Extension will offer workshop on canning food | News

With gardens producing and some vegetables and fruits being offered on discount, now is a good time to preserve foods to carry people through the winter rather than letting the food go to waste.

The 2020 RTS Food Waste in America guide shares statistics on food wasted in the U.S. each year:

— 80 billion pounds of food is thrown away

— 40% of the U.S. food supply is wasted

— $1,600 worth of produce per family is wasted

Helping families reduce that waste is what Wildcat Extension agent Holly Miner hopes to by offering two free nights of food preservation workshops. The workshops will be at 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Aug. 17 and Aug. 19 at the Wesley United Methodist Church community room kitchen in Parsons, 500 Leawood Dr. Miner is the Wildcat District nutrition, food safety and health family and consumer science agent.

“This is part of a waste reduction grant, so we are trying to reduce the amount of food waste, and food preservation is a great way to preserve the food so you can eat it later and not have the waste you would normally have,” Miner said.

If people spent the money to buy the food, or time growing it, they should want to have it to eat, not feed it to the trash can, she said.

The classes normally cost $20 per person but are free because of the grant.

“I’m actually accepting youth in this as long as they are 14 and older or if they are in between the ages of 14 and 12, if they have an adult come with them,” she said.

Whether you want canned green beans, corn, homemade spaghetti sauce, pizza sauce, salsas, soups or meats, knowing how to preserve food safely is important.

The workshops will focus on water bath, pressure canning, drying/dehydrating and freezing foods. The foods can be store bought or homegrown.

Water bath canning and freezing will be taught Tuesday. On Thursday, participants will do pressure canning and drying food.

All of the classes will offer hands-on experience and address many topics.

For example, Miner said, with water bath and pressure canning timing is important to ensure the botulinum bacteria is killed. Low acid foods, such as potatoes, carrots, beans, non-pickled beets, onions, peas, or any meat, fish or seafood, need to be pressure canned because they do not have the acidity to control bacteria in them, she said.

The higher temperature created in a pressure canner provides that.

High acid foods that can be water bath canned are fruits, pickles and fermented sauerkraut. Tomatoes can be pressure canned or water bath canned but must be acidified with lemon juice if they are put in a water bath. 

“So there is some science in it,” she said.

All of the equipment will be available to acquaint participants with their use.

“We’re actually going to have a dehydrator and dry food in class,” Miner said. “When you dehydrate vegetables they are crunchy, and when you dehydrate fruits they are like leather.”

These dried foods can be reconstituted in soups but they don’t have to be frozen or refrigerated because the moisture has been removed and they don’t mold. After you dry them you can store them in an airtight container, Miner said.

She also will talk about other topics, including if salt is required in canning and how people can use healthier methods to preserve food.

“My main focus is to make sure people are preserving food in a safe manner that is not going to make them sick,” Miner said. “My second focus is to make sure they understand the processes and know where to go to get the information or find the tested safe recipes in how to do the hands-on processes.”

If people have questions on these topics, they can call the Extension office and visit with Miner. They can also get their canner checked at area Extension offices if it has a dial pressure gauge.  

To register for the workshops call (620) 331-2690. The first 14 people to register get to walk away with a jar of vegetables they have preserved in class.