Welcome to the Master Food Preservers of Orange County Website

Preserving the Season: Saving Summer Crops

Registration is open: 

https://ucanr.edu/survey/survey.cfm?surveynumber=27729

Join us on Tuesday, August 20th for another fun and educational class with the Master Food Preservers of Orange County! The end of summer is coming, and it's time to use what's left in the garden. This class will help you do just that. 

First, our Summer Squash Pickle recipe is a great way to use your abundance of summer squashes. Now when your neighbors leave you a pile of zucchini in the middle of the night you'll know what to do with it! 

Next, have you ever wanted to use your own canned corn for recipes & learn more about Pressure Canning? In our August class, you'll be pressure canning fresh corn.

There will be 2 identical workshops offered.  Each class is limited to the first 24 registrants. Register and pay online by August 19, 2019 and bring a printed or digital copy of your confirmation proof-of-payment email to class. Closed-toe shoes are recommended. Loaner aprons are available or bring yours from home.

Cancellation Policy: No refunds one week prior to workshop as materials will have been purchased.

Questions, contact us at: uccemfp@ucdavis.edu

Directions to the location are shown on the home page of the website: https://ucanr.edu/sites/MFPOC/

Tomatoes: Safe Methods to Store, Preserve & Enjoy

The common garden tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) is botanically classified as a fruit. Actually it is a berry, but many people think of it as a vegetable. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, for example, has defined it as a vegetable. The modern tomato originated in the southern regions of the Andes Mountains, the coastal deserts of Peru, and Ecuador and parts of central Mexico. By the time Europeans arrived in the New World, tomatoes were already widely cultivated by the Aztecs as far north as Mexico. The Aztec (Nah’uatl) word tomatl is a term that roughly translates as “plump fruit.” In the early 16th century, Spanish explorers changed tomatl to tomate.

Tomatoes are low in calories and a good source of Vitamins A and C.  California produces about 30 percent (5000 to 6000 tons per year) of U.S. fresh market tomatoes, and about 95 percent (8 to 11 million tons per year) of tomatoes used for processing. Tomatoes grown in California are harvested from May to December,with peak periods from July through mid-August. The United States imports greenhouse tomatoes year-round from Canada, Mexico, and the Netherlands.  Field tomatoes are imported from Mexico from December through April. The flavor, texture, and cooking characteristics of tomatoes depend on the variety, growing method, local environment, and handling techniques used during and after harvest. Because processing and fresh-market tomato varieties are used in very different ways, they have been bred and selected for traits important to their specialized growing, harvesting, shipping, processing, and consumption requirements.

Read about ways to preserve Tomatoes:  Tomatoes_Pub 8116