Welcome ChiChi to our forum, and thanks for picking this thread as your first. I am presuming you are talking about an electric machine??? Have heard various comments about freezing first. Do your instructions say this is a recommendation? Do you think this would be the case with manual methods?

Hi Dunmowin Yes its the Sunbeam electric one (sorry should have mentioned that) and they do tell you to be careful not to vacuum liquids into the machine and suggest freezing first. I have no experience with the manual ones. But can heartly recommend the idea of cryovac as a method of keeping certain foods fresher longer. Will be going out west of Quilpie next winter for several weeks and expect this will be where it will prove quite valuable.

We semi freeze our stew type of food. To the point of being mush but not liquid, then cryo. Works a treat and smushies down nice and flat that way.

Hi Firefly, Yes you are quite right, no need to freeze anything. Its just a way to avoid getting liquids in the machine. I don't even bother to blanche.