ISO Ziploc Vacuum Freezer Bags

[Bob Brooks]

Can anyone tell me where I can find these at retail here in Los Angeles. I'm talking about the type where you use a pump to draw out the air for sous vide cooking.

[Will Owen]

I see them at Ralphs on North Lake in Pasadena all the time. I'd assume they're a common commodity...

[Bob Brooks]

Thanks, Will. Actually, I just returned from Gelson's and bought the starter kit with pump and 3 bags at a close-out price of $3.99. I've now found 12 count boxes of bags at Alice.com for $2.85 with free shipping, so I'm now set. I did, however, look at several Ralph's markets yesterday in the SFV with no success.

[Will Owen]

If Gelson's had them on close-out perhaps we should assume that it was a failed marketing effort. I love progress and all that, but the mad scramble of millions of products for limited shelf space is making me crazy, especially since I tend to fall in love with the ones nobody else likes...

I wonder if our Gelson's will have them tomorrow...?

[Bob Brooks]

Interesting point. When I first got interested in sous vide, what I read suggested that the Reynolds vacuum sealer and bags were the way to go. Ordered the starter kit from Amazon. When I went to order more bags, I learned that Reynolds had discontinued this product. Hence the search for Ziploc.

[ocshooter]

Why wouldn't you use the Foodsaver products. It is tough to get a good vacuum seal with liquid because you have to lay the bag flat where you seal it, but you can get around that by just placing the sealer on the counter edge. Costco sells the kit and has boxes of replacement bags, and I have been using the thing for over a decade, so thebrand will stick around. It has to be cleaper and more reliable in the long run than a zip lock with a 1-way air valve.

[Bob Brooks]

While I's sure the Foodsaver does a good job sealing for sous vide, it's also rather bulky and a bit more time consuming to set up. For the amount of sous vide cooking I contemplate doing, my cost will be less than $20.00 for 75 bags and the pump. I don't think Foodsaver is competitive with that in the short term. Also, I won't be sous videing liquids.

[Layne Murphy]

Noticed item today-price reduced even-at Gelson's Silverlake. Looks like pump is included with bags.

[Bob Brooks]

Thanks for that. I'll check at my local Gelson's.

[Ogawak]

I don't know if this is what you mean, but I saw a whole set of the Foodsaver machines, bags and sheets at Bed Bath and Beyond.

[Bob Brooks]

Thanks but, no. These are actually the antithesis of the Foodsaver. They're like normal ziploc bags but they have a little valve that allows you to extract all the air with a small, hand-held pump.