Must vacuum-sealed food be cold?

After yet another frustrating experience cleaning liquid out of my clamp-style sealer I'm seriously considering a chamber sealer (probably the VP112). But I've read here and there that foods going into the vacuum must be cold - e.g. Dave Arnold writes at http://www.cookingissues.com/index.html%3Fp=1042.html#comment-1981

"A further advantage to using ziplocs vs vacuum is that all foods going into the vacuum must be cold."

Why is that? I haven't seen an explanation.

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Comments

Brandon_Byrd_40557

Because the low pressure of the vacuum environment causes water to boil at room temperature. If you seal warm food, you'll boil off a lot of water which isn't good for either the vacuum pump or the texture of the food you're sealing. FWIW, I have a VP-112 and I love it.

Brandon_Byrd_40557

Having to seal things cold is less of a hassle than it might seem. Pretty much anything I'd want to seal is already cold or room temperature.

Johan_Edstrom_5586

Sealing right after a quick sear isn't that big a deal, I do it all the time. It'll expand the bag a tad more but things chill off fairly quick, when doing liquids in a chamber sealer you can also tilt it so you seal at an angle.

mike-chefsteps

That was what I guessed.

A related question: The VP112 chamber is 5" high. Has it ever not been tall enough for something?

Brandon_Byrd_40557

Not really. Pretty much anything that will fit in the a bag will fit in the machine. I highly recommend the plastic "filler" plates, which help keep bags sitting properly against the seal bar. They also take up space so there's less air for the pump to remove, reducing the amount of time needed to achieve the same level of vacuum.

mike-chefsteps

Thanks, guys.

reck.harm

As long as what you're sealing is at room temp or lower you should be fine. Just stop the pump and seal when you see boiling. Water boils at room temp at about 30 mBar which is enough of a vacuum for pretty much anything except compression.