Donna, I'll let George describe the vacuum machine. I have one, but have never used it -- guess I'm wasting a very good resource.... but I saw the miracles of preservation which a friend of mine experienced, just by using that vacuum.. I never used to have any trouble with freezing raspberries in a dry condition. I would collect them as they became available from the garden, and pop them into a freezer container (we do NOT spray them). When I was ready to make jam, they thawed beautifully. After you froze your blackberries on a cookie sheet, did you quickly move them into a freezer-weight ziplock bag, or a square freezer container...? Speed is essential,so they don't start to thaw. With a ziplock bag, it's easy to press out of excess air. With a square freezer container which is not full, I usually stuff the empty top with crumpled wax paper to eliminate the air. Penny, NY ________________________________________________________________ YOU'RE PAYING TOO MUCH FOR THE INTERNET! Juno now offers FREE Internet Access! Try it today - there's no risk! For your FREE software, visit: http://dl.www.juno.com/get/tagj.