I bought these bags to make my own boil-in-a-bag meals for when I go camping or a mid-day meal on long hikes. This means no faffing about at the campsite doing meal prep, and very little to clean up after the meal.
They are advertised as zip lock bags - they are not - there is no zip on the bag like you get on zipper freezer bags. But they do have a resealing strip so they can be resealed - similar to what you get on some blocks of cheese and large bags of peanuts in supermarkets.
So that disappointment aside.
Simply put the food or whatever in the bag. Squeeze out as much air as you can, then fasten with the sealing strip. Then seal the end with a hot iron taking care to avoid the resealing strip. The sealing is very easy and the seal is quite strong, it holds up to be squashed a wee bit without the bag failing. There are tear points (awkward to get going), but you don't need scissors or a knife to re-open the bag.
The 12cm (3.75") x 20cm (7.75"), the stand up bag has a gusset of 5cm (2") at its widest point. The bag is a suitable size for storing pre-prepared meals in.
In one bag I put some curry in one bag and put the rice in another bag. I also put some liver and onion in one bag and some mixed vegetables in another.
Re-heated by bringing to the boil and then simmered for 30 minutes, (not that I needed 30 minutes), the bags held up really well no failures. I didn't notice any after taste from the bag.
My camping pot isn’t big enough for two bags, so I re-heated the curry and liver first, then the rice and the veggies. The bags with the curry and liver held their heat well while I re-heated the rice and the veggies, but this February is not exactly freezing cold.
You can tip the re-heated contents on to a plate or eat straight of the bag. Though if you only use part of the contents ensure the resealing strip is clear of any food or debris to ensure a good seal.
So notwithstanding that they are not zip lock bags, they are re-sealable, for purpose of making boil in a bag meals and versatility they get 5 stars, for durability in a backpack they get 5 stars, value for money 5 stars. I don’t know if the bags are suitable for recycling. Will I buy again, definitely.
