Gadgetory

when freezing foods for long-term storage you want to remove as much of the surrounding air as possible we've all tried the age-old squeeze every last bit of air out before sealing the zip top lightning-fast trick but that method is flawed it's nearly impossible to get all the air out fortunately there's a trick which has been used for several years in the sous-vide community it replaces your writhing and squeezing with a bucket of water here's how it works place your food in the zip top bag and zip the seal leaving about one inch open find a large container such as a large storage bin large pot or even a one gallon pitcher and fill it with water slowly lower the bag of food into the water until only the corner you left open is above the water seal the remaining corner of the zip top and remove the bag from the water allow the bag to dry off completely before placing it in the freezer this hack uses the natural pressure of a body of water to squeeze out a lot more air than you are normally capable of by hand without crushing your food however some air will remain in the bag especially if you're freezing a more solid food such as cooked chicken or steak giving the bag a shake while underwater can help squeeze out more air still while not quite as effective as an actual vacuum sealer this can prolong the shelf life of frozen foods in your freezer better than the manual squeeze under your arm method can you can help fight freezer burn and it doesn't crush your food to boot just keep in mind that since you're filling a large container with water it makes more sense to seal and freeze all your foods in one large batch rather than wasting several gallons of water each time