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This one is from the US, we thought it was very unique.

*Food related uses:*

*Vacuum Assisted Marination -* Place meat you want to marinate along with the marinade in a noncollapsible container (eg tupperware, gladware, etc) without the lid. Place the container in a zip-lock bag, and the zip-lock bag inside a larger (grocery or garbage) bag. Vacuum out the air from the large bag with the zip-lock bag *still open*, and before removing the BagButton, seal the zip-lock bag *with the tupperware in it* closed while it is still inside the large bag. This way you won't have to hurry and try to zip the small bag closed after removing the BagButton before it allows air in, and you don't have to buy an expensive ($75+) marinator, that won't be big enough for all foods anyway. This works best if you tenderize the meat before marinating, and using this process you can cut marination time drastically to minutes or hours instead of days.

** This tip also works well for doing intense lotion foot and hand wraps, because the vacuum opens pores in skin to allow for better absorption; it's the same principle, although you would apply lotion or cream to yourself instead of soaking in it, and would wrap your hands in plastic wrap instead of a zip-lock.

*Vacuum packing dry goods* - Flour, sugar, spices, coffee, tea, herbs, etc.

will keep better and taste fresher for longer if vacuum sealed; dry goods will also stay shelf-stable, and you can save space on some objects with bulky packaging that you won't need to keep. This works especially well for food bought in bulk. You can also do this with large containers (like 5 gallon buckets/PVC tubs) if you vacuum seal a large bag of food while it is in the container so it conforms to the bucket's shape, and using this and the "filter" method I've listed below, it's easy to store a year's worth or more of shelf-stable food such as uncooked rice.

*Vacuum packing other goods *- Pack fresh or frozen foods such as meat, cooked rice, etc. (you may want to use the bag-in-bag trick used for vacuum marinating so that you can "install" a paper towel "filter" between the bag opening and the vacuum) by portion - convenient if you make a lot of food at once and want to have ready made meals - or in large amounts to store them conveniently. To store liquids, freeze in a tupperware first so it holds a shape while vacuuming-- this works with soup, juices, applesauce/pudding, etc.

*NOTE: Always practice food safety; see

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_safety for details.*

Thanks!

Genevieve Lopez

Orange Park FL..

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