Vacuuming food and drinks in old glass jars and bottles so they stay fresh longer? We thought we knew just about everything to reduce food waste. That is, until we discovered Airtender Food & Wine vacuum. This is a handy kitchen gadget that lets you vacuum old jars and bottles again in no time. Whether it contains fresh fruit, pasta sauce, a leftover from the previous day, leftover wine or fresh orange juice. Everything stays good much longer thanks to vacuuming And it's so easy to do!
Why vacuum pack food?
In cooperation with Airtender
‘More flavour, less waste.’ That's what Airtender promises. But what about it exactly? I am very adept at storing and freezing food properly to avoid food waste. And I also know what to do with old jars. But vacuuming is still unknown to me. Quite strange actually, because airtight packaging of food has been used in professional kitchens for much longer. By vacuuming, you remove the oxygen, which keeps food fresh for longer. Moulds and bacteria need oxygen to grow. With vacuuming, you take out the air, so the food stays fresh longer. And that is important, because food waste is a big problem!
Reducing food waste at home with Airtender
Food waste happens all along the chain: in production, during transport, in supermarkets, in restaurants, but especially in people's homes. Milieu Centraal has calculated that an average person throws away 34 kilos of food and 45 litres of drinks per year. This is, of course, a great shame! Good food is still not at all self-evident in some parts of the world, producing (and transporting) food is incredibly harmful to the planet and it costs you money. After all, groceries have become considerably more expensive and it is expected that these price increase will continue for some time. Enough reasons to do all you can at home to reduce food waste. And Airtender's handy kitchen gadget can help!
This is how I vacuum my glass jars with the help of Airtender
So with the Airtender Food & Wine vacuum kit, you can turn any canning jars and bottles you already have into handy vacuum storage containers. And it works very simply, as long as you store enough handy jars and bottles. You can also easily re-vacuum an opened wine bottle to keep the wine good for longer and then store it lying down. The set consists of a number of parts that you all need in turn.
Getting started with vacuuming food.
First, you have the member punch with this you make the hole in the lid. Next, you have the nanostopper that fits exactly into the hole. And finally, you have the vacuum pump that you put on the stopper to vacuum the whole thing. If you hear a plop, then you know it worked! This operation takes less than three minutes in total and the food stays fresh up to five times longer.
Old jars become vacuum-packed storage containers
Just about anything that fits into a glass jar or bottle can be vacuumed, I have discovered. I use the Airtender almost daily for all sorts of handy things in the kitchen. And it helps me keep food fresh for longer and prevents it from ending up in the bin:
- Re-vacuum an opened canning jar, wine bottle or bottle of apple juice (with contents that haven't quite gone down). The stoppers also fit exactly on a wine bottle!
- Fill old pot with fresh meal and/or leftovers and vacuum it.
- Fill old jar with food that was in awkward packaging, like the coffee beans and biscuits that are always in a non-resealable bag at our place (and can lose flavour if not vacuumed).
- Fill old jars with fresh fruit (which I cut up myself). This is not only convenient and healthy. It also allows you to save a lot of money and (plastic) waste if you often bought pre-cut fruit before.
- Vacuum pot to marinate faster.
- Vacuum jar to store your homemade marinades and sauces in it.
Airtender is a keeper in the kitchen
Vacuuming food with the help of Airtender is definitely a keeper in our sustainable kitchen. Food stays fresh longer, our old jars get a useful new role in the kitchen and it works very easily. Vacuuming is a snap. Anyone can do it! What is also nice to know is that Airtender is a Dutch invention and that it is also produced in the Netherlands. The factory is in Friesland and the packaging is done in cooperation with a sheltered workshop employing people with a distance to the labour market. The Airtender products are made of recycled and sustainable materials and the components are BPA- and BPS-free (meaning they are free of these hormone-disrupting substances). Sustainability is therefore considered on all fronts!
Airtender comes in different boxes. I myself have the most complete ‘Food & Wine Box’ with six stoppers and a handy storage ring for the stoppers. This box costs 34.99 euros. See more about Airtender.
More sustainable tips from thegreenlist.nl
- Also see: which fruits and vegetables do you keep in the fridge (and which do not)?
- Also see: useful kitchen gadgets in the sustainable kitchen.
- Also see: My experience with Foodello!
Sources: Milieu Centraal. Photo credits: thegreenlist.nl.
