Posted on July 19 2019
Have you ever wondered if there are foods you should not be vacuum sealing? There are many foods you can vacuum seal for extended freshness; unfortunately there are a handful that you should not preserve using this method. Some foods contain anaerobic bacteria, which can grow without the presence of air. Within a vacuum sealed pouch, with reduced oxygen, these bacteria will grow and may pose a risk to your health.
Do not vacuum seal:
- raw mushrooms
- garlic
- soft cheeses (blue cheese, brie, camembert, ricotta and other soft and unpasteurized cheeses)
- freshly cooked or steamed vegetables (safe to vacuum seal after they are at room temperature)
In addition, many common vegetables emit a gas when stored. If these vegetables - in the Cruciferae or Brassicaceae family - are kept in a vacuum sealed bag, this gas will cause them to spoil. To store these vegetables properly they should be blanched, dried, then vacuum sealed and frozen for storage.
Blanch first:
- arugula
- bok choy
- broccoli
- brussels sprouts
- cabbage
- cauliflower
- kale
- radishes
- turnips
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Hello Miriam – when vacuum sealing dried mushrooms oxygen absorbers are not necessary as the vacuum machine is removing the air for you. As a reminder, do not vacuum seal raw mushrooms. Some foods contain anaerobic bacteria, which can grow without the presence of air. Within a vacuum sealed pouch, with reduced oxygen, these bacteria will grow and may pose a risk to your health.
Hello Patricia – we recommend pre-freezing many things before vacuum sealing them. This keeps the desired shape of the item and saves room in your freezer.
Hi Emily – I would love to chat with you more about what kind of foods you are looking to vacuum seal. The different kinds of food require different answers. Feel free to contact us at 1-800-538-1442 or we have a great food storage chart available on our website www.FoodVacBags.com. Looking forward to hearing from you.
I see raw mushrooms cannot be vacuum sealed, but what about dried mushrooms? And the answer is yes, should oxygen absorbers be added too?
Can I use a glass container with lid and seal frozen lasagna with my food sealer once I get the food frozen.
Hello! 🥰 I’m waiting on a delivery of my first vacuum sealer, and am a little scared tbh.. I’ve also purchased a high end food dehydrator, for my prepping supplies, and have read that food with fats don’t dehydrate.. so… I was wondering about air fried food? Will this vacuum seal well, and what would the shelf life/fridge/freezer life be? I’m not sure if I could dehydrate air fried food to vacuum seal it?
Very grateful for any advice 🙏🕊️
Hello – Yes, you can vacuum seal dried pasta like ramen noodles. I would poke a small hole in the packaging if you’d like the air to be removed from the packaging as well. Just be careful to use the pulse setting on your machine. You could easily crush the pasta.
If I wanted to seal/store Ramen noodles (prepackaged) in vacuum sealed bags do I need to put a tiny hole in each package first?
Hi Larry – Yes, you can vacuum seal pitted prunes. If stored in the refrigerator, they can last 6-12 months, in the freezer they can last 12-18 months.
Unfortunately, we have never tried to vacuum seal the fried pork skins. I would think it would be difficult to seal because the pressure of the vacuum seal with probably crush them. If you happen to give this a try, please let us know how it turns out.
Can you vacuum seal prunes, like say Sunsweet Pitted Prunes? Do you have to be concerned about anaerobic bacteria?
Can you vacuum seal fried pork skins, and if so, how long should they last?
Hi Shelby – Yes you can vacuum seal fresh loaves of bread. Here is a blog post that might help! https://foodvacbags.com/blogs/foodsaverblogs/can-you-vacuum-seal-bread?pos=3&_sid=8d2d56aa9&ss=r
Can you vacuum seal fresh homemade loaves of bread?
There seems to be a lot of mixed information out there regarding vacuum-sealing cooked mushrooms and garlic. I reached out to the USDA and the FDA to try to get a correct answer for you. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to find a firm answer for you.
can you vacuum pack cooked mushrooms and garlic for example when they are ingredients in a sauce?
Hello Nancy – We suggest blanching both the turnips and the collards before freezing. Without blanching, the colors may fade a bit, and the textures and flavors could end up being off.
I purchase turnip and collards greens at grocery with intent to vacuum seal. do I need to wash and let dry or do they need to be blanched?
Hi Jennifer – Thank you for that information. There are definitely some mixed reviews on this topic. It’s probably best if we leave it up to your discretion.
Hello FoodVacBags:
It is my understanding that adding oxygen absorbers to nuts (due to their high oil content) can be a source of botulism growth and should not be done. In one of your comments, you suggested that one can easily vacuum seal and add oxygen absorbers to nuts to store them. Potentially dangerous?