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.

Use only the bags meant for use with your model. Make sure the entire length of the open end is inside the sealing channel. Be sure there is no moisture or grease near where you are sealing .. if there is, clean it off and dry the bag well. Make sure there is a wide enough margin between where the bag seals and where the meat starts. Wait the extra 20 seconds between sealings. If your meat is moist, fold up a paper towel and place it between the meat and where you are sealing the bag .. the towel will absorb any moisture before it gets to the seal. Be sure to press down on the lid for several seconds before releasing. Do not re-use any bags that feel at all greasy after cleaning. Keep the sealing channel inside the machine clean, dry, and grease-free. Be sure the bag edge is all the way inside the sealing channel its entire length. Watch the Tilia website for sales and specials on the bags for your model and stock up then. IF I were buying another vacuum food saver system, I would buy only a unit that lets me use/reuse any plastic-type bag I want to. Did you know you can do about as good a job of sealing by using a freezer style ZipLock bag (available at any Dollar Stores) and a soda straw to suck out all the air yourself? The problems with these pricey vacuum systems is you sometimes do not get a tight seal and even when you do get a tight seal with all air removed, how long will that seal last? Gail R (WNY)

Cottage_Garden- Thanks for clarifying. I did talk with the folks at PumpNSeal and they've been selling these things since 1988 and they come with a 10 year warranty. I'm thinking of charging it with a credit card and giving it a good workout. The idea of not having to worry about an electrical device breaking, and not having to buy special bags looks attractive to me. I just did a Google search on "PumpNSeal +scam" and "PumpNSeal +problem" and got no hits indicating anyone was unhappy with theirs. If you look at the test results they have on their website, it looks like they pull a better vacuum that the powered competitors I know I'm starting to sound like a commercial, but I'm leaning toward getting one. However, I'm holding off for a day or two in case I hear from any of you who have had any bad experiences with PumpNSeal not performing.

Kris, I confess to having the jar sealers for several years and never used them. Now I'm going crazy with the canning jars because I have a collection of cracked FoodSaver canisters. soften the lids in hot water - I microwave a little water to boiling then drop in the lid dry lid clean jar rim put lid on jar place FoodSaver Jar Sealer over jar remove air with hand held until light turns green OR with FoodSaver unit using hose attachment when fully vacuumed, take the jar sealer off the canning jar put the ring on if you choose to - it's optional