Discovering Attachments to Vacuum Seal Dehydrated Food in Canning Jars

When I first bought my FoodSaver V3880 Vacuum Sealingmachine, I read through the instructions and noticed it came with an “accessory  hose.”  There was mention of Jar Sealerattachments, but the whole concept of operating this machine was foreign to me and all I could think was, “Why do I need this extra hose hanging around to worry about!”  (Although, it is retractable and stores very conveniently)  Plus, being used to the idea of a unique lid for each canning jar, I thought I’d have to buy a “jar sealer lid” for each jar, so didn’t investigate it more.  However, during my youtube travels to watch vacuum sealer demo videos, I was more thoroughly introduced to these attachments and how they work.  Now, they are my favorite part of the vacuum sealing process.

Using the canning jars is an excellent way to store dehydrated goods:

• It is easier to put the dehydrated food into the jars, than the bags
• You can easily see what is in the jar
• The jars stack on shelves much more easily than the contorted bags do
• The contents are protected from crushing
• The jars are nearly forever reusable, except for breakage
• The seals can also be reused to some extent

The vacuum sealer bags are probably still best for storing frozen foods:

• since they compact during the vacuum sealing,
• making them more space efficient in the freezer

The steps for using the jar sealer attachments are simple and fun! (assuming the machine is turned on…)

• make sure the jar rim is clean, dry, and chip free
• place only the flat lid on the jar (NOT the ring that tightens that on for the canning process)[hr]

  

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• push the jar sealing attachment over the whole top of the jar
• push the end of the accessory hose completely into the hole on the top of the attachment (twisting it is recommended)
• press the accessory button!
• take the hose out of the attachment (it gives a little pop)
• gently wiggle the attachment off of the top of the jar; it doesn’t take much effort or very long

I ran out of jars much too quickly – it was FUN to vacuum seal jars!  Sigh.  I guess I’ll just have to get to dehydrating more things.

The jar vacuum sealer attachments are, in my opinion, inexpensive and a good investment, especially considering the special vacuum sealer bags that I won’t need to buy now. If you don’t get them for yourself this year, you should put them and a vacuum sealing machine on your Christmas list.