I came across a very handy tool some years ago, and I absolutely LOVE it! It’s an Electric Mason Jar Vacuum Sealer and it is extremely easy to operate. This model works with batteries, but I’ve purchased a manual jar vacuum sealer as a backup, but honestly, I haven’t used the manual one yet.
It almost sounds as though I’m selling the product, but at this point I’m only sharing what has made my life easier on the boat. The name of the product that I’m talking about is Dicorain VP06+ Electric Mason Jar Vacuum Sealer. The nice thing about it, is that it works on both sizes of lids i.e. for regular and wide mouth lids.
Once the jars have been open and we have used what we need from the jar, it can easily be vacuum sealed again and the pickles, preserves, ferments or whatever last so much longer. Off course it also helps to keep the refrigerator clean since there are no spills.
All the freeze-dried food that I store in mason jars get vacuum sealed as well. I realize that there are many boats with a “no glass” policy, but for me and our boat it works the best. I like the fact that the same jars can be used over and over again for many years and that we don’t add to the already huge problem of plastic waste all over the planet. I have never had a mason jar break and when the food that was originally in the jars is used, I re-use the jars for so many different things – sometimes just to keep the shells that I collect:-). Throughout our travels I will make new fermented veggies, sprout some seeds in the jars and use it to mix up yogurt, fruits or vegetables for smoothies. I also use the jars to make different individual salads, which can then be kept in the refrigerator or eat directly. So, mason jars are my friend on the boat.
The manual mason jar vacuum sealer is called Daika. It is compatible with Foodsaver Devices with accessory ports, so that can definitely be useful. When you manually pump the air out, it normally is completely done by pumping 10-30 times. The more the resistance on the shaft of the pump, the better the vacuum will be. This model also has the adaptor for both the wide and regular mason jar lids.