Why Vacuum Pack?

Vacuum packing machines are a great tool for many food processors, artisan producers and retailers who use vacuum packing to provide a method of packaging food to extend shelf life and to prevent freezer burn.  The vacuum packer has also become an essential piece of kitchen kit for many chefs and caterers who gain specific benefits in terms of advanced food preparation, portion control, spread workload, reduced food wastage, lower food costs, safer food storage, higher standards of food hygiene and Sous Vide (or vacuum) cooking. 

Tangible advantages can be gained in the kitchen from vacuum packing and storing pre-prepared foods such as fresh or sliced meats, fish, poultry, vegetables, fruits, salads and cheeses for several days without any deterioration in quality and pre-portioning soups, sauces and entire dishes to reduce food wastage.  These advantages extend to butchering, peeling and slicing in advance of busier times and batch production of meals and meal components for mise en place operations.  All these benefits contribute to increasing the efficiency of the kitchen and the possibility of offering a wider choice on the menu.  All food – both cooked and raw – can be hygienically stored in vacuum pouches for storage in one refrigerator or effortless transported between locations thus minimising the risks of cross-contamination.

Shelf Life Extension v

Vacuum packing is a method of storing and preserving food in an airless environment, usually in air-tight pouches to prevent the growth of micro-organisms.    

Unlike normal atmospheric conditions of air pressure equating to approximately 1,000 mbar, a vacuum environment has little or no oxygen, i.e. depending on the capabilities of the vacuum packer air pressure can be reduced as low as 0.5 mbar (in other words 99% vacuum).  Food held in such an airless environment is thus protected from spoiling by limiting the growth of aerobic bacteria (i.e. bacteria that grows in oxygen), mould, fungi and yeast.  The affects of oxidation is therefore stopped and metabolisms and fermentative activities inhibited.  An air-tight pouch also prevents both the evaporation of volatile ingredients and the cross-contamination of flavours, aromas, moisture and bacteria from one piece of food to another.

Preventing Freezer Burn f

In addition to the storage benefits of vacuum packing in the refrigerator and larder, cold frozen food stored in a vacuum pack does not suffer the affects of freezer burn.  Freezer burn is a condition that occurs when frozen food has been damaged by dehydration and oxidation, i.e. oxygen reaching the food and crystallising in the form of ice.  Deprived of oxygen the water content of protein and fresh produce in a vacuum packed pouch cannot crystallise and the organoleptic qualities are conserved.

Sous Vide Cooking s

Moreover, vacuum packing has advanced over the years and progressed from purely being a shelf life extender and portion control tool into a forward thinking cooking technique in its own right.  Sous Vide Cooking or vacuum cooking refers to a cooking technique in which a chef vacuum packs food with the sole purpose of poaching the pack in water at a low and precise temperature for longer periods of time.  This method is one of the most important culinary innovations of modern times and heralds in a new era of gastronomy, including new cooking times for service that keeps meat meltingly tender, fish succulent no matter how long it’s been cooked for and fruit and vegetables that retain their colour and flavour while undergoing remarkable transformations in texture, not too mention many operational benefits such as slow cooking and cook and chill for regeneration on demand.

Click the links opposite to learn more about Sous Vide Cooking and Sous Vide Equipment.