by Janet Hackert, Regional Nutrition and Health Education Specialist
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With the rising cost of food, more and more people are growing and preserving their own. But home food preservation has changed since our grandmothers put food up so many years ago. With transportation opening up the world to travel for humans, it has also opened up the spread of germs. How we destroy those microorganisms has changed as well. Researchers continue to learn more about how to maximize the safety of home preserved foods.
Food preservation classes will be offered in Gallatin and Bethany in July to help consumers learn how to combat this threat of food-borne illness and preserve their harvest safely.
The classes will provide step by step instructions on how to preserve using the most current researched recipes and procedures. They will also provide opportunities for hands-on learning. A current set of guides will be provided to each participant so they can follow along on their own at home after the class.
On July 12, participants will have hands-on experience with pressure canning green beans safely and will learn the basics of home canning. On July 19, the topic will be boiling water canning and participants will can salsa. And on July 26, the participants will discover effective ways to freeze and dehydrate produce. If you have never canned before, or if it has been a while, these two-hour workshops are for you.
Come learn why canning safely is more than just sealing food in a jar. Find out why some foods have to be pressure canned and others can be preserved in a boiling water canner and how flexible a preservation method freezing can be. Discover ways to dehydrate foods using principals of food preservation that date back a long way but with methods that are proven safe for today’s small world.
All three classes will be held in both Gallatin and Bethany. The Gallatin classes will be from 1-3:30 and the Bethany ones from 6-8:30 p.m. On July 12, teachers will cover pressure canning; on July 19, boiling water canning; and on July 26, freezing/drying.
Pre-registration by Tuesday July 10 is required. Please contact me, Janet Hackert, at (660)425-6434 or e-mail at [email protected] for more information or to pre-register. For the Gallatin class, you can also pre-register at the Daviess County Health Department at 609A S. Main Street in Gallatin. The fee for each hands-on class is $10 per person per class in Gallatin (sponsored in part by the Daviess County Health Department) and $15 in Bethany. Class size is limited so register early to avoid missing out on this opportunity to get back to basics. Sign up for one or register for all three.