Vacuum sealing behind the bar does two things: infusions and syrups in hours instead of days, and portioned premixes that keep. Here are the bags in packs of 200 in two sizes, 20 x 30 centimetres for preparations and 15 x 20 for a single portion, for solids and liquids. The category grows with the chamber machines.
Vacuum sealing at the bar: infusions in hours, premixes that keep
Vacuum sealing came to the bar from the kitchen, and it does two jobs no other tool does. The first is fast infusion: a spirit with fruit or spices, sealed in a bag with no air and held in a water bath at a controlled temperature, takes in two hours what it takes in two weeks in a jar, because the vacuum pushes the liquid into the ingredient. The second is storage: a portioned, sealed premix does not oxidise, stacks in the fridge and is opened when needed.
The bags: two sizes, and what goes in them
Size
For
Example
20 x 30cm
Prep
A litre of gin with peels for infusion, a week's syrup
15 x 20cm
The single portion
The premix for one drink, cut fruit for one service
Both sizes come in packs of 200, and the bags seal both solids and liquids. The large size is for the prep kitchen, where you make in quantity; the small one is for the station, where each bag is one serve.
Chamber or external sealer
An external vacuum sealer, the home kitchen kind, draws the air out from the edge of the bag and struggles with liquids: it pulls them up and fouls the seal. A chamber sealer closes the bag inside a chamber where the vacuum is drawn all at once, and the liquids stay put. That is the one a bar needs, because the bag almost always holds a spirit or a syrup. It is why chamber machines are being added to this category, and the bags already here are the right ones for them too.
The piece that makes the serve
The vacuum sealing bags come in packs of 200, in two sizes: 20 x 30cm for prep and 15 x 20cm for the single portion. They seal both solids and liquids.
How to make a vacuum infusion
Put the spirit and the ingredient in the large bag, vacuum seal it and place it in the water bath at a controlled temperature. Peels and herbs work at 50 to 60°C in one or two hours; fruit and hard spices need a little longer. Cool it in iced water, strain and bottle. The temperature must not go higher, because the alcohol evaporates and the flavour changes.
Care and storage
The bags are single use and are kept in their pack, away from damp. A vacuum-sealed premix keeps longer in the fridge than one in an open bottle, but write the date on the bag with a marker, not from memory.
Two things: infusions and syrups in a few hours instead of days, because the vacuum pushes the liquid into the ingredient, and portioned premixes that do not oxidise and keep in the fridge.
Which bag size?
The 20 x 30cm for prep in quantity, such as a litre of spirit with peels. The 15 x 20cm for the single portion, a premix or the fruit for one service. Both come in packs of 200.
Do you need a chamber sealer?
For liquids, yes. An external sealer pulls them up and fouls the seal; a chamber sealer draws the vacuum in a closed chamber and the liquids stay put.
At what temperature do you make a vacuum infusion?
Peels and herbs at 50 to 60°C for one or two hours; fruit and hard spices a little longer. Any higher and the alcohol evaporates and the flavour changes.
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