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 I learned how to can fruits and vegetables from my grandmother while growing up mostly in the Midwest. I loved the cool, earthy smell of a root cellar and took delight in perusing the many rows of colorful jars, especially when it was 95°F outside with 90% humidity.  Wherever the family moved, we…

Four valuable lessons that will take the stress out of canning pickled asparagus.My first time making pickled asparagus at home, by myself, with a borrowed steam canner, was a lot of fun, a fair amount of work, and produced what I would call mixed results, but I have no regrets.   The recipe I…

Monica Gross, Los Angeles Co., Online Delivery Program VolunteerDehydration is one of the earliest preservation methods developed by humankind. There is evidence from Middle Eastern and Asian cultures that dehydration was used as a method of preservation as far back as 12,000 BCE. The hot sun was harnessed…

 Chocolate paired with cherries is a match made in heaven.  With the California cherry season approaching, consider making this delicious and decadent jam. Use it as an ice-cream topping, stir it into yogurt, use it to frost brownies, or top a cheesecake! The possibilities are endless.  …

 Living in California has given me a deep appreciation for food, gardening, and seasonality. Fresh produce is available year-round, from winter citrus to summer berries and the abundance of warm-season vegetables that follows. Gardening here makes it possible to experience food not just…

Tim Long, UC Master Food Preserver Online Program Volunteer    Dehydration preserves food by removing 80–95% of its moisture, which inhibits the growth of bacteria, yeasts, and molds that require water to grow. It is one of the oldest preservation methods, dating back to 12,000 BCE.  This…

Kirsten Hansen, UC Master Food Preserver Online Delivery Program Volunteer  The Master Food Preserve Online Delivery Program volunteers loved making preserved lemons this winter! Our Citrus 1: Citrus Without Canning class and Garden to Glass: Winter Mocktails classes featured two different…

Monica Gross, UC Master Food Preserver Online Program Volunteer  For most of human history, feeding a family involved navigating times when food was plentiful, such as at harvest time, and periods when it was scarce. Before methods of food preservation were developed, food insecurity was a…

Earl Weak, UC Master Food Preserver Online Delivery Program VolunteerCounty of residence: Alameda Earl Weak relaxes at his home after an orange harvest (used with permission)My name is Earl Weak. I became UC Master Food Preserver (MFP) in 2024 as a member of the first class of the Online Delivery…

Paige Weisskirch, UC Master Food Preserver Online Program Volunteer “How Death Came, Unbidden, to Mrs. Sales Dinner Party”, an illustration accompanying an article reporting on a botulism outbreak due to improperly processed olives in The Philadelphia Inquirer, Nov. 30, 1919.  Botulism Is Rare…