Robin Martin, UC Master Food Preserver Online Program Volunteer
County of residence: Sacramento
Robin Martin (Used with permission).
I grew up 10 miles west of the Twin Towers in a third-floor apartment. My mom (a transplant from LA) was (and still is!) an excellent cook; she prepared fresh vegetables in season and frozen ones out of season. We got some good New Jersey corn, peaches, and tomatoes in the summer. We had a weird kind of prejudice against vegetables in cans, though I’m not sure why.
It wasn’t until I moved to California in 1995 that I knew anyone who canned fruit or vegetables, and they were primarily farm families. In California, fresh fruit, and lots of it, became a staple in my family’s diet. We make smoothies at home, so we’ve been freezing berries, figs, peaches, and tomatoes at their peak of perfection for years without even thinking that we were “preservers.” I’ve always loved cooking healthy food, and froze leftovers, stock, cakes, and cookies for quick access, but not all of them came out of the freezer well, and I wasn’t sure why.
When I interviewed for my current position at UC ANR, I admitted sheepishly that I’d never preserved anything, to which Sue Mosbacher (the Program Director) declared, “Have you ever frozen anything? Then you’re a food preserver!” It was true!
Fast forward three years and I’d developed a real fondness for the people in the UC Master Food Preserver (MFP) program and a true appreciation for the value of its deliverables, so I decided I wanted to spend some more time (lots more time) engaging with the Master Food Preservers.
As part of the training class in 2025, I did my first steam canning, boiling-water canning, pressure canning, and dehydrating, and I learned why some foods freeze better than others. I loved the in-person labs; they were so fun! My favorite is canning jam and jelly with a steam canner. In fact, just after graduating from the program, I embarked on a jam-making binge that didn’t end until I had over 30 jars of jam prepared, labeled, and ready to give out as party-favors at a bridal shower. (They were a hit! The theme was “bubbles and berries”!)
Most of the volunteering I’ve been doing as an MFP has been behind the scenes, most recently with the newsletter, Save the Season, for which I’m a designer and a writer. I am looking forward to participating more in classes in 2026, as a Q&A monitor at first and then possibly taking the lead for teaching a class segment before my first full year is up. I hope to see you in a class!