Food Safety

FOOD PRESERVATION SEASON IS COMING SOON

BY ANGELA TREADAWAY

Growing and preserving your own food lets you enjoy delicious, in-season fruits and vegetables throughout the year. For many of us, who may not have our very own home garden, there is still a way we can capture the great quality and flavor of fresh fruits and vegetables to enjoy all year round. Fruit and vegetable growers offer a wide variety of fresh fruits and vegetables; notably squash, okra, green beans, corn, tomatoes and of course those sweet watermelons during the summer months at local farmers markets and roadside stands. If you are thinking about canning to preserve your food this summer, there are a couple of things you should have in place before getting started.

Recipes:

All home canned foods should be prepared using research tested recipes. Research is done continually to provide the latest, most up-to-date recommendations. Many new guidelines have been released over the last couple of years, so make sure your recipes have the latest information to keep your family safe. Using your grandmothers’ old canning recipes is probably not safe anymore and please be careful with social media in following recipes there unless they are from an educational source.

Equipment:

Review the equipment needed for canning and make sure they are ready in advance. A water bath canner is needed for processing fruits, jams, jellies, tomatoes, and pickle products. A pressure canner is essential for vegetables, meats, and fish. If you have a dial gauge pressure canner you want to make sure you have it tested at your local county extension office every year before starting to can. Be sure to call before going to make sure they can test it or to set up an appointment.

You should also have a sharp knife, jars, measuring cups, new lids, a funnel, sugar, salt, rings, and a jar lifter. Check your jars for chipping, check gaskets for damage. If you have a dial gauge pressure canner it is wise to have it tested at your local County Extension Office every year before you start canning. The Extension Office also has all kinds of handouts with guidelines and recipes for preserving foods.

Canning Process:

The canning process should begin as each fruit or vegetable is being harvested. For a nicer product, try to use fruits or vegetables without any sign of insect damage, bruising or wilting. The first step will be to sterilize your jars. As you prepare your recipe, get your canner on the stove. Next, fill your jars according to the directions and then seal and process in a water bath canner or pressure canner. After removing them from the canner, put them onto a dry, clean, cloth where they can sit for the next 24 hours. The following morning, you should check to make sure you got a good seal. The lid should be concave and when pressed on should not pop.

Storage:

You want to make sure that you have a good storage area; after all you’ve put in a lot of work. Most canned food items are good for up to a year. For a complete list, you may download an Extension Publication, “Better Safe than Sorry Food Storage Chart,” or request one from your County Extension Office. There are many other publications available for home food preservers at this website: www.aces.edu. You may also visit the University of Georgia website for more information at the National Center for Home Food Preservation: www.uga.edu/nchfp/.

Resources for Preserving:

When looking for information to preserve your fresh produce you always want to go to a reliable safe resource to get recipes and procedures. When searching on the internet be sure to use an educational source such as the Extension Service in any state, the National Center for Home Food Preservation, or USDA. Please do not use social media because a lot of times their recipes are not tested, and you can get into a big mess or put your family in danger of getting Clostridium botulinum which can be deadly. There is an Extension Service in each state through that state's land grant university and this organization is the only one that still educates and provides publications on tested recipes and processes for preserving foods in your home.

ACES Food Safety Regional Agents will be teaching and providing hands-on training at Food Preservation Camps in three locations in the state this summer. If you are interested in attending one, please register early because the camps will be limited to 20 people a day because of the number of things we will be teaching and providing the students. You will be preparing products each day and will have several to carry home to share and enjoy with your family. We will be teaching pressure canning, water bath canning, jams and jellies, pickling, drying and freeze-drying and fermentation.

Home Food Preservation Camps in

• Marshall County - Albertville Al June 28 & 29, 2023

• Houston County - Dothan Al July 12 & 13, 2023

Fee for class each day $20

• Tuscaloosa County - Tuscaloosa Al July 19 & 20, 2023

To register, please follow this link or QR code: www.aces.edu/go/preservationcamp23