<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

Some time ago, I saw a brief message from a lady who used one of these to
"wrap" all her breads, cookies, etc., for a 10-day trip to Europe (never can
find that again.....don't know how the message was captioned).

    So, for Christmas every year, my sweet mother-in-law gives me a great
appliance: 1999 was the Food Saver Compact II. It really is super; however, I
find I do not use it as often as I thought I would. Most breads, cookies,
etc., don't last long enough to get freezer burned. I have not had an
occasion to travel where I was unable to bake at my destination, so have not
yet used it for that.

    My experimentation has proven that you do need to freeze all baked goods
on a cookie sheet before wrapping. Boy, if you don't, you'll literally suck
moisture right out of those gluten-free goodies!!

    My neighbors turned me onto this Food Saver, too. They buy in bulk and
wrap peanuts, cheesey crackers, even cookies, as well as frozen meats, if
they plan to store them for any long period of time.

    I am certainly one of those folks who is surprised we could survive in
the last generations without Ziplock bags! It's much easier for this old dog
to keep doing the same trick than to learn the new one??????

    I'm still in the trying-out stage of this machine, but I really do like
it. Try to remember to always cut the bags big, as you must cut it down to
open it and still need room to reseal again. It's a snap to turn them
inside-out and put them in the dishwasher (over a glass....).

Good luck with your new toy.  I'm sure once we get a child (we're trying to
adopt), I'll be baking and freezing much more than I am now (have time to
bake when I want to!!).

I purchased one of those Food Savers.  Shrink Wrap is something else--and
cannot be used on food.

It does work....but what they don't say in the commerical is that food should
be frozen first....even if you place it in the bag, you leave it in the
freezer with the top open., when solid, you remove the air.

I got mine at Costco.....very good price

I have one of the shrink wrap machines but do not use it often. I have
found it to be too bothersome.  I will await your response on this.
Thanks Winnis

I am not sure if this is what you are referring to, but I purchased a Food
Saver vacuum packing machine.  I love it!!  I cook large meals and vacuum
pack individual servings for my lunches or quick dinners when the rest of the
family eats gluten.  The bags are a bit costly, but can be washed in the
dishwasher (although they get smaller each time because you must cut off the
portion that is sealed to get the stuff out).  The machine itself costed
about $150.00 and a roll of the bags costs about $10.00 but lasts quite a
while.  You can microwave or boil the bags.  It's pretty cool.  It also comes
in handy when buying large quantities of meats, cheese, ect..

I bought the FoodSaver Compact II for about $150 recently and find that it
works very well. The pricing I found when shopping started around $40 and
as high as a thousand. My volume is fairly low as I only have time for
major cooking on the weekend. I also bought a small freezer. Its been
helping in the stress department for having prepared foods on hand.
Good luck

We looked into the vacuum sealing machines a while ago.  Thought we would
carry them at the GF and I thought they might be useful for my own
travel needs.  My experience is that the vacuum sealing squished the breads
or muffins beyond all recognition.  The company told me afterwards that it
is better if the products are frozen first, but I was leary because that
would add more moisture to the product and I thought it would get gummy.

Yep --  my new shrink wrap (Foodsaver Ultra) is my favorite toy!  I
rationalized the purchase ($179 at Costco) by saying it was for my
10-year-old son, the celiac in the family, because we make special foods for
him and freeze them.  (Of course I'd never indulge MYSELF in such a luxury.)
Furthermore, his food doesn't have preservatives, so it doesn't last as long.
 The Ultra model (there are 3 models; it's the middle -- it's also the same
price at Costco as the upper-end one is directly through Foodsaver) also
comes with handy "canisters" -- you can put soups, strawberries, etc. in them
and suck the air out -- it's so cool!

LOVE my Foodsaver!

Thanks to all who responded.  Truly appreciate it.  We decided to buy one on
Sunday.  I was most curious about baked goods.  We froze them first as
suggested.  It did sort of squish them, but they look edible still!  Am
curious to defrost one and taste it (but am still eating stuff I did not
freeze!). Betsy in MI