Do you want to buy the Mason Genie Jar Vacuum Sealer? read this honest review from a stay at home mom of three who bought and tested this jar sealer on regular and wide mouth mason lids.
Currently, masongenie.com is running a summer sale on its website, bringing the kit down to $49.99 from a claimed $99 value. It looked like a pretty good deal, especially because the kit comes with the sealer and 10 chalktop lids.
However, is it really worth the price? does it really seal and preserve freshness for long? here’s my brutally honest review of the Mason Genie Vacuum Seal after testing it on a wide range of jar lids.
Table of Contents
About Mason Genie Jar Sealer
Mason Genie is a small, rechargeable vacuum sealer designed specifically for mason jars. The official website is Masongenie.com.
The company says the device can pull 99% of the air from a jar in about 30 to 60 seconds and works with regular and wide mouth mason jars. It also markets the product with claims including “100% airtight seals,” “works with all canning lids” and “reseals endlessly.”
The current $49.99 kit includes:
• Mason Genie Vacuum Sealer
• Lid Adaptor
• 5 regular chalktop lids
• 5 wide chalktop lids
• USB charger
• Keychain lid opener
The company also advertises a 60 day money back guarantee.
My experience using this vacuum jar sealer
When my Mason Genie arrived, I was excited to try it. Then I couldn’t get it to seal a single jar. I tried jam jars, pickle jars and Kmart jars, and nothing seemed to happen. At that point, I honestly thought I had received a faulty unit.
Then on Reddit, I read that the device needs to be properly charged before using it. I hadn’t given mine a full first charge, so that was actually my mistake.
After giving it a full charge, it did work. However, this is where my experience became less impressive than the videos.
It worked reasonably well with a smaller jar, but I had a much harder time with a larger jar. I also found that getting the lid off after sealing wasn’t always easy.
The battery was another issue for me. A full charge didn’t seem to last particularly long. So yes, Mason Genie works. But it didn’t work as effortlessly for me as the advertising made it look.
How well does a Mason Genie vacuum sealed jar keep food fresh?
With dry food, I had a decent experience. I tried a sliced avocado for two weeks.
The vacuum sealing did seem to help for two weeks as you can see from the image below. The avocado doesn’t look 100% fresh but it didn’t go bad.
Liquids were more difficult, especially when the jar was very full. My advice is to leave some space rather than filling the jar right to the top. And remember, vacuum sealing is not the same as proper canning. Mason Genie itself says its product isn’t a replacement for the heat processing used in traditional canning.
Note – Vacuum sealing does not sterilize food, destroy harmful bacteria, or make fresh produce shelf stable. It simply removes oxygen and creates a seal. For safe long term, room temperature storage, properly tested canning methods are required. Water bath canning is used for high acid foods, while pressure canning is required for low acid foods such as vegetables, meats, soups, and stocks.
Vacuum sealing can be useful for already shelf stable dry foods such as rice, beans, pasta, flour, herbs, and dehydrated foods, or for foods that remain refrigerated or frozen. It should never be presented as a substitute for canning fresh produce.
Better Alternative
After testing Mason Genie, I wouldn’t spend $49 on it when there are cheaper options that can do essentially the same job. This Electric Mason Jar Vacuum Sealer Kit from Love Moment on Amazon.com for $29 is the alternative I would choose.
It is considerably cheaper than Mason Genie, and it had more than 18,000 verifiable customer reviews with a 4.4 star rating.
You’re not paying extra for fancy advertising and a brand name when a simpler product can do the same basic job. Of course, no vacuum sealer is going to be perfect, but after my experience with Mason Genie, I would rather save the money and put it toward a product with a large, verifiable customer feedback history.
What Other Reviewers Say
On TrustPilot.com, I found several complaints of Mason Genie vacuum seal. One reviewer called Mason Genie an “expensive scam,” saying their unit worked fine about 12 times before the lid started getting stuck inside the machine.
Another customer said they were still within the advertised 60 day satisfaction guarantee but were unhappy because their Mason Genie wasn’t maintaining a proper seal. According to the reviewer, some lids could be lifted off by hand or the seals would fail within days, even when using new Ball jars and lids. When they requested a refund, they said they were asked to submit a video demonstrating the problem before the company would assess the refund. They found this frustrating and felt it did not match their expectations of a satisfaction guarantee.
The general consensus is that the Mason Genie is an overpriced generic vacuum jar sealer with the usual complaints: sealing problems, battery issues, stuck lids, etc Nothing justifies its expensive price.
Mason Genie Vacuum Sealer Pros and Cons
Pros
• Compact and cordless
• Rechargeable
• Works with regular mouth jars
Cons
- Poor battery life
- Works best on regular mouth jars
- Isn’t effortlessly
- Doesn’t really preserve freshness for long
My Takeway
I honestly don’t think the Mason Genie Vacuum Jar Sealer kit is worth its original or summer sale price of $49. It’s a generic product at best sold with exaggerated marketing.