by Janet Hackert, Regional Nutrition and Health Education Specialist
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Spring has turned to summer and, just as in our grandparents’ day, the harvest has begun. 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. Food preservation classes offered in Bethany will 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.
In the first class, participants will have hands-on experience with pressure canning green beans safely and will learn the basics of home canning. For the next class, the topic will be boiling water canning and participants will prepare and can salsa. And lastly, participants will discover effective ways to freeze and dehydrate produce. If you have never canned, frozen or dehydrated food before, or if it has been a while, these 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 Bethany, 6-8:30 p.m. at Immanuel Baptist Church on Tuesdays, July 26, August 2 and August 9. Pre-registration by a week before the first class is requested. Please contact me, Janet Hackert, at (660)425-6434 or [email protected] for more information or to pre-register. The fee for each hands-on class is $15 per person per class, $45 for all three sessions. Class size is limited so register early to avoid missing out on this opportunity to learn about home food preservation! If you need special accommodations because of a disability, or if you need materials in an alternative.