Madison County Extension hosted Food Preservation class

The University of Missouri Extension office in Madison County recently hosted a 3-part educational series on Food Preservation focusing on food safety and canning. The instructor of this course was Shanna Sorg the Nutrition Specialist that serves residents in Madison, Iron, and Reynolds Counties. This educational series was held at the First Presbyterian Church in Fredericktown.

Each of the three classes began with a lesson covering the safety and processing technique to later be utilized by the class members for the hands on portion of each lesson.

During Week 1 the class learned about pressure canning and why it is the only safe method for canning most low acid vegetables. Participants moved on to the kitchen and preserved green beans using a tested, pressure canning recipe. Week 2 of this series covered Jams & Jellies and the class preserved grape jelly, blueberry spice jam, and a beautiful suspension jelly, habanero gold, using the hot water bath method for food preservation and also prepared a triple berry freezer jam. The course concluded with the third lesson that covered pickling and salsa. Participants used the steam bath method during their final lesson to preserve dill pickles and a peach salsa.

Participants not only learned about the safety and techniques involved in food preservation, they also preserved 7 different foods that they were able to take home and share with their family and friends.

If you are interested in signing up for a Food Preservation class or if you would like information on safe canning techniques, please contact our office at 573-783-3303.

Participants in the University of Missouri Extension series on Food Preservation learn about food safety and canning.