Thursday, November 6, 2014

Food Saver Jar Sealers

I may be the last person on earth to find out about the Food Saver Jar Attachment.  I always thought they were meant to be used with special jars and had no idea that they were used with mason jars.  How I found out about them is even crazier.  I saw a woman using one on the TV show “Doomsday Preppers”.    A quick search of Amazon led me to the necessary attachments for regular and wide mouth jars.  A search on You Tube gave me a quick lesson in using the attachments.
 
You need:  Food Saver Regular (or Wide Mouth) Jar Sealer & a Food Saver
 
 
It is important to remember that this is not to be used for foods that need to be heat canned.  I use it for storing dry or dehydrated items.
 
Step 1:  Fill you jars, leaving a bit of head room at the top.  You do not need to leave as much as I did below.
 
 
 
Step 2:  Place a jar flat on top of the jar.  The screw band is not necessary.  Here is the best part.  You can reuse jar flats.  As long as they are in good condition, they will work over and over.
 
 
Step 3:  Place the jar sealer attachment over the top of the jar.  Press it down until it cover where the screw band would go.
 
 
Step 4:  Attach the rubber hose.  If you have an older food saver, you may have to purchase a hose.  My Food Saver came with a retractable hose and attachment.  It is in the bottom right hand corner on the front.  The hose has a piece that fits into the top of the jar sealer.
 
 
Step 5:  Press the canister option on your Food Saver.  It will cycle through just like it does when you are vacuum sealing.  Wait until it stops.  First remove the hose piece, and then remove the jar sealer attachment.  Do not panic if the rubber seal comes out a bit.  It is easy to put back in.
 
Step 6:  Your jar is now sealed and can be stored. 
 
 
I try not to double stack them.  Occasionally I have a jar that loses the seal.  I just take a peek and check them from time to time.  If you have jars that do not seal or repeatedly do not hold a seal, there are a couple of things to check.  Your jar or jar flat could be damaged.  A second reason could be that you are not leaving enough headspace. 
 
If you plan to seal any powdered items, place them in a zip top bag before putting it in the jar.  Powder can be sucked up through the hose and mess up your Food Saver. 
 
So, am I really the only one who did not know about this handy Food Saver attachment?