The Best Sous Vide Chamber Vacuum Sealers [2017 Edition] | The Tool Shed

The Best Sous Vide Chamber Vacuum Sealers [2017 Edition]

If you’re going to take up sous vide cooking, you’re going to need some kind of vacuum sealer to remove the air from your pouches and give your ingredients a better connection to the water.

This can be done using either an external sealer, which is more compact and is usually seen in home kitchens or the chamber sealer, where the whole bag is placed into the machine and is more commonly seen in professional kitchens.

Sealers are also useful in creating a safe storage environment, minimising oxidation and saving flavour, colour and aroma without having to add extra preservatives.

Today we’re going to look at some of our best-selling chamber sealers, for both the home and professional markets.

The Pro Range

SousVideTools® Cucina 320 Vacuum Packing Machine – £1679.99

Our most popular chamber vacuum sealer is the Cucina 320 model, which features a 350mm sealing bar, and 8m³/hr Busch vacuum pump for consistently powerful operation, for a full vacuum cycle which usually takes between 20 and 35 seconds.

Made entirely of AISI 304 stainless steel (including the internal structure, vacuum chamber and bodywork), this model is an extremely robust and durable machine which will hold up to the rigours of a busy kitchen for many years to come.

Despite its performance and durability, the Cucina 320 is designed to be as compact as possible, and reduce the amount of counter space which is used, while still leaving plenty of room in the chamber, with a deep chamber and convexed lid for extra height.

Hygiene is also an important consideration, so this sealer has been designed with rounded corners, so that no food debris can get stuck, and with a 320cm sealing bar which can easily be removed, making the machine extremely easy to clean.

Finally, the double seam closure also helps not just to seal the pouch, but also to prevent any contamination of the water bath itself.

The Domestic Range

SousVideTools® Digital Chamber Vacuum Packer – £815.99

Our most popular chamber sealer amongst home users is our own Digital Chamber Vacuum Packer, featuring a heavy-duty two-cylinder piston pump which really elevates it above the other run of the mill chamber packers on the market.

Engineered with user-friendliness in mind, the sealer functions with a simple press of a button, vacuum sealing anything from dry foods like steaks and fish to liquids such as soups and stews.

Customisable vacuum and seal methods are available, with three pre-programmed cycles to provide the optimum vacuum level and hold time, as well as an automatic marinating cycle too.

There’s further control too with the adjustable seal timer, which allows for a variety of bag thicknesses and allows for the cycle time to be set from 0 to 60 seconds, depending on your package amounts and consistency.

Perfect for anyone who wants a serious vacuum sealer which still fits nicely into a cluttered home kitchen, the SousVideTools® Digital Chamber Vacuum Packer is built to last, with a heavy duty stainless steel construction which will have your vacuum sealing needs covered for many years to come.

Post by Chris Holland

Our Chef Director Chris Holland worked as Head Chef at the prestigious Alderley Edge hotel before joining us. He has a passion for using the best produce and never compromises on quality. Author of our best selling book Sous Vide The Art of Precision Cooking, Chris is a expert on the sous vide technique.During the later part of my school days at Wardle High School Rochdale I always wanted to be a chef . I knew from the very start that my path to work was never going to be academic it was always going to be something practical and hands on.

As a young boy growing up I was inspired to cook with my Grandma who was and still is an inspiration to me . I have memories of helping make the cakes that she always had made for visitors and family alike . She made the most amazing cakes and I loved nothing more than eating the sweet raw cake batter straight from the bowl . We used to fight over who got to lick the bowl/spoon after the cakes were made. My grandma’s philosophy for cooking even on a shoe string budget was always to use fresh and seasonal ingredients either home grown or bought from the market.

School was somewhat of a drag for me as I was itching to learn to become a chef.

I started at Hopwood Hall college as a chef and instantly fell in love with it .To me it was the only real time I excelled in something and this inspired me to really get my head down and put in the hard work. College was the first time I really excelled in something and gave me the opportunity to laugh at the teachers who said I would never make something of my life!!!!

During the three years at college I also took on a part time position in a local hotel working the bar and restaurant first and then the kitchen. These were great days and gave me the opportunity to see how the industry ticks. I learnt a lot from those days both good and bad !! But I have to say I was itching to work only in the kitchen but it was a good insight into the catering world .

After completing college I moved away from Rochdale for a full time roll at one of Cheshire’s most talked about Hotel restaurants The Stanneylands Hotel. This was the school of hard knocks for me as I quickly realised that although excelling at college meant nothing in “The Real World”.

I loved every minute of the 18 hour days 6 days a week on minimum wage . Although difficult I feel that without this grounding I wouldn’t have achieved what I have today. After 18 months of hard graft I left Stanneylands and went with the Head chef to open a fine dining restaurant at Mere Golf and Country Club. The opportunity to work alongside Matthew Barrett was too good to turn down. I learnt so much from the ex-Ritz chef and working in a much slower paced role helped me develop a much better understanding of how to organise and run a kitchen. We were a very small team and teamwork was and still is the only way to go for me.

After 2 years at Mere I got the opportunity to go into The Alderley Edge Hotel as Junior Souschef. The Early days at the Edge were all about learning new styles of cuising which is invaluable in any role as a chef. I got the opportunity to grow and learn all aspects of every section which was inspiring . I was offered the opportunity at the age of 29 (2004) to take the role of head chef. For me this was when I really started to develop my own style of food.

After 9 years at the top winning Cheshire restaurant of the year , Chef of the Year and appearing on GBM amongst many highlights including cooking for many celebrities and famous people I decided to move on into development with Sousvidetools.

The main inspiration for this was to train and educate people . I always had a great passion for education but could never really see myself at a college . The job is super rewarding and I am proud to say we have become the leading light in sous-vide education in the UK . This is something I am very proud of . Food is my biggest passion and this is what keeps me interested the most . I love to travel and try out other countries cuisines. I am constantly inspired by ingredients and the pursuit of getting the best out of them without destroying their natural flavour .It is super important to me to continue to try and be at the forefront of the food scene this is what inspire me and the team to keep driving forward .

Technology is now widely used in the industry and I am super proud to say we have been a big part of spreading that message.

I am very lucky to be in the position I am and the drive to constantly improve our training and links to the next generation of young budding hospitality chefs.

TI feel that my experience over the last 25 years really enables me to get close and educate the “next generation” of chefs .

The industry which I love is really struggling to bring through new recruits and if I can help that process I will be immensely proud.

The food seen in the Uk has improved dramatically over the last ten years and I feel this will continue with the correct education. What happens next only fate will tell us...

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