Thank God, less food waste – the story behind the BORA QVac

Vacuum sealing food to keep it fresher for longer

Dutchman Erik Spelt bought his first vacuum sealer to try out some sous-vide cooking methods. By vacuum sealing food then cooking it in a bain-marie or hot steam, it is cooked in a particularly gentle way that preserves nutrients and flavours or makes them even more intense.

Spelt was very impressed with the results as his meals were really flavoursome, but he wasn’t so keen on the size of the appliance. The vacuum sealer was always in the way, so he kept it in a cupboard once he had finished using it. But once out of sight, the appliance was also out of mind so he kept forgetting to use it. Spelt hardly ever used his vacuum sealer to vacuum seal leftovers because it was too much hassle having to get it out each time and then put it away again afterwards.

The idea of a vacuum system – from first sketch to final delivery

As Erik Spelt wanted to use this appliance more often, he came up with the idea of developing a vacuum sealer that could be integrated discreetly into the worktop. That way it would always be ready to use without taking up much space or getting in the way. People would then use it more often, and for more than just the occasional sous-vide cooking session. That’s how the idea of a built-in vacuum sealer came about.

After a fair bit of tinkering and three years of development, Spelt had brought his idea of a built-in vacuum sealer from sketch to production. Spelt’s first built-in vacuum sealer went on sale in 2019. The innovative kitchen appliances by BORA and Quooker were a great source of inspiration to him.

The Quva vacuum sealer makes food last up to three times longer, can be elegantly integrated into the worktop and enables ultra-rapid marinating in just ten minutes. It can even be used for re-sealing opened drinks to make them last longer. Home-made herb oil, for example, can first be cooked sous-vide in a vacuum bag to develop an intense flavour before being vacuum sealed with the bottle seal so that it lasts for a very long time.

The next step was to come up with some handy accessories: instead of regularly and exclusively using vacuum bags, the vacuum-sealing system developed by Spelt also works with reusable, BPA-free and dishwasher-safe containers.

BORA subsequently changed the name of the built-in vacuum sealer to the BORA QVac, whereby the ‘Q’ stands for quality and ‘Vac’ for vacuum sealing. The name therefore makes it clear that the BORA QVac follows BORA’s high product standards. The ‘quality’ reference also applies to the vacuum sealing of food, which preserves or even intensifies the quality of the ingredients.

Erik Spelt explains what makes the BORA QVac so special

Less food waste thanks to longer shelf lives

According to Spelt, in the Western world we throw away around 30% of our food – a factor that strongly influences CO₂ emissions. The QVac enables us to keep leftovers for longer and therefore to reduce waste.

Marinated in 10 minutes – the ultra-rapid marinating function

It normally takes several hours for a marinade to become completely absorbed in meat, but thanks to the BORA QVac’s marinating function this process takes just 10 minutes. Users simply have to place the supplied marinating ring on the vacuum box, press the marinate button and leave the process to work its magic. The pressure created by the vacuum makes the marinade penetrate the food much faster, bringing out the naturally intensive flavours.

Spelt’s favourite function: making drinks last longer

Juices, oils, soups and other liquids that are transferred into bottles can also have a longer shelf life if they are vacuum sealed. Erik Spelt enjoys the occasional glass of wine with a particularly tasty meal but hates the thought of his favourite elixir going to waste. Once a bottle of wine has been opened it soon loses its taste, but vacuum sealing can prevent this. Therefore, Spelt came up with an additional function with even more power. The system sucks air out of bottles via the vacuum seal and only stops when the pump reaches its maximum capacity.