# Using foodsaverwith wet vegetables



## VAmtngranny (Mar 23, 2015)

Every year I try to use my food saver bags to freeze peas, green beans etc but the bags won't seal because of the moisture in the blanched veggies. I have resorted to laying the oeas or beans out on cookie sheets and quick freezing them for a couple hours and then putting in the bags. It is even more unwieldy with greens like spinach!

Does this happen to others also? Have you any solutions? sites like pickyourown.org recommend the food saver but I don't know how they overcome this problem.

Thanks for feedback.


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

My mom burned up several foodsavers before she figured it out. Fill your bags then set them upright in the freezer until solid then wipe the rims with paper towel and seal.


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## Janis R (Jun 27, 2013)

I agree freeze first, I fill the bags, fold down a couple of times, clip with bull clip, then .
freeze solid, then seal


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## puddlejumper007 (Jan 12, 2008)

gees, too bad that does not come with the instructions....i have a problem with the bags leaking air in after they have been sealed and placed in freezer.. any ideas?


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## Melesine (Jan 17, 2012)

Does your model have a moist food setting? Ours does and I use that, it works great.


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## HoofPick (Jan 16, 2012)

Does your foodsaver have the "pulse" button? That is the key. Press it before you put the bag in. It will hold onto the bag and only draw a vacuum while being pressed. You can tap it until you see the liquid being towards the food saver. When it gets close, hit seal and you should be good to go. I've been able to brine and marinate meats and package liquid soups using this method.


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## NEfarmgirl (Jan 27, 2009)

puddlejumper007 said:


> gees, too bad that does not come with the instructions....i have a problem with the bags leaking air in after they have been sealed and placed in freezer.. any ideas?


If it is solid dry foods that may have sharp edges the bags might be getting poked and air gets in. I did some meat and had a package open because the bone poked a small hole in the bag. I have learned with those types of food to run it until the air is out, the bag is snug around the food and then seal it without letting it complete it's cycle. 

If the food is moist, make sure the bag is wiped as dry as possible inside where the seal with be and if any liquid happens to get sucked out, make a second seal beside the first one. (Seal it and move the bag to seal it again) I started doing this and have had no problems with air getting in. Our sealer starts melting the bags if it gets too hot from being overused and that affects the seal, allow it to cool down like the instruction manual suggests to avoid that from happening.


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## 7thswan (Nov 18, 2008)

I have taken a paper towel rolled up and put in after putting in the moist food. It absorbs the moisture before it gets to the seal area, then seal.


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## boolandk (Sep 20, 2003)

After blanching put the vegetables in a salad spinner and spin the water away. Works great! I do this with fruit as well.


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## Werforpsu (Aug 8, 2013)

I just let my green beans drain for quite a while before I package them up. So I blanch them, I cool them and then I drain them for several hours.

I just did 6 pounds of green beans the other day and I had every bag seal perfectly.


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## terri9630 (Mar 12, 2012)

Some vacuum sealers have a setting for wet food. Mine does but I've never used it. I usually just watch and hit the seal button before the liquid gets to the top of the bag.


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## VAmtngranny (Mar 23, 2015)

Thanks for all the tips--my machine does not have a pulse button, and wiping/drying the bags and produce doesn't work; there is still too much water in there. Maybe my particular model is especially sensitive to moisture, but it just will not seal unless the contents are relatively dry (or frozen). Unfortunately a salad spin doesn't get enough water off. 

I am concerned about leaving the blanched green beans (for example) out on towels around the kitchen for several hours while they dry. I think the quick freeze on trays solution may be better for me. I will give the paper towel trick a try and it may work if most of the moisture is already off. 

Thanks again!


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## MO_cows (Aug 14, 2010)

terri9630 said:


> Some vacuum sealers have a setting for wet food. Mine does but I've never used it. I usually just watch and hit the seal button before the liquid gets to the top of the bag.


This. The newer models you can push a button and it immediately stops sucking and seals. When you see the moisture climbing, just seal. 

When I had the older one without this feature, I tried the "freeze before sealing" and the paper towel method both, they were a pain. What worked best was to make the bag extra long, but that roll of bag material ain't cheap it was a costly convenience.


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## fishhead (Jul 19, 2006)

7thswan said:


> I have taken a paper towel rolled up and put in after putting in the moist food. It absorbs the moisture before it gets to the seal area, then seal.


I did that with the chickens I froze. It's in the instructions so I figured it was safe.


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