusion

Be sure to do your research before you buy a vacuum sealer machine. Don’t just look at the features and reviews for different models; also check the information on compatible vacuum sealer bags too. All of these bags are fine for storage and the choice is yours to make.

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