I put the food into a ziploc bag, then press the air out of it and put that bag into the freezer bag. I then seal it. Also, when you wash it, turn it inside out before putting it into the dishwasher.



Grease and plastic bags cling together, and it is just about impossible to get the grease completely cleaned off. When my FoodSaver bags got too messy from the content I threw them out....expensive, but just couldn't deal with the mess of trying to get the bag clean.

I use the ball jars and jar sealing attachment when I freeze stews and chili's. They are much cheaper than the plastic bags. I also have been buying bulk things like cashews and putting them in small sized jars and it works great!!! I can even put the jars in my musty basement and when I want some fresh sugar or non-frozen item they are really fresh. I have some "personal" sized snack jars that are very small and I use them for alot of things.

All standard canning jars (Ball and Kerr) can safely be placed in the freezer. Jars take up a lot of freezer space and are somewhat dangerous because they CAN and DO break easily. Cleaning glass out of a freezer would be about the last thing on my list of things to do...

Some people think that a better method for freezing soup (and many other foods) is to quick-freeze it in user-friendly amounts first. Use 1-cup plastic containers for soup so that you can use 1 for one serving (nice for lunch for one), or you can pull out more if you need more servings. After they are frozen you can pop them out of the plastic containers and stack them and seal them with my FoodSaver in a bag. They fit better in the freezer. You can do the same thing in inexpensive 1-quart plastic freezer containers if you need larger amounts than 1-serving sizes.

You should probably check the manufacturers instructions about vacuum-sealing soup before it's frozen, or after; and whether that can/should be done in a jar. Call the toll-free number for more information.

I use the bags for meats, then I throw them out because the meats are raw and I just dont think I could clean them well enough to reuse. When I use the bags for cooked items or veggies, I will wash and re-use them until they get too short to use.

When you vacuum seal and freeze the chili in jars, how much space do you leave at the top of the jar for expansion? Fill them about 3/4 of the way. If you have the ones that narrow a little on the top (have a shoulder) I would leave like an inch or more from the top of the food to the shoulder of the jar. Hopefully that makes sense. I have never had any jars break yet and I freeze alot of soups, sauces and chili's during the winter.