[netandtim]

One of the greatest things I bought to go with my vacuum sealer was the jar attachments (one for regular, one for wide-mouth). Put whatever you want in a glass jar, add a lid, stick it on the sealer and it seals the jar. Love it!
You can put sharp, irregular items in a jar that may puncture regular bags.

Here's a link to the wide-mouth one. We found ours at Bass Pro Shops.

http://www.foodsaver.com/ProductDetails.aspx?productid=2496

 

[netandtim]

Dean,
I don't have a concrete link to send you to that discusses canning vs vacuum. I would think that storage times would be similar as long as the vacuum seal is maintained. I tend to think of vacuum sealing for dry goods and canning for fruits/veggies/meats. I do vacuum my meats before freezing.

Here is a link that does have a chart of fresh/fridge/freezer storage times. You might find some useful tidbits in there....

http://www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/foods/348-960/348-960.html

Net