Nancy - NCHFP gives you all the instructions for freezing all sorts of fruits. Apples for example can be frozen in a syrup or dry packed (see instructions) and after freezing on a cookie sheet then vacuum seal them in a foodsaver bag.

Pears are usually only done in a syrup but if you want to use the foodsaver first freeze them in a plastic freezer container and then remove the block from the ontainer and put it in the food saver bag.

As you know trying to freeze liquids with the food saver is difficult so just freeze the things first and then vacuum seal them.

Hope this helps.

Dave

Regarding freezing Peaches: (and I know you don't have enough this season) I always freeze sliced peaches in orange juice -- just the stuff you can purchase at the grocery store and drink every morning. It keeps the fruit from turning color, and the sliced peaches are delicious still slightly frozen, with the orange juice, for breakfast. Dave (digdirt) has a good idea about freezing in a container first then remove them and use the food saver bag. Of course -- you can always just keep them in the freezer container, too! Good luck.

How about a ziploc type of bag, then resealed in the food saver. Of course, get as much air out of the ziploc. That way, you are double protected from freezer burn.

I haven't used my foodsaver since DH took it along on a fishing trip and packaged his daily batches of filets without freezing them first. I never could get all the fish juice cleaned out out.

How about saving tomatoes and tomatillos? Prefreeze and then vaccuum freeze? I just bought a foodsaver today! I have a zillion tomatoes that are just going to waste...

Costco has the manual one on sale this month for $50, and it sounds like most people prefer that one to the fancy $180 jobbby.

Btw, NCHFP is National Center for Home Food Preservation

Here is a link that might be useful: NCHFP: National Center for Home Food Preservation

I am using a foodsaver. For items with liquid, I put it in a foodsaver bag. Press out as much air as possible. Roll the open end over a few times. Then seal the open end with a bag clip with a good sturdy spring. Place the bag flat on a cookie sheet with one end of the cookie sheet tilted slightly up. After the liquid is frozen, I then wipe off the condensation on the inside and seal the foodsaver bag and put it back in the freezer.

I'm thinking about buying a food saver. I have never owned one and I'm dumber than a rock about using one! I can figure that part out by reading the instructions, but I also need some help on which one to buy!

I have an Amazon discount code that I need to use before it expires. But there are so many choices!

I want to be able to use it for vacuuming jars also.

I'm willing to spend up to $150,

Which one would y'all recommend?

Here is a link that might be useful: Search on Amazon for foodsaver

babyg, I purchased a foodsaver, the cheap one, this year because I wasn't getting a good seal with store bought freezer bags for saving my tomatoes. I also purchased a vitamix around the same time. I tried a batch of cherry tomatoes in the vitamix ground whole, but the product turns out too watery and I think the seeds, and perhaps the skins, affect the taste adversely. Same with regular tomatoes in vitamix whole.

So to store tomatoes, I'm back to a large pot of boiling water, blanching about a dozen large tomatoes at a time, peeling the skins off, core the stem area, slice in half, squeeze each half in my hands to remove seeds and juice, turning them 90 degrees to get out more seeds, then chop into 1/4" chunks. Approx 6 large tomatoes will fill up a regular quart freezer bag. I use the great value cheap ones. I fill up all the bags to 3/4 to 4/5ths full, let sit upright until I've processed all the tomatoes, then zip the bags closed except for a small opening and squeeze with the bag upright until much of the juice comes out, and close up the bag while juice is coming out to make it as air tight as possible. Dry the bag, lay flat. I cut off about 12" from the 11" wide foodsaver roll bags. Two of the great value quart bags will fit in sideways on top of each other into the foodsaver bag. With a 12" length, I should be able to reuse it next year, and maybe once more after that. Haven't mastered that part.

I just baked a couple of large spaghetti squash casseroles in a 9 x 12 pyrex casserole dish (with fresh tomatoes and my garden squash, kale, spinach, onion, mozzarella, parmesean, etc). After baked, I cut in half and froze in the dish. Once frozen, put each half in a plastic grocery produce bag, cut to bag to length, slipped into 11" foodsaver bag with closed end of produce bag going in first. Foodsaver sucked out the air from both bags, and no liquid issue with casserole already being frozen.

Wow. First that casserole sounds yummy and amazing. You freeze it in the dish? You don't mind losing the Pyrex for a long time? Maybe I should do lasagnas that way...
And second: thanks!!! That detailed description is really helpful. And the double bagging to reuse the $$ foodsaver bag is smart. I really need to stop buying canned tomatoes and use what I grow.

Update: I bought the cheaper one. Works great.

Buuut... A ziplock and a straw might be more efficient.

Baby G, I've tried the ziplock and straw method multiple times and can report that the failures outnumber the success! Rarely maintains a good seal!

I have a Polyscience 150. It's a little spendier than basic foodsavers, but we went through two of those. To me, foodsaver has always been a decision of how long frozen, or thawing ease. I love 1lb packs of ground meat frozen flat--I can quickly thaw them under water without the slight cooking that the microwave will do. Some things, like sausage links I use pressnseal individually, then a freezer zip bag. I can just cut off what I need, and they don't stay in the freezer long enough.

We chose to go with the Polyscience brand because the seal on the foodsaver wasn't tough enough for sous vide cooking, which DH does at times. Been very happy with it over the last year.

I have one but mine needs another heat strip I guess because it's not sealing. :( I am only using it now for sealing canning jars with my kefir grains in them to suck all the air out and freeze them. I don't know where to find the new heating strips! :(

http://www.elementsandmore.com/blog/post/2834846

elementsandmore.com carries all the replacement parts if you don't want to get them from foodsaver.com for some reason.

Dave

thanx

Thanks for the info on freezing fruit!

I'm kinda known as the soup Nazi around here! I love soup and distribute it to anyone who is ill, had oral surgery, or wants some! I also bring my elderly FIL all sorts of goodies a couple time a year! I get requests for a "slabbo", being a slab of soup.

I fill a bag with (usually ) 2 servings of soup, leave at least 3" for sealing, lay it into a baking dish, pat the air out, tilt the 3" up and freeze overnight. Oh, and clean the edges so it will seal!

Seal the next morning. ALA slabo-soup!

Murkey LOL!!!!! I bought my former SIL his OWN for his BD! Nancy