How the Zwilling Food Vacuum Sealer Helped Me Take Fewer Trips to the Grocery Store

I have always been someone who meal planned and prepped, but I'll admit — sometimes things come up. What I planned to eat five days from prep day ended up getting wasted because I wasn't in the mood for it anymore or it went bad before I had a chance to eat it.

Whether you're a meal prepper like me or prefer planning only one or two meals at a time, minimizing food waste, taking fewer trips to the grocery store and actually eating those leftovers are more important now than ever. Plus, keeping produce fresh for longer motivates me to eat healthier. I love a good salad, but after just a few days when the salad mix starts to go bad — you know — when it starts to get that smell and sliminess, I can't stomach it.

The solution: A food vacuum sealer. Air carries gas compounds and bacteria, which can alter food's quality and taste (and eventually causes the food to go bad). Vacuum sealing keeps air out, so food lasts longer. Plus, it prevents freezer burn. You have many vacuum sealers to choose from online. I've tested the Zwilling Fresh & Save Vacuum Sealer, and below I share how it works, plus my takeaways. Spoiler alert: It comes with an app!

How It Works

Unlike many other food vacuum sealers, the Zwilling vacuum pump is compact, so you can neatly tuck it away in a drawer or cabinet, and it comes with its own charger (it lasts a long time between each charge). To use, wash and dry your produce as you normally would, and place inside the glass container or bag. Place the pump over the round opening, press the button, then watch the pump do its magic. The pump automatically turns off when all the air is pumped out.

Use these containers and bags to store meats, marinades and cooked leftovers, and you can even use the bags for sous-vide cooking. I personally love the glass containers because they're microwave- and oven-safe, so I can directly warm up food in them.

Using the Zwilling Culinary App

What makes the Zwilling sealer great is its user-friendly app. Download the Zwilling Culinary app here or on your smartphone, click Appliances and add Fresh & Save. Once you've added it, click Manage to add a food item. Fill in the item name (i.e. Salad Mix), scan the QR code on the bag or glass container, pick a food group and whether you're putting it in the fridge or freezer. (You can even upload your own photo.)

The app organizes each added item in a list, along with the date entered and the date it will expire. The app includes a color-coded system; green means it's fresh, yellow means it's about to expire and red means it has already expired. You can turn on the notifications so it will alert you when an item is about to expire or has expired, so you don't have to think twice about it. One caveat is that you can't manually fill in the date added, so if you forget to add it the day of, you can't track the expiration day accurately.

Does It Actually Work?

The Zwilling Fresh & Save claims to help your food last five times longer. To truly test if it lives up to this, I decided to test one food that spoils the quickest — avocado. I placed an avocado half in one of the bags, sealed it and placed it in the fridge. Normally, it would turn brown within hours. I was so shocked to find it started to turn a little brown after five whole days. Not only did it still look fresh, but it also tasted fresh. The Fresh & Save also kept salad mix, cooked sweet potatoes and cilantro fresh for 10 days. Because of this product, I now only have to go to the grocery store twice a month. So, yes, it works well. It works so well, in fact, I even bought one for my mom for Mother's Day.