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Vacuum strengths/times

Brendan_Lee_56950

I just unboxed my first chamber vacuum (VP112) and I am curious about how to decide on the different vacuum pull times (which i'm assuming correlate with strength) for different applications. For example, I just compressed some tomatoes with balsamic using some instructions I found on the starchefs.com site but since they are using the larger commercial models it just states to pull a full vacuum on high. On my model I have to choose the time duration in seconds rather than a quantitative descriptor such as low/med/high. Just wondering if you all here at Delve could help shine some light on this process for a noob.

Thanks.

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trev_teich

I was thinking of getting this one. Tell how it works for you.

BlvCook_25591

I'd love your feedback, too.

Brendan_Lee_56950

i've sealed 2 things thus far and really it couldn't be any easier. For the amount of money i've spent over the years on the foodsaver machines and bags I could have easily had a big bad chamber vac doing awesome things. The footprint on the machine is nice for my home use, it weighs probably 40+lbs but fits fine on my IKEA kitchen cart so I can wheel it around. The only thing i'm somewhat concerned about is the lid, it seems to be very flimsy and requires 2 hands to open when it really shouldn't.

trev_teich

Coo!l Tell me how liquids go when you get to that.

Brendan_Lee_56950

Liquids work the same as any other chamber vac, which is to say just fine. A feature I have never seen mentioned anywhere before is this built in bag clip that you can put the lip of the bag in and it holds it in place while it does it's thing which is very helpful for times when you may be doing something that involves a strong/long vacuum pull where the bag may jump around from the liquid boiling. Very impressed so far.

trev_teich

I have a question to add to this. You know how when you sous vide a peace of meat the outside turns gray. How can this be prevented so a nice "pink" peace of meat can be served?

Chris_Young_80640

What temperature are you cooking the meat at when the outside turns gray? And I assume that you're saying that it doesn't turn pink again after you re-expose it to air post cooking?

trev_teich

Right i'm not saying it turns pink after I'm done. When I cook a rack of lamb at 135F the outside turns light gray. Are my vac setting wrong?

Jack_Mayer_85396

Hello all, this is my first post and let me say at the outset what a fabulous endeavor this is! Chris, Grant and the rest of the team, thank you for what you're doing! I work at a Sur La Table store and have been telling everyone who seems remotely interested in SV to head to Chef Steps.

My question is this: Is the VP 112 the right sealer for a dedicated "foodie" home cook? It is by far the most economical choice. Perhaps a comparison of how this unit handles various tasks in the Modernist milieu versus the far fancier and more costly machines.

Chris_Young_80640

Jack: Thanks for your support! The VP112 is certainly a good bet for the home chef who wants to commit to sous vide cooking, but doesn't want to spend thousands on a full-on professional chamber sealer.

Chris_Young_80640

@BeeLee Just pull the vacuum as long as you can. The goal of compression is to cause the vacoules (air and moisture filled bubbles inside every plant cell) to swell and burst. The lower you can pull the pressure, and the longer you can keep it at this low pressure, the more cells you'll rupture and compress. In practice, you might need to repeat the process two or three times to fully compress a thick, durable food like apple.

Brendan_Lee_56950

Thanks Chris. I've been playing around with it a lot since I got it and I have been getting the hang of the different pressure settings based on times. So handy to have a machine like that.

Mason_Perry_34060

I got a VP 215 last week and I am not kidding I have vaccum packed everything I could get my hands on (cooking related or not) all I can say is experiment with times for different items it's all about trial and error, when I do something delicate I will use a shorter time than I think needed (for example hand pressed burger patties I started at 10 seconds then upped it to 15 to get a better vaccum but not crush the patty) I find that by going lower if I am happy I can leave it and if I am not happy I simply use a knife to trim the sealed part of the bag and then repack it with more time. I ordered a case of large bags for just this reason, I also found that if I get a bad seal but a good vaccum I can trim the end and reseal as well. I used a foodsaver once at a friends house but after using a chamber vac I will never ever use a foodsaver again. I got a great deal on the VP215 but for anyone on the fence about a chamber vac, it's well worth it.

Here are some marshmallows that I smushed and if you are wondering how much of a vaccum these things can pull, it easily crushed this coke can.

james.denissen

@Mason any idea how to change the oil on the VP 215? Been doing some research on what I should get, and just curious how costly or difficult it is to change the oil. I saw something that recommended changing it after about 3,000 pulls the first time.

seijoed

No, first change is after a week.

The oil isn't costly. ~20 for a quart.

Mason_Perry_34060

@Johan is right on both accounts, I believe I have enough for a 3rd oil change with only the bottle that came with the machine, it takes maybe 5 min tops, if you can use a computer you can change the oil.

Allen_Johnson_67197

I am absolutely in love with my VacMaster 215c, this thing ROCKS.

Mason_Perry_34060

Do super watermelon it will knock your socks off.

Allen_Johnson_67197

@mason I know I keep saying this but the @Johan French toast was out of this world!! I will have to try the watermelon. Just vacuum seal it?? no other additives??

Mason_Perry_34060

I useed a small seadless and food processed 1/3 of it for juice, strained it and added the juice to single layer pieces of watermelon then vac seal for about 30 sec, I like to throw them in the fridge for like 30 min to chill a little. The flavor and texture is amazing, I have also done grapefruit juice, which is great as well.

seijoed

Simple sugars are rather nice too for desserts.

Brendan_Lee_56950

I also like infusing stronger citrus flavors into more delicate fruits for the tart-sweet balance. Vinegars and fruit is also nice.

Mason_Perry_34060

A good blasamic goes well with sweet veggies or fruit. I like infusing it into sugary tomatoes

seijoed

Balsamic and melon - fo course

Allen_Johnson_67197

like I said, this still amazes me on what can be done with a Vacuum Chamber. I have missed so much over the years

Mason_Perry_34060

I like that it is a huge time saver, and stuff is easier to keep in the fridge as opposed to a mixing bowl with meat or something in a marinade or brine

Jonathan_Zucker_66775

@BrendanLee - I've got a VP112 also. What times did you settle on? I have been using 30 and 5.

Thanks!

Brendan_Lee_56950

I've noticed that it only takes 40s to pull the strongest vacuum this machine can handle so anything after that is just prolonged compression at that pressure. I run pretty standard at 35 for most things. I really wish there was a seal-only option, and alternatively when compressing things for multiple pulls I've taken out the seal bar altogether and set the heat setting to 1 so I can reuse the bag.

Jack_Mayer_85396

@Brendan so that's what you do for compressing fruit? Like the watermelon that looks so good here! How big a piece of ribeye or strip loin can you get in your machine with those Umai dry age steak bags? I'm procrastinating on my chamber sealer decision ...

Brendan_Lee_56950

you won't be able to fit a full primal from the store. I had to trim two 1.5" steaks off of it to get it to fit in the machine and that was pretty snug.