Just wipe out the inside top edges of the bag with a paper towel before sealing. And if the seal is still questionable just move up the bag a bit and re-seal again.

Keep in mind that foods with large amounts of water or other liquids in them aren't ideally vacuum sealed so what sorts of things are you trying to v. seal?

Which model sealer did you buy? Some models have a "Wet" setting available for liquids.

Dave

Cut the bags a little longer. The vacuum will pull the bag into the product, as well as pull out liquids, so thats why they have the drip tray inside, around the vacuum area. Once sealed, you can wipe the inside area with a paper towel, and reseal again about 1/4 inch closer to the edge of the bag. Mine has no 'wet' setting, but I do press the instant seal button to shorten up the pumping, and seal it before liquids start to head for the seal area.

You can also freeze your liquids first, then vacuum seal!

Deanna

I got a second-hand chamber model, an SVP-10 made by VacMaster. The bag sits inside a chamber, and the unit evacuates the whole chamber, so liquids aren't drawn toward the opening. I'll be using it for frozen veggies, herbs, sauces, and stocks, as well as some meats.

I got tired of freezer burn and off tastes so I decided to buy a storage freezer and the sealer.

Thanks for the ideas. I will use paper towels to soak up anything that splashes near the bag opening.

You can also put a paper towel over whatever it is you are bagging. Truthfully I let my product dry very good before I bag it because water/ice just damages the product in the freezer. I usually do my prep work at night, let dry on the counter on paper towels overnight and bag the following morning.

FS just sent me an email about 40% off a bag sealer and 30% off rolls. Its an email offer, so I suggest that you get on their email list. The offer ends on 6/28.

Ruthie, what kind of prep work do you do for freezing? I've read about blanching then plunging into an ice water bath, but haven't frozen any garden produce yet (though there's lots waiting to be harvested).

nygardener - NCHFP provides detailed instructions for all sorts of freezing. Blanching times vary from food to food as does freezing methods.

Peppers for example don't require blanching, just clean, core, cut into quarters or strips, spread on cookie sheet, freeze and then pop into ziplock bags.

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: NCHFP - How to Freeze Garden Produce

Larger and dense veggies do need blanching. I planch peas and beans, as well as broccoli. Stuff that doesn't need a blanch are things like chopped onions, sweet peppers, and a few higher water content items. Even most fruits don't need blanching as they also are high water content. If you were to freeze broccoli with no blanching, for instance, it would break every green bud off the tops of the crowns and you end up with mostly green sawdust. Most canning books also offer freezing guidelines which are much easier to deal with compared to home canning. The blanch always requires a dip into ice water to halt any cooking. I blanch corn on the cob, then cut off the kernals and freeze. I like using the heavier bags from Food Saver. I just harvested a big bunch of onions and some shallots that were going to flower. Peeled and put through a chopper, then bagged in a FS bag and freezed them.

Thanks so much for that reference, Dave, and for the examples, ksrogers. The process is seeming a lot less mysterious.